Legislature, Governor Ignoring Pollution-Increase/Wetlands'-Loss History

As Wisconsin rushes to ease mining in watersheds, and remove restrictions on building into and disturbing waterways, riverbanks and shorelines, remember that when government allows private interests to have their way with public resources and waters, bad outcomes continue unabated.

Let's look at some examples, beginning with oil and pipelines:

As crude oil continued to pour out of control into the Gulf of Mexico yesterday, questions were being asked over the relationship between BP and regulators in Washington amid allegations that the company was allowed to drill the deepwater well without filing plans for how it would cope with a blow-out like the one now in hand.


"My understanding is that everything was in its proper place," the US Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, said during a tour of booming operations on the Gulf Coast. But an investigation by the Associated Press and other media outlets seemed to show that, after lobbying by BP, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) within the Interior Department relaxed the rules so that the company could dodge filing a proper blow-out contingency plan.

Too far away, too dramatic for you?

Well, how about this?

Wisconsin ’s special natural places and sustainable future are being threatened by...Enbridge Energy Company, Inc...which operates the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system [and] is proposing to build two 321-mile long pipelines. 

The proposed pipelines would cut diagonally across Wisconsin, from Superior to Delavan, crossing 242 rivers and streams and 74 miles of wetlands. 

Construction activities are expected to disturb 1,265 acres of wetland, including 262 acres of wooded wetland, and clear cut 1,930 acres of upland forest...and may set the stage for continued construction in the future. 

By the end of the project...the 3,900-acre pipeline site could cause up to 117,090 tons of sediment (roughly 14,600 dump trucks) to erode from the pipeline construction site into our state’s waters...

Once operating, Enbridge pipeline exposes pristine areas to the threat of a crude oil spill. Enbridge pipelines spilled roughly 252,000 gallons of crude oil in Cohassett, MN in 2002, and more than 3.3 million gallons of crude oil into the Canadian environment since 1990. 

Wisconsin has experienced at least seven spills from Enbridge pipelines since 1999. 

On November 27, 2007, DNR concluded that the project will be insignificant and issued environmental permits without the completion of a full Environmental Impact Statement.

A cavalier, trust-the-industry regulatory approach - -  "environmental permits without the completion of a full Environmental Impact Statement" - - presages the inevitable just a few years later:

Past Enbridge issues at heart of spill

Updated: Thursday, 29 Jul 2010, 10:36 PM EDT

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) - A Canadian company whose pipeline leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a Michigan river has experienced leaks, an explosion and dozens of regulatory violations in the past decade throughout the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in the U.S...

In 2007, two spills released about 200,000 gallons of crude in northern Wisconsin as Enbridge was expanding a 320-mile pipeline. 

Then there is mining.

And though we are told that the Penokee taconite (iron ore) mine Walker wants to dig into the Lake Superior watershed in Northerm Wisconsin, near Ashland - - maps here - - , with arbitrarily short reviews, can be operated by Gogebic Taconite (GATC) safely, look at the track record:

Nine taconite mines and related production and transport facilities in Minnesota and Michigan (seven in MN, two in MI) account for nearly all U.S. iron ore production...[and] dozens of air and water quality violations resulting in more than $790,000 in fines, plus cleanup orders and stipulations costing another $9.1 million...

A Minnesota DNR report in 2003 found that taconite mining is the 2nd largest source of mercury emissions after coal power plants. The study also reported that no suitable technology has been found to curtail taconite mercury emissions...

Transporting taconite ore causes pollution too. One example is the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railway in Minnesota which has been cited for multiple violations of hazardous waste restrictions and air quality and fined $138,770 for violations occurring in 2005 and 2009. 

If existing taconite mining cannot be counted on for examples of safe mining, what about GTAC’s track record?  

GTAC itself has never mined taconite before but GTAC’s owners- the Cline Group- operate coal mines in Illinois. Cline has been cited 25 times for violating water quality standards at 4 mines including 19 times at the Deer Run Mine which opened only 3 years ago.

Need more convincing? Consider Wisconsin's disappearing wetlands, forests and grasslands:

Federal data shows that Wisconsin has lost more than 46% of its wetlands between 1780 and 1980.

And a Green Bay-based non-profit has published these findings from the pre-Walker DNR:

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, important habitat types are disappearing. For example:

* Grasslands - Wisconsin has only .5% (13,000 acres) of its original grassland ecosystem remaining in a relatively intact condition, but much of this remnant acreage has been degraded to some degree.

* Oak Savannas - Intact examples of oak savanna vegetation are now so rare that less than 500 acres are listed in the Natural Heritage Inventory as having a plant assemblage similar to the original oak savanna. This is less than 0.01% of the original 5.5 million acres.

* Oak and Pine Barrens - Less than 1% of the pre-settlement oak and pine barren habitat remains.

* Shorelands - Degradation of near-shore and shoreline wildlife habitat is increasing with the pace of development, particularly in northern Wisconsin where, since 1960, two thirds of the larger lakes have been developed, the number of home sites has doubled, and the annual number of permits for sea wall construction has tripled. The DNR now reviews and processes over 10,000 permits for piers, near shore ponds, and structures each year.

* Wetlands - More than 50% of Wisconsin's original wetlands have been lost. On the lower Bay of Green Bay, more than 90% of the wetlands are gone.

These all are the cumulative, predictable effects of corporate palliatives, runaway sprawl, toothless regulation, and historical denial - - and it will lead to more land and water losses and permanent conservation heartbreak if Wisconsin's legislature approves Gov. Walker's partisan, political agenda.

Democrats Should Stop Negotiating With Themselves

The Party of "No" knows only one word.

Frank Lasee Baffled By Legislative Process, Governing

This isn't the first time that Republican State Sen. Lasee, (De Pere) appears legislatively-challenged.

Wind gives him trouble.

As do gun-free schools.

Not to mention deaf kids.

So how would be handle all that stuff US Senators have to deal with? Do we need a matched pair with Ron Johnson?

Milwaukee's Major Green Progress - - Nicely Catalogued

This is how cities can work.

What's required: Leadership.

Guns In The Capitol: Wisconsin GOP Legislators, Governor Have Had A Breakdown

(updated from yesterday) Nothing but heartache is going to come of this.

And the officials from Scott Walker on down who are catering to the NRA and listening to paranoid voices in their own heads to justify bringing guns into the Madison Capitol building public viewing galleries, and on to the chambers' floors, have turned themselves into cartoonish caricatures of leaders.

So carrying in a Glock will be OK, even encouraged, but bringing in a sign or a camera will get you arrested.

