Lakeside golf plan - including state land - advanced in Sheboygan

The City of Sheboygan, having annexed the site in a power move to box out opposition in the neighboring Town of Wilson, gave a preliminary permit approval Tuesday evening which could lead to the construction of an upscale golfing complex in a pristine, heavily-wooded nature preserve on the Lake Michigan shoreline that will also take acreage in the adjoining Kohler Andrae State Park.

Ongoing litigation prevents the immediate use of the permit.

Here are items for your review:

* There is a story about the Sheboygan Plan Commission's Tuesday approval at The Sheboygan Press website. 

* There are years of posts and links at the website of Friends of the Black River Forest, the grassroots organization doing battle for political fairness, conservation, environmental justice and the broad public interest. 

A sample, here

* I have posted about this project often - here, for example - 

Few projects with the exception of Foxconn which have had the blessing of Walker's 'chamber of commerce mentality DNR and other taxpayer-funded public agencies - - the AG's office, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, which is supposed to give independent oversight guidance to the DNR, local officials and annexation officials at the state DOA - - have outweighed the state's disregard for the environment and fair play more than the golf course proposed adjacent to and grabbing acreage inside a popular state park...

Below is information from a September, 2018 summary post:

------------------------------------------------
I have been reporting on the golf course plan and its opposition by the grassroots organization Friends of the Black River Forest since 2014.

* Here is a more recent item, with a view of some of the actual state park land ticketed for bulldozing and private construction -

* And another post which included sections of the project's environmental impact statement which detailed the harm in store for wetlands, woodlands, dunes, and wildlife habitat.

* More analysis, here.

A further mind-boggling insult is that the Wisconsin DNR remains joined with the developer in a lawsuit that seeks to bar citizens (opponents of the plan have created "Friends of the Black River Forest"- FBRF) from challenging the land: 

DNR and Kohler Company fight residents' right to challenge a state agency's actions

So basically the state - that's the people, you and I - is arguing that the people can be barred from contesting the disposition of public land which is there for the people's use -  than 400,000 annually, according to recent DNR records - and which, in this case, is park land literally within a stone's throw of the people who have filed a legal contest. 

The bigger picture and baffling disappointment is that this entire matter and the way it has been moved along has not been a bigger issue statewide. 

To be clear, this is not an isolated local matter.

What is happening is that taxpayers who have already paid for local and state government operations are with their own time and money trying to force governments to do their most fundamental jobs, and about which there should not be this kind of dismissive and discriminatory second billing to taxpayers:

1. Protecting the people’s rights to water, park land and wildlife - all of which are in the public domain.

2. Providing governance that puts the public interest and opportunities for all people ahead of catering to the already-privileged, as I noted in earlier posts:

...the Natural Resources Board is working towards redoing the master plan for Kohler Andrae State Park to accommodate the proposed golf course, including land transfers, road-building, traffic access, etc. 

But that wasn't really the beginning of what I've called on this blog the DNR's smoothing of the proposal for its eventual permitting and construction. 

*  Working your way through the DNR web page, you will find this link to a pdf file containing substantial email traffic among numerous DNR officials and staffers about the project dating to March, 2014 - - including agency review of an earlier Kohler development since abandoned involving the same company and dating to 2011. 

On page two, you will see Kurt Thiede, then a DNR manager who is moving to the US EPA regional office in Chicago as Deputy Administrator to his former DNR boss, Cathy Stepp, asking DNR staff for maps and design suggestions for locating a golf course building within the adjoining state park. 

On page 50 of the pdf file, a Kohler representative asks Walker for his assistance obtaining for the project some so-called "innocuous" acreage in the adjoining state park. 

No wonder the former Kohler Andrae State Park supervisor said he like a few acres for a hot dog stand there if the DNR wanted to so easily hand over state park land 

In 2015, I posted about another known Walker-Kohler contact: 

Consider the power imbalances in that battle with the well-connected industrialist and golf course magnate Herbert Kohler: 

Kohler is asking the DNR for an easement of 3.8 acres for its golf course operations. The company had sought as much as 20 acres from adjoining Kohler-Andrae State Park. An early version of the course showed that Kohler wanted to build several holes on state park land... 

Kohler, a financial supporter of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, spoke with staff from the governor's office, the DNR and the Department of Administration in late April about the easement, Walker's spokeswoman, Jocelyn Webster, said in an email. 

