SEPTEMBER 2017VOLUME 44NUMBER 9

Hello to all. Many deci-sions were made at our August meeting of

the WWF Board of Directors in Stevens Point. The WWF will be hosting a shooting range Semi-nar on March 24th in Southern Wisconsin. I will have more in-formation on this seminar in the coming months. Various WWF committees reviewed many bills that are now before the Wiscon-sin legislature. The Shooting Range Committee, the Wildlife committee, and the Environ-ment Committee had the larg-est number of bills to review and decide on a course of action. As usual some bills were good for conservation and some harmed conservation. Look for George Meyer’s legislative update for more information on these bills. The Board also decided to cancel

the October tour of the Central Sands area to get information on the water issues bedeviling the region. We are concerned about these water issues, but we just have too much on our plates right now to take time out for this tour.

I hope everyone is having great success selling calendars. We need to make the goal of sell-ing 9000 calendars to support all the great educational and legis-lative work the WWF is doing. So sell, sell, sell calendars.

Hunting season kicks off in September. I have been baiting for bear and the signs are look-ing real good. I have been run-ning my lab in trials and she got her Title. Both my wife and I are very proud of our dog. When she got her title, it was as big of a moment as having one of the

grandkids graduate from school. And to everyone who is going hunting in Wisconsin for what-ever species you like to hunt, have a safe and enjoyable hunt.

In Closing, I would to say a big thank you to all WWF mem-bers for all you do to make the WWF the biggest and best club in Wisconsin.

Bill Tollard,President

President’s ReportSeptember 2017

MADISON – Thirteen private shooting ranges in southern

Wisconsin are offering public-access hours under terms of public grants the Wisconsin De-partment of Natural Resources recently awarded to fund facility improvements.

The Shooting Range Grant Program allows ranges to apply for federal funds generated by excise tax and various firearm and hunting equipment and to use these funds for range-relat-ed projects, according to John Motoviloff, DNR shooting sports specialist. Successful applicants are eligible to have a percentage of their costs reimbursed--up to 50 percent for private ranges and up to 75 percent for public ranges.

Motoviloff said the ranges re-ceiving grants, worth a total of $340,000, are:

Izaak Walton League of Fond du Lac; North Bristol Sports-men’s Club; Sauk Prairie Trap and Skeet; Wisconsin Trapshoot-ers Association; Iola Conserva-tion Club; Cassville Conservation Club; Door County Rod & Gun; Wausau Rod & Gun Club; Wern Valley; Osceola Rod & Gun; Brill Area Sportsmen’s Club; Fishbowl United Sportsmen’s Club; and, Hudson Rod & Gun.

“This opens up shooting ac-cess for those living in the southeast counties.” Motoviloff said, “That is where Wisconsin is most densely populated, but has limited public opportunities.”

Publicly owned ranges may apply for these grants on an annual basis. Privately owned ranges may apply every two

years, with Sept. 15, 2018 being the next deadline.

Here are the ways the ranges plan to use the funds:

• Izaak Walton League of Fond du Lac: build an indoor range

• North Bristol Sports-men’s Club: replace trap hous-es and build a storage facility

• Sauk Prairie Trap and Skeet: build shooting shelters and install additional trap ma-chines

• Wisconsin Trap Shoot-ers Association: install out-door lighting that will extend shooting hours

• Iola Conservation Club: install new safety fencing

• Cassville Conservation Club: install new Wobble Trap machines

• Door County Rod & Gun: make facilities weatherproof and handicapped-accessible

• Wausau Rod and Gun Club: replace old trap houses

• Wern Valley: install addi-tional new trap machines

• Osceola Rod and Gun Club: install a voice-activated trap machine and build shooting shelters

• Hudson Rod, Gun, & Ar-chery: replace trap machines, rebuild shooting structures and increase electrical capacity

• Brill Area Sportsmen’s Club: build berms

• Fishbowl United Sports-men’s Club: build a roof over the 100-yard range

To learn about other public shooting opportunities in Wis-consin, visit the DNR website at dnr.wi.gov and search “Shooting Ranges.”

Public Shooting Opportunities Coming to Private Ranges in

Southern Wisconsin

CLC Alumni hired at Communications and Program

Specialist for Green Schools Network

Wisconsin Green Schools Network (WGSN) would like

to welcome Emma Keese, Com-munications and Program Spe-cialist who will be supporting Project WILD, Project WET, EEK! Environmental Education for Kids (EEKwi.org), and EEin-Wisconsin.org along with other programming.

Emma comes to us from the City of Tacoma where she worked to promote sustainable behavior change as a sustain-ability specialist. Emma also has experience in GIS, EE in nature centers, social media manage-ment, and policy development. She is looking forward to work-ing with WGSN and teachers to support environmental educa-tion in Wisconsin. A Seattle na-tive, Emma first moved to Wis-consin to attend Beloit College, where she received her BA in Environmental Studies and Bi-ology. She is excited to be back in Wisconsin. She enjoys spend-ing time outdoors whether she is biking, hiking or swimming and is looking forward to seeing the beautiful Midwest fall colors once again.

WGSN has been working with DPI, DNR, and Wiscon-sin Environmental Education Foundation to create a long-term solution to manage these Wisconsin-based environmental education initiatives:

• Project WET and Proj-ect WILD: If you are interested in attending or hosting a work-

shop, or becoming a facilitator, please complete this form. If you are hosting a workshop, be sure to add it to the statewide events calendar! If you are a trained Project WET or Project WILD fa-cilitator who has not received an email about this transition and are interested in being a part of the Wisconsin network, please email Emma.

• EEK! Environmental Education for Kids: EEK is an incredible resource for in-termediate and middle school students to learn about Wiscon-sin’s environment. Through sup-port from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, we will be adding a Great Lakes Educa-tion Portal to this site.