Bangkok Under Water - - As Predicted. Climate Change Again Validated - - But Undercovered

Historic flooding is heading for the capital of Thailand. Climate change is again validated in print, data and reality.

Remember this story about climate change and predicted flooding and this mind-boggling chart, on which Bangkok appears.

After The Mining And Water Bills, All That's Left Is That Corporatized DNR Scheme

The fate of Wisconsin's open spaces and clean waters is coming into view, spurred by Gov. Walker's fear of the recall, and the picture is darkening by the hour.

First there was the Voter ID Bill to slow registrations and obstruct turnout in cities and on campuses - - Democratic strongholds - - all to help cement a GOP long-term majority and to make recalling Walker more difficult.

Then the blatantly partisan legislative redistricting - - done so sloppily despite big payouts to drafting attorneys - - but, again, driven by fear of recalls - - that a Federal judicial panel seems poised to toss it because it disenfranchises next year 300,000 State Senate voters.

But facing a recall movement poised to begin in just a few days, Walker is now trying to ramrod through a compliant legislature sweeping bills to turn the environment over to private interests, allowing for incursions into protected waters, pollution of streams, rivers and lakes - - and especially carving up state law to carve an open pit iron ore mine in the Penokee Range near tribal lands in the Lake Superior Watershed.

Walker needs everything done at warp speed on behalf of his corporate backers because he could be out of office by the spring.

Some leaders' conservation agendas are governed by fears of damage to the environment.

Walker's is driven by fears of losing his job and failure to deliver the goods to the people who helped push him to his 52% win.

His environmental plans, actions, goals and direction are now 100% political, so look for him to follow through quickly to revamp of the Department of Natural Resources, by Executive Order, into the business-led "Chamber of Commerce"-type agency - - his words - - he said he wanted current secretary and former home-builder Cathy Stepp to run.

A so-called charter DNR could evade many hiring and procedural processes governing the workings of other state, taxpayer-financed agencies, further shutting the public out of decision-making that governs the control and integrity of public land, water and clean air resources.

Then Wisconsin will not be open for business. The state and its natural resources will be run for and taken over by business and the boardroom doors will shut you out.

Walker To Senate: Get Me Fast-Tracked Mining Law Before I Am Recalled

Walker knows he is a short-timer, so has to deliver to his corporate puppet-masters, and fast.

That's what's behind the one-and-out hearing yesterday on major changes to waterway access and management, too.

Can You Believe It? Walker Gets Another "False" PolitiFact Rating

(originally posted 2:43 p.m., Wednesday, now updated) Is this bad staff work - - a major statistical flub designed to underscore amid justify his cutbacks to the UW-System - -  or just plain Walker arrogance?

Does Walker care that his PolitiFact statements have been rated 24 of 36 times in some way false  - - or worse?

And only eight are half-true or better!

Remember, we're talking about the Governor here, not John Lovitz's Saturday Night Live character.

Update, Thursday, 10/27, 1:25 a.m. 

In fact, Walker has not received a "True" or "Mostly True" rating since May 8th. 

In the ten reviews since, Walker has garnered only Half Trues, Mostly False, False, Pants on Fire, and Full Flop - - which is some kind of losing battle with the whole truth (or even "mostly").

The scorecard since May 8th:

May 8,  2011 TRUE...And then

Jun 24, 2011 HALF TRUE
Jul 3,    2011 FALSE
Jul 7,    2011 FULL FLOP
Jul 10,  2011 FALSE
Jul 18,  2011 FALSE
Sep 4,    2011 PANTS ON FIRE
Sep 16,  2011 MOSTLY FALSE
Sep 22,  2011 PANTS ON FIRE
Oct 13,  2011 HALF TRUE
Oct 26,  2011 FALSE 

Here's a link and more information about all his ratings, and the inescapable pattern:

All of Walker's statements by ruling

• True5(5)
• Mostly True3(3)
• Half True4(4)
• Mostly False7(7)
• False14(14)
• Pants on Fire3(3)

The Movement's Signature Move: Recall Training Efforts Surface

Scott Walker is not going to have a cakewalk from November-to-January, it seems.

Another Transportation Job For Frank Busalacchi. In Milwaukee?

Gretchen Schuldt says it all.

County Executive Chris Abele’s appointment of former State Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi to head up the county’s transportation division is an unnecessary insult to Milwaukee, given Busalacchi’s unending efforts to make Milwaukee just another throughway for people driving home to the exurbs.

Bike Racks On Buses Reduce Traffic Congestion, Air Pollution

What's not to like?

For Your Bookmarks: Statewide Conservation Group Creates Mining Web Page

As the Legislature lays the groundwork to fast-track the iron ore strip mine in Northern Wisconsin, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters has created a dedicated mining page on the issue.

We'll need all the resources we can get.

No Debate About It: Perry Says Debating Was A Mistake

Or how about a bigger miscalculation:, thinking you are Presidential material?

I mean...thinking on your feet, explaining yourself, fielding questions, offering or proving you have positions on issues  - - that's is really hard work. Do the people really deserve that from a candidate?

Isn't everything like the way it is in Texas, where there's a part-time Legislature and plenty of free time to hang out with oil execs, raise quick campaign cash (he's sitting on $17 million), jog while armed and shoot coyotes?

Campaigning, and what, preparing? Nope.

Former Environmentalist Turns His Back On Conservation

Neal Kedzie's retreat shows how far degraded is the GOP.

League Of Conservation Voters Is Reporting Live From Ruinous Waterways Bill Hearing

Via Twitter. Well done:

WIConservation Conservation Voters

Senator Larson asks Al Shea how shifting the burden of proof to citizens - instead of permit applicants - is "good customer service."

32 minutes ago

Shills Pick Odd Time To Launch Pro-Walker 'It's Working' Website

The 1% spends pocket change on a recall-anticipatory 'It's Working' website touting Walker's budget (psst: it's really thanking him for the tax breaks) the same day a state agency announces job losses in the manufacturing heartland, and a few days after another state agency said Walker's 250,000-new-jobs pledge was unattainable.

The website's diversionary tactics will fool no one - - people can spot propaganda this transparent - -  and suggest weakness and fear as the Walker recall looms.

Wisconsin Assembly Passes 100 Proof Jobs Bill

By expanding the hours that liquor can be sold in the state that already leads the nation in drunk driving, binge drinking and other unhealthy indicators, The State Assembly has its bloodshot eye on the ball and is creating jobs in these fields:

EMT/First responders

Emergency room personnel

Long-term care facility staffing

AODA counseling

Funeral home worker

Auto body repair shops

Alcohol sales outlets

One Wisconsin organization aimed at healthy lifestyles has more information:

For more information contact: Paul Krupski, Health First Wisconsin; 608.443.436

Assembly Passes Bill to Increase Hours of Alcohol Sales Sales to begin at 6:00 AM

Madison, Wis.―October 25, 2011―On Tuesday, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed AB 63, which would legalize alcohol sales earlier in the day, for more hours per day.