"Mr. Kohler raised the issue," Webster said in a separate email. 

Between 2009 and 2013, Kohler Co. employees contributed $42,254 to Walker's campaign fund, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks political donations. Nearly all of that amount was directly from Herbert Kohler. 

DNR Deputy Secretary Matt Moroney also has "participated in a conceptual meeting with the Kohler Co. on the golf course" that included Herbert Kohler, said DNR spokesman Bill Cosh. 

*  Note also that the Wisconsin Department of Administration helped the company quickly win the annexation of the project site to the City of Sheboygan, so add the DOA to the DNR and the National Resources Board to the roll call of state agencies facilitating the project. 

Think about all the hours of public employee time committed by the DNR, the Natural Resources Board, the DOA and the Governor's Office to getting one private business's plan for a privately-owned golf course aimed at upscale users through permitting and construction. 

I'll bet the cost in public dollars could have funded some real progress towards perhaps cleaning up some of the many, multiplying waterways added to the impaired list on Walker's watch.

So, ask yourselves - if the Sheboygan construction permit is implemented:

* Which state park is next for disassembling to serve a private business that will provide recreational opportunities which are out of the reach of everyday Wisconsin taxpayers, especially minorities whose incomes lag behind white residents, according to this June, 2020 report? 

Adding one more log into a bonfire of evidence about racial inequity in Wisconsin, the state's economy ranked last in racial equality among all 50 U.S. states, according to a new study of wealth and employment gaps between Black and white residents.

* How many Wisconsin citizens will be locked on the outside looking in while government caters to those who already have a disproportionate share of wealth, power and access to public sector resources and decision-making before people demand fundamental change to the way Wisconsin continues to be run?

* A better way to say it is: how many Wisconsin citizens will it take to grasp what minorities have long had to deal with before fairness and equities are the rule -and not litigated, grudging exceptions like this one that tireless advocacy for transit options forced on government that routinely does not share resources and opportunities equally:

Lawsuit settled: DOT to ease congesting during Zoo Interchange construction

The terms of the settlement were negotiated in court-sponsored mediation. The suit was filed in 2012 by Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope.

Patagonia joins battle to preserve rare wetlands, habitat, Kohler Andrae State Park

I've been following since 2014 the David vs. Goliath grassroots battle to preserve unique acreage along Lake Michigan in Sheboygan County 

and keep the adjoining Kohler Andrae State Park intact.

The Sierra Club had recently joined the battle.

And I'd put up this post which excerpted the DNR's environmental review which catalogued the project's on-site and extensive damage to the tree canopy, and other harm to wetlands, dunes, bird habitat and other inter-connected resources.

So note and celebrate this good news:

Friends of the Black River Forest, Inc.

P.O. Box 804

Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53082-0804

920-457-0525

www.friendsblackriverforest.org

www.savekohlerandrae.com

501(c)(3) 47-1558895

The Friends of the Black River Forest has received a grant from Patagonia, the outdoor apparel company recognized internationally for its authentic commitment to quality, corporate responsibility, and environmental activism.

The Patagonia grant supports a suite of legal actions

to ensure that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources applies Wisconsin conservation

law fairly and consistently.

The Friends is a grassroots nonprofit organization created in 2013 after billionaire Herbert Kohler

Jr. announced plans to construct a luxury golf course on 247 acres of Lake Michigan shoreline

north of Kohler-Andrea State Park, one of Wisconsin's most popular state parks. 

The site is characterized by rare intact shoreland forest, threatened and endangered species, and rare

interdunal and ridge and swale wetlands. The development would also eliminate what the Audubon

Society has designated a Tier 4 Important Bird Area and migratory route.

The Kohler Company plans to appropriate an additional 4.7 acres of adjacent state park land for

golf course parking, equipment maintenance sheds, and to store pesticides, herbicides, and fuel.

Along with a separate road easement, 6.47 acres of valuable state park land would be removed

from conservation and recreational use for the public in order to build a private, luxury golf course.

The Friends was founded by Mary Faydash, a retired counselor, and Claudia Bricks, a retired special education teacher.