• EEinWisconsin.org: We are excited to continue to sup-port this online community for environmental education where formal and non-formal educa-tors alike can share resoures and connect across the state.

Send any questions or com-ments to Emma at the following emails: emma@wigreenschools.org

WISCONSERVATION September 20172

WISCONSIN WILDLIFE FEDERATION COMMITTEE CHAIRSCOMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON PHONE EMAILAnnual Meeting Dave Verhage 715-344-3497 daviddebiv@charter.netAwards Lil Pipping 920-876-4312 lpipping@wi.rr.comBanquet Janet McLaughlin 262-252-4810Bylaws Betty Borchert 920-688-3122 geo44@charter.netCalendar Bill Tollard 920-379-3429 bill@adashunjones.comConservation Leadership Corps Lil Pipping 920-876-4312 lpipping@wi.rr.comDog Andy Lewandowski 262-527-1988 hcinc53150@aol.comEducation Jim Huhn 920-718-2378 huhn2@me.comEndangered Resources Larry Laehn 920-540-9927 lalwisc@gmail.comEnvironment Tom Johnson 859-285-8978 tdjohn1@mac.comForestry and Parks Jerry Knuth 715-344-0017 knuth0628@sbcglobal.netGreat Lakes Keith Pamperin 920-494-3990 kjpamperin@aol.comInland Fisheries Gordy Merz 262-695-0060 fishb8s@aol.comMembership Kevyn Quamme 608-209-3842Nominating Jerry Knuth 715-344-0017 knuth0628@sbcglobal.netScholarship Betty Borchert 920-688-3122 geo44@charter.netShooting Range Bill Tollard 920-379-3429 bill@adashunjones.comWaterfowl John Wetzel 608-526-4238 john769@centurytel.netWildlife Kevin Marquette Wisconservation Jim Swanson 715-232-8266 wisconservationed@wwt.net

OFFICE PHONE:800-897-4161 - Toll Free

WEB PAGE ADDRESS:www.wiwf.org

OFFICEADDRESS:

213 N. Main St., Ste. 100 PO Box 460

Poynette, WI 53955

WisconservationWISCONSERVATION (USPS 108-190 ISSN 0164-3649) is published monthly for $25 per year by Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, 213 North Main Street, Suite 100, PO Box 460, Poynette, WI 53955. Periodical postage paid at Poynette, WI and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: WISCONSERVATION, PO Box 460, Poynette, WI 53955. All communications regarding advertising, editorial, circulation and Wisconsin Wildlife Federation matters should be sent to PO Box 460, Poynette, WI 53955. Permission to reprint articles is normally given providing proper credit is given both publication and author. Views expressed by freelance writers are their own and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or the WWF.

$25.00 of annual dues paid to Wisconsin Wildlife Federation entitles members to one year’s subscription to Wisconservation. One year’s subscription to non-members—$25.00.

Printed by Ripon Printers, 656 S. Douglas St., Ripon, WI 54971.

WISCONSERVATION EDITORJim Swanson

Phone: (715) 232-8266wisconservationed@wwt.net

ASSOCIATE EDITORRalph Fritsch

(715) 850-2456

* * * OFFICERS * * *

President Bill Tollard, 4630 Friedrich Ave., Omro, WI 54963, (920) 379-3429. Email: bill@adashunjones.com

First Vice President Gary Dieck, E2326 Crandall, Wonewoc, WI 53968, (608) 464-3290. Email: gdieck@centurytel.net

Second Vice President Craig Challoner, 3880 2nd Street Road, Omro, WI 54963. Email: craig.challoner@gmail.com

Secretary Connie Kadubek, N10961 State Hwy 17, Gleason, WI 54435, (715) 360-3903. Email: noisycreek71@gmail.com

Treasurer Dave Verhage, 1111 Chadwick Ct., Plover, WI 54467, (715) 344-3497. Email: daviddebiv@charter.net

DISTRICT 7Dave Chingway, Watertown, WI, (920) 261-0379.Kevyn Quamme, Sun Prairie, WI, (608) 209-3842.Mike Meyer, Watertown, WI, (920) 342-9439.

DISTRICT 8Greg Kronschnabel, Dousman, WI, (262) 965-3057.Don Camplin, North Prairie, WI, (262) 392-4183.Steve Brasch, Dousman, WI, (262) 392-4196.

DISTRICT 9Rick Lazarczyk, West Allis, WI, (414) 321-5750.Gordon Merz, Pewaukee, WI, (262) 695-0060.Tracy Czechan, Pewaukee, WI, (262) 442-2583.

DISTRICT 10Gary Dieck, Wonewoc, WI, (608) 415-9417.Jeff Johnson, North Freedom, WI, (608) 434-3896.Tom Hauge

DISTRICT 11Norb Moes, Green Bay, WI, (920) 434-1999.Keith Pamperin, Green Bay, WI, (920) 494-3990.Elmer Schill, DePere, WI, (920) 336-8117.

DISTRICT 12Bob Ellingson, Lakewood, WI, (715) 276-7129.Mike “Oscar” Stueck, Crivitz, WI, (920) 323-9230.Thomas Johnston, Niagara, WI, (859) 285-8978.