“We are one step closer to increasing the availability and access to alcohol in the state,” said Maureen Busalacchi, Executive Director of Health First Wisconsin. “We are disappointed that the Assembly has neglected to consider the impact of this bill on public health and safety of Wisconsin residents. It’s a hefty price to pay for ‘convenience.’”

In Wisconsin, Class A alcohol licenses are issued to establishments such as gas stations and liquor stores, which allow for the retail sale of alcohol for consumption off premise. Currently, a Class A licensee is allowed to sell beer from 8am till midnight and liquor from 8am till 9pm. AB 63 would change the time retailers can begin selling alcohol to 6am.

“Already we are the #1 binge drinking state in the country. This change reinforces an unhealthy attitude toward drinking and enables alcohol abuse and binge drinking,” said Busalacchi. “There’s really no reason for people to buy beer before breakfast.”

It’s common sense that increased availability equals increased drinking. Research shows that increased alcohol availability and drinking leads to increased OWIs, risky sexual behaviors, and violence. “We need solutions to Wisconsin’s alcohol problems that create safer and healthier communities and neighborhoods,” said Busalacchi.

Health First Wisconsin and its partners pledge to fight passage of AB 63 in the Wisconsin State Senate.

Flawed Investment Scheme Resurfaces In Legislature. Hmmm...

I'm sure the fact that Assembly Republican Leader Jeff Fitzgerald's support for this taxpayer-financed, bad-track-record flushing of taxpayer millions favoring out-of-state financial managers has nothing to do with his US Senate campaign's needs.

The proposal authors - - all Republicans - - say they don't want to exclude any companies from the plan, including CAPCO's.

Let's remember that corporations are people, too, and you don't want any of these firms to feel like they aren't being picked for the softball team.

Tommy's DC Cash Bash Has Waukesha Water Connection

Waukesha's Water Utility, which is seeking massive federal aid to build its water diversion infrastructure if its bid for Lake Michigan water gets approved, has a lobbyist at the firm BGR that is  sponsoring a big DC fundraiser for Tommy's Senate bid, on November 3, according to US Senate records:

LOBBYING REPORT Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (Section 5)    -
Organization/Lobbying Firm:
Barbour Griffith & Rogers, LLC d/b/a BGR Holding, 601 Thirteenth Street, NW,  Eleventh Floor South, Washington, DC, 20005...    

DANIEL R. MURPHY, (202) 333-4936, dmurphy@bgrdc.com
Client Name, Water Utility, City of Waukesha
INCOME OR EXPENSES 
$20,000.00

Just for the record.

When A Monster Truck Buries You In Its Wake, Thank Mary Lazich

Bigger, heavier trucks, fewer permits and pesky rules - - Mary Lazich is the trucking lobby's new driver.

There's no stopping her.

More, here.

Imminent Recall Against Walker Spurring Water Privatization Measure

The recall effort kicking off in early November is the only reason to rush this through, as I see it.

So the organizing against the bill is fast and furious, with only one hearing scheduled, and that's tomorrow, at 11 a.m., Room 417-N State Capitol.

I look to the conservation, hunting, fishing and outdoor tourism constituencies, along with diverse rural residents. to raise an alarm against mining operations, developers, and pier-builders in and near waters historically held in trust in Wisconsin for the public or by Native American tribes - - an alarm that will be heard and respected by Republican legislators.

Future Headlines: GOP Legislators Want Pick Of Laws To Follow; Then Judges

Or maybe "GOP Legislators Want Cases Heard By Donors."

That's where we're headed.

Legal Expert Explains Depth Of Walker's Bill To Undo State's Water Law

Water rights and policy expert Attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin lays why Senate Bill 24 will undermine Wisconsin's long tradition of public access to state waterways and the historic supremacy of management of these resources as public resources, held in trust, and in perpetuity - - or so we thought.

The one and only hearing on this legal outrage takes place at 11 a.m. Wednesday in room 417-N, State Capitol:

Contact:   Jodi Habush Sinykin
                 Midwest Environmental Advocates
                 (414) 507-0004

SS/AB 24 Runs Afoul of the Wisconsin Public Trust Doctrine

Midwest Environmental Advocates, a public interest law firm representing Wisconsin’s citizens and conservation community on matters of environmental importance, will testify at tomorrow’s legislative hearing in strong opposition to SS/AB 24, focusing on the bill’s legally indefensible position vis-à-vis Wisconsin’s public trust doctrine.

With its origins firmly based in Article IX of the Wisconsin state constitution, the public trust doctrine upholds the fundamental tenet that the State holds navigable waters in trust for the public into perpetuity.

Over the years, Wisconsin courts have interpreted this “public trust duty” to require the state not only to promote navigation but also to protect and preserve state waters for fishing, hunting, recreation, and scenic beauty.

As recently as this past July, our Wisconsin Supreme Court clearly affirmed, in a 7-0 unanimous decision in Lake Beulah Management District v. DNR, the importance of a “vigorous enforcement of the public trust doctrine” to protect our valuable water resources.

The Supreme Court explained that, “in furtherance of the state’s affirmative obligations as trustee,” the legislature has delegated substantial authority over water matters to the DNR, whose “role in the protection of state waters is clearly dominant.”  As such, any legislative proposal affecting navigable waters and the DNR’s management thereof must comport with the public trust doctrine.

SS/AB 24, however, quite clearly fails in this regard.

Instead, the bill enables automatic approval of certain applications, notably, high capacity well applications, if the DNR fails to complete its review within a time period to be established by rule.  Yet, the bill sets forth no parameters for this time period—it could come to pass that approvals would be automatically granted after a mere 20 days or even 10. 

To make matters worse, to obtain an extension, DNR has only 14 days from the date of receiving the high capacity well application to identify what information might be missing from it and to notify the applicant, in writing, of the specific information necessary to complete the application. 

The real-life absurdity of this charge is highlighted by yet another provision in this section, which prohibits the DNR from including as a reason for disapproval the fact that it had insufficient time to complete its review of the application. 

These provisions are directly at odds with Wisconsin case law which dictates that the DNR has a duty, not a choice, under the public trust doctrine “to consider whether a proposed high capacity well may harm waters of the state.”