"Patagonia's support is multiplied because they are bringing our cause to the attention of a

national audience of environmental activists and allies," said Faydash. "At the same time, we're

humbled by the tremendous amount of financial and other support we continue to receive from

our neighbors right here in Wisconsin and particularly in Sheboygan County. Wisconsin residents

are avid outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists, and their support for this cause and for our state

park is stronger than ever."

"To have a company like Patagonia take our side is so affirming," said Bricks. "Our legal challenge to the golf course is exactly the sort of grassroots activism that Patagoniachampions around the world."

The Friends are represented by Christa Westerberg, a partner with Pines Bach LLP in Madison.

Westerberg concentrates her practice on environmental and land use law and open governmental

law.

The main legal cases are as follows:

FBRF January 28, 2020: 

1. The Friends have been able to overturn an improperly issued wetland permit. The Wisconsin

Department of Natural Resources had granted a wetland permit to Kohler to fill and cause

other disturbances to wetlands on both Kohler and state park property on January 17, 2018.

The DNR acknowledged the wetlands are globally rare, are of exceptional quality, and host

rare plants and plant communities. It also acknowledged that the loss of these wetlands would

be irreversible and have high significance, as would other impacts like loss of migratory bird

habitat due to partial deforestation of the site. 

Contrary to state law and, seemingly, DNRs

own findings, the permit was granted. In a first, the DNR said it would accept a $200,000

donation to a wetland program as a condition of the permit. In March 2019, an

Administrative Law Judge agreed with FBRF and reversed the DNR's permit (Case number

DNR 18-0002). Kohler has since challenged that decision in court.

2. The Friends are challenging the transfer and privatization of 6.7 acres of state park land from

DNR to Kohler. Historically, much of the land at issue was appropriated for conservation

purposes by the state under Eminent Domain in the 1960s from the Smyth family. That case

is currently before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

3. A number of other legal challenges are keyed to the protection of the groundwater, the

wetlands, and the shores of Lake Michigan as well as the biodiversity of these ecosystems. In

particular, the Friends are challenging the golf course project's incomplete Environmental

Impact Statement and the project's poorly conceived Stormwater Management Plan.

The "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order" for Wisconsin Case Number

DNR-18-0002 is available online at

https://doa-dha.wisconsin.gov/Pages/DNRDecisions.aspx

Additional background may be found at http://friendsblackriverforest.org/documents.html

The Friends of the Black River Forest welcomes questions from the media.

Mary Faydash may be contacted at mary.faydash@gmail.com, 708-567-8419.

Claudia Bricks may be contacted at cjbricks@outlook.com, 920-457-0525

FBRF

Kohler golf course wetland-fill permit reversed

In a great win for Wisconsin wetlands, clean water, native culture and grassroots activism, a state administrative law judge has reversed the issuance of a wetlands-fill permit issued by the DNR, said Friends of the Black River Forest, a group opposed to the project.

The permit is pivotal to the construction of a proposed, high-end golf course on the Lake Michigan coastline on a Kohler-owned nature preserve. 

In the decision, the judge found that the project will require deforesting over half the site and significant regrading, resulting in changes to wetland and site hydrology. He concluded, “the Department’s determination that these adverse impacts will be significant mandate that the permit application must be denied.” 

The judge also found that the DNR lacked sufficient information to conclude that the project would not harm water quality associated with chemical and fertilizer applications, and that some of Kohler’s submitted information was unreliable or incomplete.

The decision could be appealed to the circuit court.

A complete news release about the decision will appear at the bottom of this post.

The potential loss of wetlands has been cited by opponents as a looming threat:

Strong testimony vs. Kohler golf project, park & wetland losses

The golf course proposal would take acreage for a building, road and parking lot within the adjoining Kohler Andrae State Park, strip away much of the project area's forest, cut down important wildlife habitat and even claim rare dunes, as noted by the DNR's site review which I have quoted at length:

Approximately 3.7 acres of wetland would be lost due to filling including impacts to approximately 1.36 acres of Great Lakes ridge and swale wetlands, a wetland type that is considered “imperiled” in Wisconsin. Additional wetland impacts resulting from alterations to wetland hydrology and the influence of increased nutrients could change the wetland type and allow encroachment of invasive species.