N.W.F. REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVEJason Dinsmore, 199 Kristin Drive NW, Rochester, MN 55901. Office: (507) 206-3732. Cell: (517) 204-8962. Email: dinsmorej@nwf.org.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORSJim Huhn, Watertown, WI, 920-918-2378Roxanne Taylor, Plymouth, WI, 920-889-0084Bill Tollard, Omro, WI, 920-379-3429Andy Lewandowski, Muskego, WI, 262-679-1057Carolyn Brown, Milton, WI, 608-247-2514Richard Baudhuin, Sturgeon Bay, WI, 920-743-2581Connie Kadubek, Gleason, WI, 715-360-3903Chris Leighty, Cottage Grove, WI, 608-206-3770Matt Lallemont, Tomahawk, WI, 715-218-5628Justin Mueller, Kewaunee, WI (CLC), 920-255-4221Mark Kakatsch, Oconomowoc, WI, 414-688-8936Jeffery Williams, DeForest, WI (TWS), 608-630-5365Robert Zimmermann, Watertown, WI, 920-261-0416Alexis K Allworden, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, 715-451-1353Maegan Loka, Tomahawk, WI, 715-612-0019Sawyer Boldt, Sheboygan Falls, WI, 920-917-0546

HONORARY DIRECTORSArt JorgensonCatherine Koss, Land O’ Lakes, WIVern ManglessJim Mense, Menomonie, WIRay RheinschmidtJ. L. SchneiderBetty Schneider-Borchert, Oshkosh, WI, 608-688-3122Art Seidel, Brookfield, WI, 262-781-5469Al Kube, Cochrane, WI, 608-626-3531Joe Zanter, Sparta, WIBucky Kilishek, Menasha, WI, 920-734-8774Martha Kilishek, Menasha, WIMary Cassidy, Plainfield, WIKen Zettlemeier, Waukesha, WI, 262-547-2802Norm Moes, Green Bay, WI, 920-660-0029Dan Gries, Menasha, WI, 920-725-4092

HONORARY VICE PRESIDENTSJoseph A. Gruber, Campbellsport, WIDr. Dan Trainer, UW-Stevens PointLes Voigt

PAST PRESIDENTSGeorge Borchert, Oshkosh, WI, 920-539-7790John Wagner, Oconomowoc, WI, 262-490-7213Chuck Matyska, Cecil, WI, 715-745-6382Jack Nissen, Dousman, WI, 262-370-8154Lil Pipping, Elkhart Lake, WI, 920-876-4312Corky Meyer, Kewaskum, WI, 262-692-6054Jerry Knuth, Plover, WI, 715-340-5414James Weishan, Cambria, WI, 608-429-4610Martha Kilishek, Menasha, WIRussell Hitz, Wheeler, WI, 715-632-2143Jim Baldock, West Bend, WI, 262-335-3946Ralph Fritsch, Townsend, WI, 715-850-2456Robert Miller, Sparta, WI, 608-269-6215Doug Olson, Viroqua, WIDoug Johnson, Hartford, WIJames Wareing, Sussex, WILeo RoetheBill BuckleyDick HempBob LachmundJerry LaudonRon PiskulaHarold SpencerLes Woerpel

STATE AFFILIATESDIRECTORS/REPRESENTATIVES

American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog AssociationJon Freis, Maribel, WI, 920-776-1272

Challenge The Outdoors, Inc.Larry Laehn, Milton, WI, 920-540-9927

Izaak Walton League, Bill Cook ChapterRonald Macdonald, Stevens Point, WI, 715-344-0054

Sturgeon for Tomorrow, North ChapterWayne Hoelzel, Menasha, WI, 920-725-1206

Trout Unlimited, Aldo Leopold ChapterScott Allen, Reedsburg, WI, 608-524-1753

Trout Unlimited, Green Bay ChapterPaul Kruse, Green Bay, WI, 920-494-4220

Walleyes for Tomorrow, Inc.Michael Arrowood, Oakfield, WI, 920-922-0905

WI Association of Field Trial ClubsBilly Ploucher, Appleton, WI, 920-257-4816

WI Association of Sporting Dog ClubsPat Quaintance, 715-779-5104

WI Association of Beagle ClubsPhil Secker, Germantown, WI, 262-253-3602

WI Coon Hunters AssociationDennis Roehrborn, Plymouth, WI, 920-467-3845

WI Council of Sportfishing OrganizationsJohn Durben, Cecil, WI, 715-745-2248

WI Deer Hunters AssociationMark Toso, Roberts, WI, 715-781-4887

WI Deer Hunters Inc.Dennis Hoffman, Neshkoro, WI, 920-293-4098

WI Federation of Great Lake Sport Fishing ClubsMark Hasenberg, Kenosha, WI, 262-652-9503

WI Hunter Ed Instructor AssociationNorb Moes, Green Bay, WI, 920-434-1999

WI Muzzleloaders AssociationCarolyn Brown, Milton, WI, 608-868-2514

WI Sharp Tailed Grouse SocietyJim Evrard, Grantsburg, WI, 715-463-2446

WI Taxidermist AssociationBucky/Martha Kilishek, Menasha, WI, 920-734-8774

WI Trappers AssociationScott McAuley, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, 608-354-2725

WI Woodland Owners AssociationTom Jacobs, Crivitz, WI, 715-856-6340

Wild Ones Natural Landscapers LTD.Donna VanBuecken, Neenah, WI, 920-730-3981

Wings Over WIBurt Bushke, Mayville, WI, 920-387-5198

WI Chapter American Fisheries SocietyThomas Slawski, New Berlin, WI

WI Division – Izaak Walton League of AmericaGeorge Guyant, Amherst Junction, WI, 715-824-4205

WI Trapshooting AssociationBruce Stitely, Tomahawk, WI, 715-453-5271

WI Waterfowl AssociationBruce Urben, Pulaski, WI, 920-660-2773

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DISTRICT 1Ken Lundberg, Lake Nebagamon, WI, (715) 374-3404.Pat Quaintance, Bayfield, WI, (715) 779-5104.Alex Mertig, Mason, WI, (715) 413-0213.

DISTRICT 2Laurie Groskopf, Tomahawk, WI, (715) 453-6301.Walt Camp, St. Germain, WI, (715) 891-2156.Nick Schertz, Tomahawk, WI, (715) 966-6116.

DISTRICT 3Jim Swanson, Menomonie, WI, (715) 232-8266.Dean Borofka, Rice Lake, WI, (715) 234-6303.Scott Humrickhouse

DISTRICT 4Delbert Dietzler, Rudolph, WI, (715) 421-2591.Dave Verhage, Plover, WI, (715) 344-3497.Paul M. Chandler, Amherst, WI, (715) 824-2161.