Comparable automatic approval provisions and limits on permit review and public participation are repeated throughout SSAB 24.  These provisions do more than impose unrealistic fact-finding burdens on the DNR.  They do more than reward bad actors who will be encouraged to game the system by withholding information or submitting purposefully incomplete applications. 

These prescriptive timeframes for review and public input plainly hinder the DNR’s ability to acquire the information and to complete the analysis needed to evaluate potential impacts to public trust waters.  On this basis, SS/AB 24, as it currently stands, runs afoul of the public trust doctrine and is unlikely to survive legal, constitutional challenge.

Climate Change Skeptic Runs The Numbers, Changes Position

Not that the politicians and talk show hosts who  deny the realities of climate change will come around, but they might get a little nervous knowing that a skeptic they used to quote is singing a different scientific tune now after crunching the data himself.

Rick Perry - - Cut-Up, And All-Around Fool

On the same day he introduces his flat tax (flat-earth?) to protect the rich - - called "a disaster" in a Fox News opinion piece - -  Perry says he and Donald Trump are just having fun poking Pres. Obama about his citizenship. Sound like a President to you?

"You know, Donald [Trump] has got to have some fun. It’s fun to poke him a little bit and say, 'Hey, let’s see your grades and your birth certificate.' I don’t have a clue about where the president — and what this birth certificate says. But it’s also a great distraction. I’m not distracted by it," Perry told CNBC.

 Little wonder he had now fallen to 6% in polls.

Collapse Of Walker's 250,000 Jobs' Pledge Still An Undercovered Story

It's barely made a ripple statewide, with little or no editorial outrage, even concern.

Ho. hum.

Is this because people knew all along it was BS, because they have been desensitized by Walker's mounting list of vetted, false statements, or are overloaded with political news and are politically-exhausted?

Has Walker so devalued the Office of Governor and tainted the process - - from dropping the bomb on state workers to nuking the environment - - that editorial boards can't find their voices and declare that the Emperor wars no clothes?

Baffles me, since, yes, you could say 'it's just a projection,' but isn't the proper response: "YIPES!," as the sources of the expose were about as straight-forward and apolitical as you can get:

Walker's Department of Revenue, with reporting by the AP:

An economic forecast by Gov. Scott Walker's own administration predicts that Wisconsin will fall far short of adding the 250,000 new private-sector jobs by 2015 that the governor promised as a key part of his successful election campaign.

The Department of Revenue report released Friday predicts that by 2014, the state will have added only 136,000 jobs in the private sector compared with 2010. The job growth estimate was down 43,000 from the department's previous report released in June.

Walker promised while he was campaigning that the state would add 250,000 jobs during his four years in office... But like the national economy, growth has been sluggish in Wisconsin this year and job growth is not track to meet Walker's pledge.

Through September, the state had added just 29,300 jobs since Walker took over in January. At that pace, there would be roughly 156,000 new jobs in the state by 2015

Walker's pledge was the centerpiece of his campaign, and rated the top of the Journal Sentinel's editorial endorsement:

Scott Walker has said repeatedly during his campaign for governor that he will develop strategies to create 250,000 new jobs during his first term.

It's a big promise - one that has been derided by his critics. But for the sake of Wisconsin, Walker had better be right.

Or consider the headline on the Wisconsin State Journal's endorsement editorial:

Our endorsement: Scott Walker best for jobs in race for governor

And now?

How To Erase 224 Years Of Public Access To Wisconsin Waters? Hold One Hearing

And call it a jobs plan, diverting attention from your own State Department of Revenue's finding that your 250,000 new jobs' pledge - - centerpiece of a 2010 campaign for Governor you won with 52% of the vote and a false claim that the other guy had a "radical environmental agenda" - - would fall flat by something like half.

That's how Scott Walker has been driving the privatization juggernaut in Wisconsin for close to a year, assisted by his Fitzgerald footmen on behalf of ultra-conservative, special interest lobbies and donors, with historic environmental protections on the chopping block and about to be sacrificed.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, at 11:00 a.m. there will be a single hearing on Senate Bill 24 in Room 417 North,  State Capitol - - and that's it.

This is how deeply Walker & Co. have diminished and devalued both the substance of public policy in Wisconsin, and the process that creates or protects it.

Team Walker: "Well, we had a hearing..."

One hearing. Can you say, "pro-forma?" Can you spell c-h-a-r-a-d-e?

P-e-r-f-u-n-c-t-o-r-y?

A vote to approve could come in both houses within two weeks, followed by the automatic signature of Governor 52% - - and after that, The Public Trust Doctrine, keystone to preventing the filling of waterways and clearing of shorelines and riverbanks, could be severely weakened.

Thus setting the stage for mining, pier-building and other privately-operated, physically-degrading uses of lakes, rivers and streams that would limit public access and enjoyment  - - a right guaranteed to Wisconsinites, in perpetuity - - or so we thought - - since 1787.

Also weakened: future citizen hearing rights and participation, or DNR permit reviews, so waterway filling or incursions would take place faster, with shortened scientific reviews, thus allowing alteration of waterways or their banks - - even in waters deemed sensitive or valuable - - before anyone could get a handle on the ramifications.

And this is supposedly a jobs bill.

Ask the people whose livelihoods depend on Wisconsin's outdoors tourism sector what they think of parking lots, haphazardly-sited buildings, mining tailing piles or private power boat piers pushed into parks, preserves, marshes, stream banks and wetlands?

First It Was Teachers, Then Transit Users, Urban Voters, Medicaid Patients And Now Conservationists

Another constituency - - people who like to hunt, fish and hike - - gets the Scott Walker shove and shiv, and fights back.

And you wonder why the recall movement will begin in just days?

Wisconsin has been captured by narrow interests who have made personal or partisan priorities - - money and power - - into a state agenda.

Jobs Coming To Menomonee Valley Despite Walker's Dismissal Of Other Jobs There

Another Spanish firm is locating manufacturing jobs in the Menomonee Valley - - a testament to the grassroots effort there by the Valley partners under both Mayors John Norquist and Tom Barrett and despite actions by fake job-creator Gov. Scott Walker to diminish production and longer-term growth in the Valley at high-speed train assembler Talgo and wind turbine-manufacturer Ingeteam.

Tom Daykin has the details.

Rick Perry Trumps Trump

Becoming a Birther 2.0 is no way to revive a doomed campaign. No wonder he is Bachmannesque in the polls.

"Sportsmen [Later For You, Women] For Walker," Check Your Governor Now

I wonder if their bargain with Walker - -  "Our state needs a commitment to accessibility of land and waterways for sportsmen and women of all ages to hunt, fish and trap" - - meant filling wetlands, and building into sensitive streams and lakes as he is proposing in a fake jobs bill?