Note also that is the third such reversal of an environmentally-damaging Walker-era DNR ruling - - two earlier victories are noted here, here and here - - and this development presaged the grassroots win:

Former DNR employee: Staff pressured to OK Kohler golf course on rare Wisconsin wetlands, park

I'd put up last fall a 21-part series on Walker's horrible environmental record, with this installment devoted just to the golf course project, given its significance both for the area and environmental activism:

Few projects with the exception of Foxconn which have the blessing of Walker's 'chamber of commerce mentality DNR and other taxpayer-funded public agencies - - the AG's office, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, which is supposed to give independent oversight guidance to the DNR, local officials and annexation officials at the state DOA - - have outweighed the state's disregard for the the environment and fair play than the Kohler golf course proposed adjacent to and grabbing acreage inside a popular state park.

I've visited the site, publicized the opposition organized by Friends of the Black River Forest, and written about it often since 2014.

And put it into a larger context often, including, here: 

...the state has 700 impaired waterways by the agency's own count and in 2014 added dozens more to the list; paradoxically, the DNR is currently reviewing whether a major Walker donor can build an 18-hole golf course on 247 acres of forested, wetland-laden land at the edge of Lake Michigan near Sheboygan through which runs The Black River, one of those impaired waterways. 

Opponents of the project's groundwater demands, deforestation, and planned incursion into an adjoining state park recently told the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board - - to which the DNR reports - - that test wells were drilled on the site without permits, among other concerns.

See and hear the opponents' ten-minute presentation beginning at the meeting's 2:21 mark, followed by about five minutes of Q & A.

Here is one early post about the developer's donations to Walker's campaign, and something of a more recent summary, below.

And I try to remind people that the Black River which runs through site's current 247-acre nature preserve, and Lake Michigan literally yards to the east, are public trust waters which the DNR is obligated to manage for the people so they are not lost as public resources, as the State Supreme Court has warned.

New release test:
------------------------------------

March 18, 2019, For Immediate Release Contact Christa Westerberg, 608/251-0101

JUDGE REVERSES KOHLER WETLAND PERMIT

An administrative law judge on Friday reversed a permit granted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to Kohler Co. last year. The permit would have allowed the company to fill nearly four acres of high-quality wetland for a new golf course development in Sheboygan County, on land north of and within Kohler-Andrae State Park.

In reversing the permit, the judge found the standards for issuing the permit had not been met and that DNR lacked sufficient information to grant the permit.

“We are grateful for this decision, which thoroughly addressed the adverse, irreversible impacts of the proposed golf course,” said Mary Faydash, President of Friends of the Black River Forest, Inc. The group filed the petition challenging the permit, which was heard during a five-day evidentiary hearing last year.

“We are definitely delighted,” added Friends member and co-petitioner Claudia Bricks.

In the decision, the judge found that the project will require deforesting over half the site and significant regrading, resulting in changes to wetland and site hydrology. He concluded, “the Department’s determination that these adverse impacts will be significant mandate that the permit application must be denied.”

The judge also found that the DNR lacked sufficient information to conclude that the project would not harm water quality associated with chemical and fertilizer applications, and that some of Kohler’s submitted information was unreliable or incomplete.

Said the judge, “[t]he Department should be making its determinations based on completed plans, not trusting that management plans that will be prepared will adequately protect the groundwater and wetlands. Once the golf course is constructed the adverse impacts will be permanent and irreversible.”

“The golf course would be a major development on an extraordinarily sensitive site,” said Friends attorney Christa Westerberg. “The evidence simply did not support granting a permit in this case.”
P.O. Box 804 Sheboygan, WI 53082 www.friendsblackriverforest.org

The proposed golf course is located on forested property between the Black River and Lake Michigan. It hosts rare ridge and swale and interdunal wetlands and is an important stopover site for migratory birds. The property is susceptible to groundwater contamination due to sand soils and a high groundwater table.

Kohler’s proposal also called for using land in Kohler-Andrae State Park for a golf course entrance road and large maintenance facility. That land is characterized by dunes, wetlands, and forest, and is used by park visitors for hiking and wildlife observation, among other activities.

Said Faydash, “this decision is a victory for all of Wisconsin, particularly the grassroots groups who have worked tirelessly to hold the DNR and developers to Wisconsin conservation law.

It confirms the DNR must issue sound, scientifically-based environmental permits which protect and preserve our air, land and water.” 
----------


247-acre nature preserve golf course site Steve Back photo.

Walker's 8-year war on Wisconsin's environment: Part 10. Kohler's golf course.