DISTRICT 5Kevin Marquette, Shawano, WI, (715) 851-4175.Carl Gierke, Shiocton, WI, (920) 986-3272.Craig Challoner, Omro, WI.

DISTRICT 6John Wetzel, Holmen, WI, (608) 526-4238.Andy Chikowski, Taylor, WI, (715) 538-3392.Michelle Graff, LaCrosse, WI, (608) 791-9204.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / LEGISLATIONGeorge Meyer, 201 Randolph Dr., Madison, WI 53717, (608) 516-5545. Email: georgemeyer@ tds.net

BUSINESS MANAGERRuth Ann Lee, PO Box 460, Poynette, WI 53955, (608) 635-0600. Email: ruthann@wiwf.org

Lil Pipping 920-876-4312Janet McLaughlin 262-252-4810Betty Borchert 920-688-3122Bill Tollard 920-379-3429Lil Pipping 920-876-4312Andy Lewandowski 262-527-1988Jim Huhn 920-718-2378Larry Laehn 920-540-9927Tom Johnson 859-285-8978Jerry Knuth 715-344-0017Keith Pamperin 920-494-3990Gordy Merz 262-695-0060Kevyn Quamme 608-209-3842Jerry Knuth 715-344-0017Betty Borchert 920-688-3122Bill Tollard 920-379-3429

WISCONSERVATION September 20173

NEWS RELEASE Contact: 800-897-4161

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Art Contest An Art Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is held each year to select a painting for its Annual Print Program. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation’s Print Program has been quite successful; with some prints being sold out.

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors has chosen the topic of “Landscapes of Wisconsin” as the theme for the

Annual Print of 2018 The Art Committee will screen the entries and invite up to ten artists to display their works at the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation’s Annual Meeting. A vote of the delegates and the officers of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation attending the Annual Meeting at the Mead Hotel in Wisconsin Rapids, WI during the weekend of April 21, 2018 will select the winning painting. Note: The WWF Board of Directors at their June 2017 meeting discussed this theme and would like it to include recognizable state natural landscapes or public lands in the image.

Contest Rules 1. Anyone, amateur or professional may enter. 2. The winning artist keeps the original and 10% of the run prints. All prints are to be

signed and numbered by the artist. This will be a limited edition of 300-350 prints (TBD). 3. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation receives exclusive reproduction rights. To include

but not limited to prints, collectable plates, mugs or other appropriate merchandise. Any means of reproduction from someone other than the WWF needs approval and written permission directly from the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

4. Image size of original work must be horizontal or vertical. Artwork size must be suitable for reproduction. WWF has the right to change the final reproduction size.

5. A colored photo (snapshot size) of the original work and entry form (on reverse side) must be in the hands of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation on or before March 1st, 2018. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Art Committee has the right to reject any or all entries.

6. All photos become the property of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. 7. Contestants may enter more than one entry, but no more than three. 8. WWF will contact contestants via email to notify them if they are selected to enter the

contest and showcase their artwork on April 21, 2018 at Hotel Mead in WI Rapids.

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation ART CONTEST ENTRY FORM

By entering my original work in the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation art contest I authorize The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation to reproduce this artwork, if it is the winning entry, as the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation’s 2018 Annual Print, and in any other fashion it may deem appropriate. Title of Art_________________________________________________________

Size ______________________________________________________________

Name of Artist _____________________________________________________

Street _____________________________________________________________

City ______________________________________________________________

State __________ Zip ________________

Daytime Phone ____________________________________________________

Email _____________________________________________________________

Please send photos and form to: Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Attn: Art Committee PO Box 460 Poynette, WI 53955 For further information please contact us at: 608-635-0600 or 800-897-4161 Email: ruthann@wiwf.org Web: www.wiwf.org * Please duplicate this form as necessary. By signing this Entry Form, you are agreeing to all terms and contest rules listed on the previous page. Signature

2017 Calendar DonorsPlatinumBill Tollard Omro, WILake Superior Bluetick Kennel Bayfield, WIFallin Fowl Outfitters Fredonia, WI

GoldHergert Sport-Ski Marine Oshkosh, WIMathews Bow Sparta, WINicky Boy Charter Fishing Service Port Washington, WI Becoming an Outdoor Woman Stevens Point, WI

Silver Andre VirdenJust 1 More Sport Fishing Spot Oshkosh, WIMark Wiechman

Bronze Sheboygan County Conservation Assoc. Sheboygan Falls, WITri-County Sportswomen Elkhart Lake, WI Jon’s Sport Shop Oshkosh, WI Hotel Mead Wisconsin Rapids, WI Jim Swanson Menomonie, WI Lil Pipping Elkhart Lake, WI

Please remember to get your ticket stubs and monies back to the office as soon as you

have them. Also if you need more cal-endars contact Ruth Ann and she will get them to you. In the 2017 calendar there is also a form to fill out to order one. Our new website also carries the form. Check it out. WiWF.org

Remember that the first of April we will be giving away a Cam Am Outlander 450 4-wheeler or $4,000

From the Calendar Chaircash. A good seller along with 10 guns every month and $1,000 the first of every month other than April. Many other prizes included in the calendar. Chance to win every day.

See if you can get a new seller for your area. Bait Shops, Beauty Sa-lons, Taverns and Sport shops. They make great gifts for the land owner that you might use their land or for anyone.