I think these conservationists have it right.

Thanks to an alert blog-commenter who had been perusing Walker's campaign website.

Talk About Job Creation: Walker Appoints 3rd Workforce Secretary in 9 Months

What's the deal? Maybe there's a hostile work environment seeping out of the Governor's office?

Walker Trying To Get Around Killing Wind Energy Jobs, But...

His legislative friend and ally State Sen. Frank Lasee, (R-De Pere), wants to hold up all work until the wind stops blowing, basically.

You see, Lasee is considering a run for the US Senate, and needs some windmills against which to tilt, quixotically.

Wisconsin Environmental Groups Organizing To Fight "Pollution Over People" Bill

Organizations are gearing up to fight the "Pollution Over People" bill - - Scott Walker's plan to rollback 224 years of public access to Wisconsin waters.

Said the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation in a Sunday statement:

“Whether you are a hunter, angler or trapper, Wisconsin’s lakes and streams are critically important habitat for the fish and wildlife that are the backbone for hunting, fishing and trapping in Wisconsin,” stated Chuck Matyska (Cecil), President of the Federation. “Allowing these lakes and streams to be damaged is contrary to the interest of every sportsman and woman in this state.”

“The Legislature is working hard to increase the recruitment and retention of young hunters, anglers and trappers in Wisconsin, but without quality fish and wildlife habitat, the important heritage of hunting, fishing and trapping will be lost forever,” indicated Betty Borchert, Chair of the Federation’s Environment Committee. “Ultimately, the loss of this habitat will hurt the economy and in fact cost Wisconsin jobs.

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is hosting a briefing for media Tuesday on the bill prior to a quickly-scheduled Legislative hearing in Madison on the plan:

When: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.

Where: State Capitol, 300 SE

Contact: 

Anne Sayers, Program Director, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Institute, (608) 208-1129, (608) 658-0186 cell, anne@conservationvoters.org

And the River Alliance of Wisconsin makes the case, below:

Polluters Playground: The Push for Mining Undercuts Water Protections Statewide A few weeks ago we put out the warning that a couple of Governor Walker's "Back to Work Wisconsin" Special Session bills were mining bills in disguise.  Despite denials coming out of the Capitol, we were right.  They're even worse than we expected -- Special Session bills SB 24 and AB 24 to "reform" protections for navigable waters is a real doozy.  In other words, to grease the skids for mining in northern Wisconsin, the bill's sponsors are willing to sacrifice water and land all across the state. This is why, no matter where you live or how you feel about mining in northern Wisconsin, you should tell your lawmakers to oppose these bills.  An overarching theme in the bill is rubber-stamping permits on impossibly short timelines for the following activities.  (We also note how these activities maybe, just maybe, have something to do with mining.) Taking water out the ground and from rivers (Taconite mining uses lots of water.) Building dams (Hmmmm, could that be for mine tailings ponds?) Building next to, and on the banks of, navigable waters (Hauling mine waste will need a lot of new roads crossing lots of trout streams.) Grading (aka digging for ore?) within close proximity of rivers.  SB/AB 24 is also chock full of special favors for developers who haven't been able to get their way in the past few years.  If you recall the Green Bay wetland debacle from last spring, where a developer got a state law passed just for him, well, here we go again: Need to fill in a lakebed so your condo project can extend out into the water?  Have at it.  Been itching to make your pier so big you can dock all six of your boats?  Your wait is almost over.  Perturbed you have to get a permit to put a pier over a place fish use to spawn  No more pesky permit for you. The public hearing for these bills is Wednesday, October 26 at 11:00 a.m. in Room 417 North of the Capitol.  This will be a joint hearing of the both the Assembly and Senate committees on natural resources, which means it will be the only hearing on a bill that will wreak havoc on our waterways across the state.   SB/AB 24 is such a blatant special interest bill it's shameful, and you need to tell your legislators how you feel.  If you can't make it to the Capitol, call them and tell them loud and clear before Wednesday.  Or join us at the hearing - the more the merrier.

Bottom line: These groups have it right.

This one, wrong.

The DNR's Tricks And Treats

Scott Walker said he put Cathy Stepp in charge of the DNR to bring "a chamber of commerce mentality" to the agency," and his Special Senate Bill 24 to put polluters over people advances that plan - - but don't feel sorry for overworked DNR managers there who have to oversee this rollback of 224 years of environmental protection because email traffic at the agency shows they can manage big big fun, too.

I'd discussed this last week, thanks to a plugged-in commenter, but here's the email, and I'm sorry I can't reproduce the cute poster:

Sent:   Wednesday, October 19, 2011 11:30 AM

Subject:        Please join us

This message is sent to all DNR Central Office staff, Darwin Road staff, and Regional Directors:

Come and join us for our 1st annual Halloween Progressive Potluck  

How does it work?

Staff on each floor will be designated a food type to bring.  For example, employees on 8th floor are asked to bring meat or a hot dish which will be set up in a conference room on 8th floor.  The same will happen with each floor.  (See attached poster for food assignments).  Everyone will need to go floor to floor to get a balanced meal (unless you are in the mood for only dessert and you can just stay on 7th floor…)   Don't have time to get something together for the potluck??  Bring a canned good to donate to the food pantry instead. 

And Costume Challenge!

Central Office has challenged the Regions to a costumer competition.  We are asking each bureau and office to take a picture of their staff in costume and forward it to Laurel Steffes.  Pictures will be included in the next e-digest.  Who wins?  You decide.  And the prize?  The pride in believing that your region/office was the best!!

Our Goals?

To have fun

To mingle with staff on different floors

To enjoy some great food

Walker Spending State Dollars To Boost Pre-Recall Standing

If this isn't a personal and partisan use of state funds, nothing is.

Op-Ed Coincidentally Underscores Scott Walker's Assault On Wisconsin's Environment

Funny how things work out.

Little did I know that Scott Walker's proposal to undermine the state's historic role in preserving the environment as a public trust would amplify the point I was making in a Crossroads piece published Sunday, but which I wrote Thursday October 13th - - more than a week before his Senate Bill 24 became news:

Bear lessons

Some Wisconsin folks would do well to read Faulkner's classic story about humans and nature

By Jim Rowen

Oct. 22, 2011 6:00 p.m.

Two stories in the Journal Sentinel recently took me back to William Faulkner's "The Bear," a powerful short story about people and their relationship to the disappearing Mississippi forests generations ago.