This 21-part retrospective series I'd promised will run with daily updates, ending prior to the Nov. 6 election. This is Part 10 and ties together Walker's disdain for the environment with his agencies serving Walker donors and Republican interests.

Few projects with the exception of Foxconn which have the blessing of Walker's 'chamber of commerce mentality DNR and other taxpayer-funded public agencies - - the AG's office, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, which is supposed to give independent oversight guidance to the DNR, local officials and annexation officials at the state DOA - - have outweighed the state's disregard for the the environment and fair play than the Kohler golf course proposed adjacent to and grabbing acreage inside a popular state park.

I've visited the site, publicized the opposition organized by Friends of the Black River Forest, and written about it often since 2014.

And put it into a larger context often, including, here: 

...the state has 700 impaired waterways by the agency's own count and in 2014 added dozens more to the list; paradoxically, the DNR is currently reviewing whether a major Walker donor can build an 18-hole golf course on 247 acres of forested, wetland-laden land at the edge of Lake Michigan near Sheboygan through which runs The Black River, one of those impaired waterways. 

Opponents of the project's groundwater demands, deforestation, and planned incursion into an adjoining state park recently told the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board - - to which the DNR reports - - that test wells were drilled on the site without permits, among other concerns.

See and hear the opponents' ten-minute presentation beginning at the meeting's 2:21 mark, followed by about five minutes of Q & A.

Here is one early post about the developer's donations to Walker's campaign, and something of a more recent summary, below.

And I try to remind people that the Black River which runs through site's current 247-acre nature preserve, and Lake Michigan literally yards to the east, are public trust waters which the DNR is obligated to manage for the people so they are not lost as public resources, as the State Supreme Court has warned.

And ditto for the adjoining park:

By the way, that's your park, too

From which state agencies have said the golf course can have dedicated acreage for a road, parking, and a building in which chemicals and vehicles can he stored.

A move roundly criticized by the park's former, longtime Superintendent - - but Team Walker has bulldozed science, informed observation along with the trees, wetlands, wildlife habitat in project and project since Walker took over. 

Below is information from a September, 2018 summary post:
------------------------------------------------
I have been reporting on the golf course plan and its opposition by the grassroots organization Friends of the Black River Forest since 2014.

Here is one post with a view of the state park land ticketed for private bulldozing and use,

and another post which included sections of the project's environmental impact statement, which I will also copy out, here.

*  Page 36: Much of the 247-acre Kohler parcel currently includes forested habitat. The golf course design would remove approximately 100 to 120 acres of forested land cover. Forested land and specimen trees will remain as part of the design located predominantly between golf course features. Opening up blocks of forested land will result in greater potential for windthrow and wind damage to the remaining trees.

*  Page 50: The Kohler Property is almost 100 percent contiguous forest. Up to 50 percent of the forest would be removed if the proposed project is constructed. The remaining fragmented forest would provide some habitat during songbird migration. Invasive species management and restoration of native trees and shrubs in invasive removal areas would help control exotic and invasive species in the retained forest. The forest edge along turfgrass and human use areas created from fragmentation of the forest would probably increase the challenge of exotic and invasive species management. 

The edge would likely provide some habitat for species that inhabit transitions between forest and openings. Habitat value would likely be diminished. 

Tree clearing would occur on the Property for each hole, the access road, the clubhouse/parking lot complex, the practice range, the maintenance facility, the restrooms, and the irrigation pond. Tree clearing may also occur in forested areas between tee and fairways to provide lines of sight. Interior forest bird nesting habitat is likely present within and adjacent to the Project boundary and would essentially be eliminated. Wildlife species inhabiting these areas would be permanently impacted by the loss of habitat. 

However, impact to these species is not expected to create a significant effect on regional populations.

*  Page 63: Kohler has stated that the lakeshore and associated dune habitats are essential to the natural and minimalistic golf course design.

Some trees bordering the beach would be removed, allowing longer sight lines between the Project and Lake Michigan. Trees present in dune habitat that is utilized by a rare species may not be able to be removed unless additional authorizations are obtained (i.e., an incidental take permit). Additionally, the number and area of trees removed would have to be reviewed to determine the potential impacts on the beach/dune community. 

*  Pages 69-70:

Summary of Adverse Impacts That Cannot Be Avoided

The site’s nearly 100% forested canopy would be reduced by nearly half. Habitat value will diminish along forest edges near turf grass and human use areas.