Buy Your 2018 WWF CALENDAR at These Businesses

Phil Mersberger - OostburgJohnsonville Rod & Gun Club (Dave Taylor) - PlymouthPlymouth-Rhine Rod & Gun - PlymouthHermitage Club/Crystal Lake Sportsmen Club - PlymouthFarmers & Sportsmen Conservation Club - SheboyganBetween the Lakes Muskies, Inc - Sheboygan Suscha Fale Sportsmen Club - SheboyganKoenig’s Conservation Club - Sheboygan FallsSmerke’s Sportsmen Club - Sheboygan Falls Adell Sportsman’s Club - AdellDebbie Sippel - St. CloudDorothy Behr - PlymouthKiel Bait Shop - KielParnell Tavern (Andy & Amy) - ParnellTerry’s Bait Bucket - Hwy J & 57, PlymouthLil Pipping - Elkhart LakeJanet Fischer - Jackson

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federa-tion is proud to be a sponsor for Wisconsin Association for En-

vironmental Education’s (WAEE), 2017 Fall Conference, an annual gathering of educators, natural resource profession-als and stakeholders who are dedicated to sharing and celebrating significant in-novations and advancements in the field of environmental education.

WAEE’s mission to support environ-mental education aligns well with Wis-consin Wildlife Federation’s mission to conserve Wisconsin’s wildlife, natural resources and outdoor sporting heritage through conservation education and ad-vocating for strong conservation policies on state and national levels.

The conference will take place from Thursday, Oct. 19 to Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 in Mequon, WI and will include

strands on community engagement; best practices in environmental educa-tion; diversity, equity and inclusion; and early childhood education. The keynote speaker, James Edward Mills, author of “The Adventure Gap,” has documented the first-ever African-American summit attempt on Alaska’s Mount Denali and will share local insights from Wisconsin.

For more information on the confer-ence, including workshop sessions, field trips, and exhibitor information, visit WAEE’s conference website.

By collaborating with WAEE, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation broadens their conservation education reach and better ensures that this generation and the next generation of diverse youth and young adults appreciate Wisconsin’s wildlife, natural resources, and outdoor sporting heritage.

WWF Sponsors WAEE Fall Conference

TELL PEOPLE YOU

READ IT IN

WISCONSERVATION

W.W.F.Grouse

Ol’ Ruff

… Don Balke, Thiensville1973

WISCONSERVATION September 20174

Glenn Watkins | July 27, 2017

New Attack on Clean Water & Democratic Processes

Photo by Dmitry Azovtsev

Photo by Sue Cullumber

Common loon family. Photo by Joyce Kleven

At the same time, the EPA Admin-istrator Pruitt is traveling around the country meeting with industry advocates and agri-businesses about rolling back the Clean Water Act. So far, these meet-ings have excluded everyone else – hunt-ers, anglers, vulnerable communities – anyone who might care about strong clean water standards.

The proposed repeal of the Clean Wa-ter Rule could have ramifications for the drinking water for 1 in 3 Americans, 60% of our nation’s stream miles, and mil-lions of acres of wetlands that provide essential fish and wildlife habitat. The habitats protected by the rule support America’s nearly $900 billion outdoor recreation economy. The public deserves a say in how our waters are – or are not – protected.

Everyone wants clean water for drinking, fishing, and swim-ming. People also deserve a say

in their government’s actions. Right now though, threats are brewing for both our clean water and the integrity of our dem-ocratic processes.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has already begun a plan to repeal and roll back our clean water safeguards, threat-ening drinking water supplies for more than 117 million Americans. A bad provi-sion in the House spending bill is making it easier for him to get away with this by changing the law and cutting the public out of the process entirely.

Speak out to defend clean water protections

A critical part of our democratic pro-cess is the legal requirement that fed-eral agencies make decisions through an open, transparent process with public in-put and accountability. This ensures that federal rules are informed by science, facts, the public’s interest, and the law.

The rider in the House spending pack-age will allow Scott Pruitt to disregard the law and ignore public input as the

Administration attempts to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule. This will con-siderably ease the repeal effort because the public support for clean water is so strong. When the Clean Water Rule was developed, 87% of the 1 million public comments were supportive of the rule.

This rider also sets a dangerous prec-edent for future rulemakings of any kind. If agencies are allowed to make unac-countable, backroom decisions on impor-tant matters like public health, worker safety, climate change and other matters with only lobbyists whispering in their ears, it undermines our democratic pro-cess, our laws, and puts us all at risk.

MADISON – For the first time in half a century, the unique clicking call of the

Blanchard’s cricket frog has been docu-mented in the marshes of Trempealeau County.

In June 2017, Department of Natural Resources conservation biologist Andrew Badje confirmed that what Wisconsin Frog and Toad Volunteer John Collison heard in Trempealeau County was in-deed Blanchard’s cricket frogs making their characteristic call. The call sounds like two ball bearings clicking together at increasing speed and was last report-ed in 1965.

While Blanchard’s cricket frogs were historically abundant in south-ern Wisconsin in the early 1900s, they have always been rare in the northern edge of their range including in Buf-falo, La Crosse, and Trempealeau coun-ties. In those counties and statewide, Blanchard’s cricket frog populations took a precipitous decline somewhere be-tween the 1950s-1980s, and were found only in a handful of sites in southwest Wisconsin by the early 1990s. Explana-tions for the dramatic decrease include harsh winters, environmental pollutants, and habitat losses. The frog was added to the state endangered species list in 1982.

The frogs were also confirmed in Buf-falo County in June, the first documented occurrence in that county in more than 35 years. And earlier this month, Badje documented a Blanchard’s cricket frog population in La Crosse County, nearly 30 years after it was last documented.

“For frog-lovers, these are very wel-come discoveries,” says Badje, who works for the DNR Natural Heritage Conserva-tion program.

“They also show how important vol-unteer involvement in the Wisconsin Frog and Toad survey is to helping DNR detect population trends over time for frogs and to document the possible re-oc-currence of species like the Blanchard’s cricket frog 30-plus years later.”

The Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey is the longest running amphibian moni-toring project in North America and re-lies largely on volunteers to collect data on the abundance, distribution and popu-lation trends of Wisconsin frogs. The sur-

After a 50-year Absence, Endangered Frogs Call Again in Trempealeau County

Volunteer’s discovery of Blanchard’s cricket frogs confirmed

vey marked its 35th anniversary in 2016 and was described in this Wisconsin Nat-ural Resources magazine article along with a summary of frog trends over time.

“We really rely on citizen scientists to not only help monitor our frog popu-lations but to also provide rare species reports and other natural history obser-vations,” says Rori Paloski, a DNR con-servation biologist who leads the reptile and amphibian team for DNR’s Natural Heritage Conservation program.

Badje says it is still too early to tell if the Trempealeau, La Crosse, and Buf-falo County discoveries are signs the Blanchard’s frogs are making a come-back in Wisconsin. Their re-discovery, however, suggests the frogs may have expanded into those areas from a nearby Minnesota population.

“Continued surveying on Wisconsin routes nearby will continue to tell if the species is expanding its range here,” he says. “They certainly weren’t here back when we completed surveys in the region in 2012, and didn’t show up on the radar here until 2015 on a Wisconsin Frog and Toad survey.”

People interested in helping fund work to monitor Blanchard’s cricket frogs over the long-term now have a new option. The Natural Resources Founda-tion of Wisconsin recently launched the Wisconsin Amphibian and Reptile Con-servation Fund, an endowment fund that provides sustainable support to protect Wisconsin’s frogs, turtles, snakes, liz-ards, and salamanders. Find more infor-mation at WisConservation.org.

Blanchard’s cricket frog.Photo Credit: DNR

Wisconsin has a long sto-ried history as it relates to our Sporting Dog heritage.

Along the way, Wisconsin created a for-mal hound dog training and field trial permit program which was a first of its kind and which has worked well for over a decade. An important element of that program includes dog training and tri-aling at cottontail enclosures. Three of these enclosures are owned by beagle clubs who enrolled in the MFL program 22+ years ago. The 3 Beagle Clubs in-clude the Milwaukee Beagle Club (1933) on HWY 45 near Kewaskum; The Wil-lowa Club (1970) near Platteville and the Central Wisconsin Club (1954) near Kellner, WI. These clubs have used their MFL plans to grow trees and improve wildlife habitat. The tax-deferred nature of the MFL program has provided these clubs with a pay-as-you-go property tax assessment at a reduced rate recognizing their forestry production.

In 2008 MFL rules changed prohib-iting fenced enclosures as part of the MFL program. When the clubs were first enrolled in MFL there was no such re-striction. The Central Wisconsin Beagle Club was made aware of those changes and since their club’s MFL renewal plan was the first of the three clubs’ 25 year contract to expire, it was imperative that they start working on a resolution to allow the clubs to be enrolled in the program. Thanks to the long-term guid-ance of Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and its Executive Director George Mey-

MFL Legislation Saves Beagle Clubser, coupled with insight from the WDNR Forestry Division, there was a concerted effort to detail the need to correct the situation by changing the statute to al-low the 3 clubs to renew in the MFL program with their fences in place. The next step was to get state Legislators involved. Assembly Representative Jeff Mursau and Senator Tom Tiffany’s offic-es helped work through a good amount of legal back-in-forth to get the legisla-tion started. A timing element came into play for the Central Wisconsin Beagle Club and their need to prepare a renewal plan by June 1, 2017. While the legisla-tion was being put together in Madison, the club contracted with Joel Wagenaar of Bird Dog Forestry to begin writing a renewal plan that could move simulta-neously with the legislation. The plan came together with a sit-down meeting at the DNR Service Center in mid-April. The meeting allowed everyone to sort through the next MFL Plan and get to a tentative approval pending action with the legislative process. Representative Scott Krug and Senator Patrick Testin representing Central Wisconsin took the lead in presenting the proposed legisla-tion at legislative committee hearings in April and May. They followed through with executive sessions and the proposed legislation moved to the floor where it re-ceived a unanimous vote from both the Senate and Assembly in early June. It then passed on to the Governor’s office and Governor Walker signed the legisla-tion on August 2nd.

The Forestry Division has now ap-proved the next MFL plan for the Cen-tral Wisconsin Beagle Club. This legis-lation will allow the other two clubs to apply for their MFL renewal when they come due in 2019 and 2020. While this affects only 3 of 10 clubs which make up the WABC, it is important to Wisconsin’s sporting dog heritage that these 3 clubs have that opportunity to continue in the MFL program.

It’s been some 6 years with numerous public meetings, committee meetings

and legislative hearings. Special thanks to George Meyer and the Wisconsin Wild-life Federation in conjunction with the WDNR Forestry Folks for staying with the issue and bringing it to a successful conclusion. It’s a big “WIN-WIN” for all parties involved and we thank everyone who pitched in along the way.

Submitted by Jerry Knuth on behalf of the Wisconsin Association of Beagle

Clubs

WWF Executive Director George Meyer, and WWF Board Members Jerry Knuth, David Verhage along with other dignitaries witness the signing of updated MFL legislation.