Without spoiling the plot of this great story, suffice it to say that Faulkner sets in motion a diverse group of men who track an almost mythical animal on their annual ritual hunt where they learn things about their connections to the land, and, by extension, to each other.

My essay here would be little more than brief academic nostalgia if the news didn't prove, regrettably, that life indeed can imitate art and leave you wondering about just what makes some of your fellow human beings tick.

Which Scott Walker Story Was Most Ignored Since Friday?

(first posted 7:59 p.m. Sunday) Was it:

*  Projections by his own Department of Revenue and reported on by AP on Friday that Walker will fall far short of the signature, 250,000 new jobs he said he'd create in four years - - a campaign promise and tag line that helped push him across the finish line with just 52% of the vote and routinely gets written into his post-election speeches and releases?

[update: late Sunday night the Journal Sentinel posts a story on which a headline writer pulls the punch: "Walker's job goals may be tough to meet."]

*  Or was it rolling out a bill that would undo a 244-year-old legal tradition in Wisconsin: the guarantee of public access to waterways and shorelines, and the requirement that a  dispute between public access and private access to these common resources be resolved in favor of the public interest, thus ensuring preservation for future generations, too, over dredging, filling and paving?

The Walker bill also freezes any further designation of waterways as scientifically important, with sensitive natural inhabitants, and allows for developmental incursion near, and into them.

A DNR website explains (italics in the original) the law and its evolution into a Constitutional principle, including  this crucial, fine point about public access and usage being superior to private control of waterways which Walker's bill will undermine: 

All Wisconsin citizens have the right to boat, fish, hunt, ice skate, and swim on navigable waters, as well as enjoy the natural scenic beauty of navigable waters, and enjoy the quality and quantity of water that supports those uses /

Wisconsin law recognizes that owners of lands bordering lakes and rivers - "riparian" owners - hold rights in the water next to their property. These riparian rights include the use of the shoreline, reasonable use of the water, and a right to access the water. However, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court has ruled that when conflicts occur between the rights of riparian owners and public rights, the public's rights are primary and the riparian owner's secondary.

I'd say the environmental story has been the less covered, as the AP did a fine job exposing the Revenue Department's projection of the campaign promise failure.

You could write a nifty little essay about Walker's essential shallowness by combining the hollowness of his campaign rhetoric about jobs and his disdain for environmentalism bu simply noting his distortion during the campaign of Tom Barrett's environmental agenda as "radical," when now, in fact, it is Walker who wants to implement a truly radical attack on the environment and law.

Both the job-creating issue and the proposed corrupting of the state's conservation legacy must be driven home to voters as fresh reasons to recall Walker and remove him from an office he is not fit to hold.

Three more years of this destruction of the state's legacy and credibility - - Walker is #1 in Wisconsin this year for PolitiFact ratings with the word "False" - - will leave us rated #50 as a destination and moral beacon.

New Berlin Community Newpaper Blog Slaps Down Mary Lazich

All I can say about this is - -  wow - - and thanks for the shout out:

 

Inside New Berlin

Lazich's Lousy Leadership

Posted by Linda Richter on Oct. 22, 2011 11:57 p.m.

Ms. Richter has taken on Lazich before. 

 (Note: the aide referenced in the column linked at "Ms. Richter has taken on before" is Kevin Fischer, gone from Lazich's staff earlier this year and is now a Walker administration appointee, serving as spokesman for WHEDA, the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, which is essentially a state bank.)

Rick Perry: Texas Is Burning, So Why Are You Campaigning?

I had posted earlier about Perry's climate change denial, but this piece by Pati Hagan,  (phagan@kitcarson.net) speaks the proverbial 1,000 words:

Long-Time Milwaukee Transit Rider Discovers Business Leaders Dare Not Talk About Buses

Make sure you read Peggy Schulz's great first-hand account of the benefits of the Milwaukee bus system - - a system systematically left out of the business community's publications about the city and how to get around here.

Congratulations, New Berlin: Your GOP State Senator Does You Proud Again

Mary Lazich, thank you for all you do.

State Sen. Mary Lazich, (R-New Berlin)

This time, during the Special Session on Jobs, the ultra-rightwing legislator from New Berlin is promoting...abstinence-only public school 'sex-ed.'

Her last big PR splash: criminalizing prank calls, which earned her a shout out on The Colbert Report.

And kept a full-time staffer and blogger who called the DNR a Nazi organization.

When it comes to major issues, there she went again - - opposing the minimum wage, freaking out about Wisconsin losing "sovereignty" to a Great Lakes water agreement she seemed unaware was about to supply her hometown with its sought-after clean water supply, and claiming that Milwaukee officials who wanted to charge New Berlin a regional cooperation fee for the water were extortionists.

Then there's her objection to the minimum wage, her complaints about not getting enough stimulus funding she opposed, and other follies, here.

[Sunday Update: A local blogger in New Berlin weighs in, calling Lazich's leadership "lousy."]

Classic Friday Bad News Data Dump: State Says Walker 250,000 Jobs Pledge Will Fail Bigtime

So says his own Department of Revenue, but on a Friday, hoping, praying that on a leafy, fall Saturday people will be absorbed with the Badgers, Sunday with the Packers and still distracted Monday with all that water cooler"'how-'bout-them-Badgers-and Packers" talk.

Let's catch you up.

Reports the AP:

The Revenue Department report says Wisconsin employment will not return to the peak of 2.9 million jobs seen in 2008 until early 2015. Even if that pans out, that's only about 100,000 more jobs than when Walker took office.

You could see this coming, as on Thursday, I wrote:

Employment In Walker's Wisconsin Going In Reverse

New negative numbers are making Walker's 250,000 new jobs/10,000 new businesses pledge looking, what...rhetorical at best? Or politically-inspired, unattainable, or fill in the _____________.

Anticipating the inevitable backtracking from his signature campaign promise that helped achieve his 'landslide' at 52% - - a pledge trumpeted right on schedule by every Walker cheerleader with an agenda and a laptop, sample here  - - and given his career-long habit of bobbing and weaving away from responsibilities, I made sure last Monday to post Walker's pledge copied from his campaign website, so here it is for posterity:

And Don't Forget, Scott Walker's 250,000 Jobs Promise Had A Part Two

That would be creating also 10,000 new businesses. That's what he said on very own campaign website, and since he has a poor personal relationship with facts, memory and follow-through, let's make sure we help him remember both parts of the big bumper-sticker promise that helped him win the Governorship.