Approximately 3.7 acres of wetland would be lost due to filling including impacts to approximately 1.36 acres of Great Lakes ridge and swale wetlands, a wetland type that is considered “imperiled” in Wisconsin. Additional wetland impacts resulting from alterations to wetland hydrology and the influence of increased nutrients could change the wetland type and allow encroachment of invasive species.

Reduction of the forest to 50 percent cover would result in a substantial reduction of available migratory bird stopover habitat on the Kohler Property. Interior forest bird nesting habitat is likely present within and adjacent to the Project boundary and would essentially be eliminated...

Short term adverse impacts that cannot be avoided include approximately two years of construction traffic, noise, and dust. Hikers on the Black River Trail near the Black River would be the Kohler-Andrae patrons most likely to notice construction noise and changed aesthetics...

It is unknown to what extent storm water infiltration and nutrient and pesticide applications to fairways, tees and greens (for either establishment or maintenance) would impact groundwater quality in this permeable soil and shallow water table environment.

Part 9 of this series was published Sunday, October 21, 2018

Dollars-and-cents/common-sense Q's on Kohler golf course plan

Walker's 'chamber of commerce mentality' management of state government has tainted public service, destroyed its mission and turned watchdog agencies into unabashed corporate subsidiaries.

So when the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board at its February 28th meeting in Madison - - agenda item B-3 - -  takes up the plan approved by Walker's corporatized DNR to allow a major Walker donor obtain the state park land he wants for a privately-owned golf course development, will any Board member underscore the body's oversight obligations and add these questions and issues to the discussion?:

*  The Journal Sentinel reported these acreage values for land the golf course wants: 

DNR documents show the deal gives Kohler 4.59 acres on the northern edge of park. The land is valued at $59,700, according to independent appraisals.

Kohler would also get an easement to the main entrance road to the park and other land on which it would build a road leading to a maintenance building. The easement of 1.88 acres is valued $9,400.

Question 1. Is that the best way to appraise the value of those publicly-owned acres and what is its profit-generating value over the project life cycle? 

Question 2. What has been the Wisconsin-taxpayer-subsidized cost in staff time - - principally supplied by a DNR stripped during the Walker years of funds and employees - - to help one privately-owned business plan and open a privately-owned golf course which will be marketed to upscale golfers?

*  The project has been the subject of public employee reviews by the DNR since the spring of 2015, according to a web page put up by the agency that details numerous review stages, including hearings, which the DNR has supervised.

*  And the Natural Resources Board is working towards redoing the master plan for Kohler Andrae State Park to accommodate the proposed golf course, including land transfers, road-building, traffic access, etc. 

But that wasn't really the beginning of what I've called on this blog the DNR's smoothing of the proposal for its eventual permitting and construction.

*  Working your way through the DNR web page, you will find this link to a pdf file containing substantial email traffic among numerous DNR officials and staffers about the project dating to March, 2014 - - including agency review of an earlier Kohler development since abandoned involving the same company and dating to 2011.

On page two, you will see Kurt Thiede, then a DNR manager who is moving to the US EPA regional office in Chicago as Deputy Administrator to his former DNR boss, Cathy Stepp, asking DNR staff for maps and design suggestions for locating a golf course building within the adjoining state park. 

On page 50 of the pdf file, a Kohler representative asks Walker for his assistance obtaining for the project some so-called "innocuous" acreage in the adjoining state park.

No wonder the former Kohler Andrae State Park supervisor said he like a few acres for a hot dog stand there if the DNR wanted to so easily hand over state park land

In 2015, I posted about another known Walker-Kohler contact:

Consider the power imbalances in that battle with the well-connected industrialist and golf course magnate Herbert Kohler:

Kohler is asking the DNR for an easement of 3.8 acres for its golf course operations. The company had sought as much as 20 acres from adjoining Kohler-Andrae State Park. An early version of the course showed that Kohler wanted to build several holes on state park land...

Kohler, a financial supporter of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, spoke with staff from the governor's office, the DNR and the Department of Administration in late April about the easement, Walker's spokeswoman, Jocelyn Webster, said in an email.

"Mr. Kohler raised the issue," Webster said in a separate email.