WISCONSERVATION September 20175

Assembly Bills

AB28/SB7—Clarifies expiration date of concealed carry permitStatus: Enacted into law Wisconsin Act 5WWF Position: Support, simple clarification of expiration date

AB50/SB22—Strengthens high capacity well pumping lawStatus: In Assembly Environment and Forestry Committee In Senate Natural Resources and Energy CommitteeWWF Position: Support, protects lakes, streams and wetlands

AB61/SB68—Weakens protection against Chronic Wasting DiseaseStatus: Governor signed into Law, Wisconsin Act 41WWF Position: Strongly opposes, a substantial weakening of deer herd protection from CWD

AB63—Exempts utility filling and dredging wetland permits in highway right of waysStatus: In Assembly Energy and Utilities CommitteeWWF Position: WWF opposes due to likelihood of damage to fish and wildlife habitat

AB74—Reinstates 48 hour waiting period for handgun purchaseStatus: In Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose, weakens Second Amendment Rights

AB105/SB76—Removes high capacity well permit renewal requirementStatus: Signed into law, Wisconsin Act 10WWF Position: Oppose, major weakening of stream, lake and wetland protection laws

AB157/SB171—Restores Natural Resources Board Appointment of DNR SecretaryStatus: In Assembly Natural Resources Committee In Senate Natural Resources CommitteeWWF Position: Strongly support to reduce political natural resource decision-making

AB160/SB95—Changes wetland and stream alteration laws governing fish farmsStatus: Signed into law as Wisconsin Act 21WWF Position: Neutral, the aquaculture industry worked with WWF and other groups to minimize adverse impact on streams and wetlands

AB203/SB150—Authorizes special free events for disabled vets to learn to hunt turkeysStatus: Hearing held in Assembly Natural Resources Committee Awaiting hearing in Senate Sporting Heritage Committee WWF Position: Support, special recognition for disabled vets

AB214/SB152—Prohibits filling or destroying lake beds through iron mining activitiesStatus: In Assembly Rural Development and Mining Committee In Senate Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry CommitteeWWF Position: Support, bill is important to protect fish and wildlife habitat

AB230/SB178—Grandfathers fences on MFL lands owned by three beagle training clubsStatus: Signed by Governor, Wisconsin Act 43WWF Position: Strongly supports bill—saves three WWF Beagle Clubs

AB246/SB177—Exempts Drainage Ditches from laws protecting streams and wetlandsStatus: In Assembly Agriculture Committee In Senate Agriculture CommitteeWWF Position: Neutral, bill contains sufficient protection of fish and wildlife habitat

AB247/SB169—Bill substantially reduces regulations regarding possession of weaponsStatus: In Assembly State Affairs Committee Hearing held in Senate Judiciary and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: WWF is a strong supporter of Second Amendment Rights but ob-jects to provisions allowing rifles and crossbows while shining wild animals and objects to firearms in wildlife refuges close to hunting

AB281/SB180—Bill relates to municipal sewer service area under the Great Lakes Compact

Status: Signed by the Governor, Wisconsin Act 38WWF Position: Support, this bill is consistent with WWF position in the City of Waukesha Great Lakes Compact diversion proceeding

AB314/SB247—Bill authorizes hunting from a lift attached to a motor vehicleStatus: Passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee Passed the Senate Sporting Heritage CommitteeWWF Position: Support, provides another safe hunting method

AB323/SB249—Bill transfers the woodchuck from the protected to game species listStatus: Passed the Assembly, Awaiting a Senate voteWWF Position: Support, no biological reason not to harvest, often a nuisance

AB325/SB257—Removes minimum age limit to apply for bear harvest preference pointsStatus: Signed into law, Wisconsin Act 44WWF Position: Supports bill, allows youth to hunt bear when reaching hunting age

AB328/SB225—Establishes uniform season closing for certain hunting and trapping seasons

Status: Passed Senate, Passed Assembly CommitteeWWF Position: Support bill as amended

AB338/SB270—Requires DNR to use $10 million a year for eight years to buy public land owned by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands

Status: In Assembly Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage Committee In Senate Universities and Technical Colleges CommitteeWWF Position: Strongly oppose, uses limited Stewardship funds to buy already public land open to hunting, fishing and trapping

AB346—Requires DNR to continue to publish Natural Resources MagazineStatus: Passed as a motion to the State Budget in Joint Finance CommitteeWWF Position: Support, the magazine is valuable to subscribers and is totally paid for by subscribers

AB347—Restores Funding for 16 Research Scientists to the DNRStatus: Motion defeated in Joint Finance CommitteeWWF Position: Support, the past elimination of these positions significantly weak-ened the necessary science information development for natural resources program

Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Legislative Summary2017-2019 State Legislative Session

August 2017AB374—Strengthens the fencing requirements for deer farms that have CWD

Status: In the Assembly Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage CommitteeWWF Position: Support, this bill is important to protect the wild deer herd

AB388/SB320—Bill allows filling of artificial wetlands that do not have fishery valuesStatus: In the Assembly Environment and Senate Natural Resource CommitteesWWF Position: Neutral; Review shows that bill adequately protects fish and wild-life values

AB411/SB321—Bill substantially weakens warden authority to protect fish and wild-life on private property

Status: Hearing held in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee; In the Senate Natural Resources CommitteeWWF Position: Strongly oppose; seriously weakens protection of fish and wildlife

AB416/SB326—Places surcharge on penalties for the poaching of trophy deerStatus: In Assembly Environment and Senate Sporting Heritage CommitteesWWF Position: Support, increases penalties for poaching deer

AB427/SB340—Directs DNR and Superintendent of Education to develop curriculum for firearm safety courses (not hunter education) for high schools

Status: Hearing held in Assembly Education Committee; In Senate Education CommitteeWWF Position: Support; increases firearm safety and shooting sports

AB428—Provides penalties for failure to report stolen or lost firearmsStatus: In Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose

AB429—Requires someone selling or transferring a firearm to furnish a trigger lock or secure storage container

Status: In Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose

AB430—Requires a trigger lock or secure storage container for all firearms in resi-dences where someone prohibited from possessing firearm resides

Status: In Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose

AB431—Requires a trigger lock or secure storage container for all firearms in resi-dences where children may be present

Status: In Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose

AB441/SB373—Directs DNR to issue 5 sturgeon spearing tags to Sturgeon for Tomor-row for raffle to support sturgeon research and management

Status: In Assembly Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage CommitteeWWF Position: Support, important funding for sturgeon management

AB455/SB362—Removes age limit for hunting mentorship and one firearm requirementStatus: Hearings held in Assembly Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage Committee and Senate Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose unless one firearm requirement remains to provide a true mentorship of young hunters