Check it out for yerselves:

Scott Walker Unveils Plan to Bring 250,000 Jobs and 10,000 New Businesses to Wisconsin by 2015

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tells Business Leaders “People Create Jobs, Not Government”

Madison – Scott Walker, Milwaukee County executive and candidate for governor, announced today at the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) Gubernatorial Candidate Forum his ambitious plan to bring 250,000 jobs and 10,000 new businesses to Wisconsin by 2015....

Today, Walker is exposed. Circle the date and post it on your refrigerator.

Even the finger-pointing/talking-point word salad served by Walker's spokesman was tired and limp.

"We also need to break through the wet blanket of the national economy," Werwie said. "Our plan is to work together to help the private sector create jobs and remain laser focused on continually improving Wisconsin's business climate."

Most-Read Items Here Last Week - - Political And Environmental Issues, What Else

Thanks to the blog's readers. Here's some feedback on the five most-read here. For what it's worth, I liked items three and four, since I saw them covered nowhere else.

Hidden Agendas In Wisconsin Jobs Bills Replay "Bud... Oct 17, 2011 Medicaid Hearing Wednesday A Test Of Walker Vs. Th... Oct 17, 2011 Wisconsin PSC Opts For Document Secrecy. Why? Oct 19, 2011 Bill To Gut DNR Says No Additional Waterways To Ge... Oct 21, 2011 SE Wisconsin Regional Transit: Stability, Instabil... Oct 19, 2011

Walker, Not Barrett, Has The Radical Environmental Agenda

Just for the record:

Scott Walker twisted some positions by Tom Barrett into a bogus accusation about a Barrett "radical environmental" agenda, when we now see in the sweeping de-regulation of Wisconsin's waterways in Walker's Senate Bill t24 that he is the radical on the environment.

By diminishing the role of the DNR to enforce the constitutionally-mandated Public Trust Doctrine, Walker's Ruin Wisconsin's Waters Bill will make it easier to fill a wetland, degrade a shoreline, push a structure into a sensitive waterway, and generally, through quickie permit reviews or suspended rule-making keep the public out of waterway use decision-making.

The bill also exposes the sham underway through a special senate committee on mining permits, as Senate Bill 24 will make it easier for mining operations to muck up waterways, and limit any public oversight.

In a state with 224 years of a strong public role in guaranteed waterway use and management, that is some radical stuff.

Citizens United Created One-Man Financing Superiority In North Carolina

The Kochs could do this in Wisconsin with ease, as Scott Walker, as a candidate under recall, can receive unlimited donations.

How Appropriate: Scott Walker Dismantling Something Called "The Public Trust" Doctrine

Hasn't it been the message and practice of his entire administration, from dropping the bomb on collective bargaining, to his inveterate false speaking and now forward to environmental depredation?

Wisconsin DNR Posts Fresh Information About Waukesha Diversion Review

Here is the link; more about its content and significance later.

Ruin Wisconsin's Waters Bill Diminishes Public Interest, Elevates Private Control, Upends 224-Year Practice

Walker's Senate Bill 24 intentionally and ideologically weakens the DNR's role as guardian of The Public Trust Doctrine - -  the mandated supremacy of public water rights in Wisconsin- - a 224-year-old legacy principle enshrined in the State Constitution and affirmed by the State Supreme Court that dates to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.

The DNR website on the matter explains it, for now, the italics are the agency's, and if you take away one thought from this outrageous attack on the state's heritage, it's this:

"A little fill here and there may seem to be nothing to become excited about. But one fill, though comparatively inconsequential, may lead to another, and another, and before long a great body may be eaten away until it may no longer exist. Our navigable waters are a precious natural heritage, once gone, they disappear forever," wrote the Wisconsin State Supreme Court justices in their opinion resolving Hixon v. PSC.(2)

Also from the DNR website:

As a result, the public interest, once primarily interpreted to protect public rights to transportation on navigable waters, has been broadened to include protected public rights to water quality and quantity, recreational activities, and scenic beauty.(1)

All Wisconsin citizens have the right to boat, fish, hunt, ice skate, and swim on navigable waters, as well as enjoy the natural scenic beauty of navigable waters, and enjoy the quality and quantity of water that supports those uses.(2)

Wisconsin law recognizes that owners of lands bordering lakes and rivers - "riparian" owners - hold rights in the water next to their property. These riparian rights include the use of the shoreline, reasonable use of the water, and a right to access the water. 

However, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court has ruled that when conflicts occur between the rights of riparian owners and public rights, the public's rights are primary and the riparian owner's secondary.(1)

It's The Scott Walker/Ruin Wisconsin's Waters Bill

Truth in labeling for Senate Bill 24, which lets private interests fill, impede, dredge and otherwise diminish  the value and enjoyment of publicly-held waterways, and disturb shorelines, too.

As  I said last year in a blog item and title about Walker's 'plan' for the environment:

Friday, December 31, 2010

The Old DNR Way, Stewardship; The New Walker Way - - "Cut It, Gut It, Pave it, Fill 'Er In"

Bradley Center Limits Shooting To Free Throws

Another restriction on personal freedom.

Be Accurate: "Job-Creators" is Just Another Way Of Saying "Fat Cats"

Watching the brace of wacky GOP candidates in their televised demand more breaks for the top 1% while unemployment stagnates, corporate money goes overseas, and polling shows majority support for the Wall Street Occupiers means "job-creators"needs a more accurate image. I suggest:

Senate Bill 24 Demolishes The Public Trust Doctrine, Role Of The DNR

It's Scott Walker's Ruin Wisconsin's Waters Bill:

Read it - -  Senate Bill 24, a radical, Big Government-directed assault on Wisconsin history and the environmental - - and then read about the state constitution's Public Trust Doctrine, which originated in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and pre-dates statehood, to understand what it is that he wants to do and undo:

Wisconsin's Waters Belong to Everyone

Wisconsin lakes and rivers are public resources, owned in common by all Wisconsin citizens under the state's Public Trust Doctrine. Based on the state constitution, this doctrine has been further defined by case law and statute. It declares that all navigable waters are "common highways and forever free", and held in trust by the Department of Natural Resources.

Assures Public Rights in Waters

Wisconsin citizens have pursued legal and legislative action to clarify or change how this body of law is interpreted and implemented. Watch how their efforts have benefitted all Wisconsinites: "Champions of the Public Trust" [VIDEO length: 28:02]

As a result, the public interest, once primarily interpreted to protect public rights to transportation on navigable waters, has been broadened to include protected public rights to water quality and quantity, recreational activities, and scenic beauty.(1)

All Wisconsin citizens have the right to boat, fish, hunt, ice skate, and swim on navigable waters, as well as enjoy the natural scenic beauty of navigable waters, and enjoy the quality and quantity of water that supports those uses.(2)

Wisconsin law recognizes that owners of lands bordering lakes and rivers - "riparian" owners - hold rights in the water next to their property. These riparian rights include the use of the shoreline, reasonable use of the water, and a right to access the water. However, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court has ruled that when conflicts occur between the rights of riparian owners and public rights, the public's rights are primary and the riparian owner's secondary.(1)

What are Wisconsin's stream and lake access laws?