Between 2009 and 2013, Kohler Co. employees contributed $42,254 to Walker's campaign fund, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks political donations. Nearly all of that amount was directly from Herbert Kohler.

DNR Deputy Secretary Matt Moroney also has "participated in a conceptual meeting with the Kohler Co. on the golf course" that included Herbert Kohler, said DNR spokesman Bill Cosh.

*  Note also that the Wisconsin Department of Administration helped the company quickly win the annexation of the project site to the City of Sheboygan, so add the DOA to the DNR and the National Resources Board to the roll call of state agencies facilitating the project. 

Think about all the hours of public employee time committed by the DNR, the Natural Resources Board, the DOA and the Governor's Office to getting one private business's plan for a privately-owned golf course aimed at upscale users through permitting and construction.

I'll bet the cost in public dollars could have funded some real progress towards perhaps cleaning up some of the many, multiplying waterways added to the impaired list on Walker's watch.

Court ruling for state park's integrity could assist another

[Updated from 10/8] Two reasons to celebrate a solid court ruling overturning a decision by the DNR to allow snowmobiles in Blue Mound State Park, as reported by the State Journal.

A judge has thrown out the state’s controversial decision to add a snowmobile trail to a state park known for silent sports such as cross-country skiing.

The Department of Natural Resources violated its own rules when it approved snowmobiling at Blue Mound State Park, Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn ruled Tuesday.

*  The court sent the DNR, and any other Wisconsin agency which might be listening, a strong message that the state cannot allow public property to be taken for so-called incompatible uses, especially when the agency overlooks its own guidelines and ignores the expressed will of people who registered objections through the state's established methods.

In short, the ruling a victory for democratic procedure and against special interests, as The State Journal noted when quoting the park's former superintendent:

“From the very beginning it was apparent to me that the DNR’s primary and unwavering goal …was to appease the snowmobile lobby …” Karl Heil, former superintendent of Blue Mound State Park

*  The ruling should give heart to people in the Town of Wilson along Lake Michigan who are fighting the planned expansion of a privately-owned golf course on to acreage in Kohler Andrae State Park - - and who as citizens and taxpayers are being dissed and dismissed through coordinated pro-developer actions by the DNR, its oversight body - - the Natural Resources Board - - and the State Department of Administration, (DOA), whose Scott Walker-directed managers approved a quickie annexation to move the golf course site from the Town of Wilson to the City of Sheboygan to mute and disenfranchise the opponents.

The golf course site is a 247-acre, lakeshore-hugging, heavily-wooded nature preserve long on the Town of Wilson's map - -  

- - that is bisected by The Black River and loaded with wildlife, wetlands, rare dunes and native peoples' artifacts.

It abuts Kohler Andrae State Park, one of Wisconsin's most popular publicly-owned hiking, camping and shoreline destinations.

The DOA said the golf course was "urban in nature," so more appropriately shifted onto a city's map. That's Walker's DOA carrying water for a Walker donor, for sure.

Kohler Co. Chief Contributed $40K to Walker in Recent Years

I'm not an attorney, but I see in the Blue Mound State Park ruling some good news for the golf course opponents as they struggle to keep the golf course project from grabbing public land in another state park land and, like the people who carried the day and preserved what is special about Blue Mound State Park, are also trying to stop state agencies and state power from running roughshod over public opinion.

Does handing over Kohler Andrae State Park land to a golf course developer for the construction of a maintenance building, parking lot and some access- road building to boost golf course revenue and its owner's wealth sound to you like a compatible use for public park land?

Again, listen to an expert - -  James Buchholz, the former Kohler Andrae State Park superintendent:

The Dept. of Natural Resources has no right and nor any responsibility to “give away” 4-plus acres of publicly-owned state park land to anyone, especially to a “for-profit” business or person for the purpose of increasing the revenue of such business or to increase the income of any person or corporation...  

If this is approved for Kohler, “I“ would like to request and expect approval for my own 4 acres so I could set up my own business, perhaps a hotdog stand. Of course, like Kohler, I would have to ban park visitors from ever setting foot on my part of their public land again (unless they purchase one of my hotdogs of course).

Who would know more about the integrity of these parks than the former superintendents who gave the lands decades of daily, hands-on care?

So stay tuned, add your name to this online petition, spread it to your friends and list and check out the website or Facebook page of the Friends of the Black River Forest for legal, fund-raising and other pertinent updates.