Wisconsin's Public Trust Doctrine requires the state to intervene to protect public rights in the commercial or recreational use of navigable waters. The DNR, as the state agent charged with this responsibility, can do so through permitting requirements for water projects, through court action to stop nuisances in navigable waters, and through statutes authorizing local zoning ordinances that limit development along navigable waterways.

The court has ruled that DNR staff, when they review projects that could impact Wisconsin lakes and rivers, must consider the cumulative impacts of individual projects in their decisions.

"A little fill here and there may seem to be nothing to become excited about. But one fill, though comparatively inconsequential, may lead to another, and another, and before long a great body may be eaten away until it may no longer exist. Our navigable waters are a precious natural heritage, once gone, they disappear forever," wrote the Wisconsin State Supreme Court justices in their opinion resolving Hixon v. PSC.(2)

---

Sources:
(1) Quick, John. 1994. The Public Trust Doctrine in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Environmental Law Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1.
(2) "Champions of the Public Trust, A History of Water Use in Wisconsin" study guide. 1995. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Water Regulation and Zoning. Champions of the Public Trust - PDF 1,390kb

For more information, contact:
Dale Simon, Waterway Protection Section
Bureau of Watershed Management
(608) 267-9868

Bill To Gut DNR Says No Additional Waterways To Get Special Protections

Good news, Wisconsin: The job-creators are saying through Big Government power  - - and back in January, I said these special interest hires by Walker to run the DNR would kill the state's historic, constitutional Public trust Doctrine that preserves the common stewardship of Wisconsin's waters - - that we have all the trout streams, wild and scenic rivers, endangered or threatened species, sensitive wetlands and waterways with special scientific value or otherwise needing natural resource protection that we will ever need need.

The Public Trust Doctrine pre-dates Wisconsin's Constitution, having been codified in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, but apparently Walker thinks our work as stewards is done!

Put away your fishing pole and canoes and bring in the dump trucks and the front-end loaders, because we've got some wetlands to fill, rivers to muck up and shorelines to degrade.

In just this one section of Walker's Ruin Wisconsin's Waters Bill - - and remember, this is a "jobs-creating" bill (no, this is a bill to reduce public control of land and water, and to give away public resources, our resources, to private interests, period, for approval by the Legislature before Walker's recall)  - - we read:

Areas of special natural resource interest 

Under current law, certain exemptions for waterway activities do not apply in areas of special natural resource interest (ASNRIs). Current law defines, for purposes of exempting certain waterway activities from the individual and permitting requirements, an ASNRI to be a state natural area, a trout stream or other surface water that is identified by DNR as being an outstanding or exceptional resource water, or an area that has significant scientific value as identified by DNR.

DNR has identified by rule various areas as having significant scientific value,
including wild rice waters, waters that contain endangered or threatened species, and coastal wetlands. This bill incorporates into the statutes most of these areas designated by rule as having significant scientific value and prohibits DNR from identifying waters other than the ones specified in the statutes.

And, the bill allows in another section for easier pier-building into public waterways, including those with the special ASNRI, sensitive/scientific designation:

 Piers and wharves...

Current law also requires DNR to issue statewide general permits that allow
a riparian owner to conduct certain activities on the bed of a navigable water. This
bill requires DNR to issue a statewide general permit to allow a riparian owner to
place a pier or wharf on the bed of a navigable water that is in, or that would directly
affect, an area of special natural resource interest if the pier or wharf meets the
requirements for an exemption for the placement of a pier by a riparian owner.

So more piers - - and maybe mining company structures? - - before waterway preservation and public usage.

If you read what makes up these existing ASNRI resources, you can see that they are all about applying science and stewardship to what makes Wisconsin's environment so attractive to residents and visitors alike, drives the tourist industry and gives Native Americans connection to their heritage.

So we're finished with this preservation work , this fundamental conservation work? We don't need to do anything more?

We are supposed to suspend the use of science to save public, natural resources in Wisconsin - - for the public good? Can't you hear Homer Simpson saying, "Stupid science!"

As predicted:

So the special session - - theater aside - - seems aimed at providing cover for bills to give business a freer hand to fill wetlands and weaken existing environmental protections - - a sure-fire, pre-Walker recall fund-raiser gimme pitched to conservative, corporate activists like the Wisconsin Manufacturing & Commerce and the Club for Growth/Americans for Prosperity.

And, in particular to smooth the way for easier private control of public waterways and land for everything from open pit mining to development to pier-building.

In fact, you could see this coming even before Walker took office. 

And certainly signaled when he said he put Cathy Stepp in charge of the DNR because she had a "chamber of commerce mentality." 

And all this creates jobs, how exactly?

Will vacationers head up north to watch a new strip mall being added in a drained wetland?

It's really the politics of degradation, and pollution, as Paul Krugman notes.

In this unnecessary and ideologically-driven clash between private landowners water-related [riparian] rights, and the public's broader rights through long-standing trust management, Walker and his legislative allies, on behalf of conservative, special interests are saying to the public, without provocation:

Drop dead. We win. You lose. 

Check, please.

Trick Or Treat At The DNR. Mostly Tricks

While Gov. Walker is planning on gutting the regulatory mission of the DNR, reducing public comment and participation in environmental decision-making and permitting procedures to facilitate everything from quick mining reviews to pier building into public waterways - - protected in the State Constitution in the public interest - - it is said that Secretary Cathy Stepp is honoring the hellish bent of the administration with a Halloween party at the agency Madison offices on 10/31.

If this turns out to be bad information, I'll say as much, but I'm willing to circulate this comment on the posting yesterday about the special session's 'environmental' legislation:

Anonymous said...

Here is something FUN FUN FUN Secretary Stepp is planning for all of the Central Office DNR! On October 31 we are going to have a "Progressive" potluck (how ironic!). Each of the 8 floors has been assigned to bring a type of food or drink. We will go from floor to floor on state time, eating and drinking. As a special torture, it is planned for Oct 31 so we are supposed to wear costumes. There will be a contest. Oh Yay! Fun and Games and LOVE LOVE LOVE for our top managers!!!!

October 20, 2011 10:25 PM