AB464/SB376—Height of pole traps for bird depredation permits at game preservesStatus: In Assembly Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage and Senate Sport-ing Heritage, Mining and ForestryWWF Position: Neutral, bill drafted to protect raptors

AB461/SB371—Provides that nonresidents with terminal disease pay resident sport-ing fees

Status: In Assembly Committee on Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage In Senate Sporting Heritage, Mining and ForestryWWF Position: Support

AJR69/SJR68—Opposes Back Forty Mine on the Menominee RiverStatus: In the Committee on Rural Development and MiningWWF Position: Oppose, potential damage to excellent fishery

Senate Bills

SB4—Overturns a DNR rule lowering the Lake Michigan Chub QuotaStatus: In Senate Natural Resources and Energy CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose bill because of low chub populations

SB346—Requires specific training requirements for concealed carry permitStatus: In Senate Judiciary and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Neutral, additional information necessary

SB347—Requires general liability insurance for concealed firearmsStatus: In Senate Judiciary and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose, costly and burdensome for average gun owner

SB 348—Requires microstamping of semiautomatic handgunsStatus: In Senate Judiciary and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose

SB349—Requires Attorney General to check “Do Not Fly” list for concealed carry per-mit issuance

Status: In Senate Judiciary and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Neutral, additional information necessary

SB350—Bans possession, transfer, transportation and possession of semiautomatic “as-sault weapons”

Status: In Senate Judiciary and Public Safety CommitteeWWF Position: Oppose

WISCONSERVATION September 20176

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its

annual report on air quality, showing the significant progress the United States has made to improve air quality across the country. “Our Nation’s Air: Status and Trends Through 2016” documents the steady and significant progress made in improving air quality across America, over more than 45 years under the Clean Air Act.

This progress is often overlooked; the Association of Air Pollution Con-trol Agencies has called it “The Great-est Story Seldom Told,” explaining that “Through the Clean Air Act’s framework of cooperative federalism, hard-working state and local air agencies have been responsible for tremendous progress in virtually every measure of air quality.”

EPA’s most recent report highlights that, between 1970 and 2016, the com-bined emissions of six key pollutants dropped by 73 percent, while the U.S. economy grew more than three times. A closer look at more recent progress

shows that between 1990 and 2016, na-tional concentration averages of harmful air pollutants decreased considerably:

• Lead (3-month average) 99%• Carbon monoxide (8-hour) 77%• Sulfur dioxide (1-hour) 85%• Nitrogen dioxide (annual) 56%• Ground-level ozone (8-hour) 22%• Coarse Particulate Matter (24-

hour) 39% and Fine Particulate Matter (24-hour) 44%

“Despite this success, there is more work to be done,” said EPA Administra-tor Scott Pruitt. “Nearly 40 percent of Americans are still living in areas clas-sified as ‘non-attainment’ for failing to achieve national standards. EPA will continue to work with states, tribes, and local air agencies to help more areas of the country come into compliance.”

This year’s update to the report in-cludes new, interactive graphics that enable citizens, policymakers, and stake-holders to view and download detailed information by pollutant, geographic lo-cation, and time period.

Air Quality Continues to Improve, While U.S. Economy Continues to Grow

Laurie Groskopf, WWF Board Member

The DNR has implemented a new, instant email notification for wolf attacks on farm ani-

mals. To sign up, look for the red enve-lope at the very bottom right of the DNR main page and click on this icon. This is the subscription portion of their web site. Enter your email address in the next screen. Next screen, under the first heading, “announcements and news”, is a livestock depredation notification choice. Click the box next to this choice, and submit.

The Farm Bureau advocated for this new instant notification service, and were able gain the cooperation of the DNR. The notifications will include farm depredations by wolf, coyote, and bear. A general location and county is identified.

Getting this information has been advocated for since 2010. In 2012, the Spring Hearings, question #87, asked for equal treatment for all wolf depreda-

tions. This would include instant email notifications, establishment of warning areas, and quick information put out on the DNR wolf depredation general list-ing. The WCC leadership never pursued this initiative, even though it passed 3034 yes, 448 no, and passed in 71 coun-ties.

Brad Koele, the DNR’s depredation manager, was able to get the depreda-tions and harassments updated on the general wolf page, “depredations” tab, in a timely manner starting last May. In-stant email notification and warning ar-eas have been available for hunting dog incidents for years (scroll down to topic wildlife management and look for grey wolf depredation alert), but this is a new listing that allows us to learn about ag-ricultural depredations in a quick man-ner. Unfortunately, it does not establish warning areas, nor does it cover pet dep-redations and threats to human safety.

Thanks to the Farm Bureau for mak-ing this finally happen!

New Instant Email Notificaiton for Wolf Depredations

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s of-fice held a staff led informa-tional meeting in Spooner,

Wisconsin on August 16th regarding the HELP Wildlife Act, SB1514, as it pertains to delisting the Great Lakes Gray Wolves under the Endangered Species Act. This informational meeting was in response to constituents who had reached out to the Senator’s office regarding this bill. Audience attendees included individu-als who have expressed opposition and support for the wolf language in this bill. Invitations were extended to all citizens who had contacted the Senator’s office, however of the 153 audience attendees, the overwhelming majority were there in support of this bill to delist the wolves in the Great Lakes states. All audience attendees were given an opportunity to speak and tell their personal stories. The majority of the personal experiences shared were about wolf depredations of both pets and cattle, and the personal and economic trauma inflicted upon

Informational Meeting held on Great Lakes Gray Wolf Delisting Bill

families in northern Wisconsin. WI DNR staff was present to answer questions from the audience. DNR wildlife biolo-gist, David MacFarland, stated that the WI DNR’s position is the gray wolf is fully recovered in Wisconsin and they should be delisted. He went on to say Wisconsin has already proven they are more than capable of managing their population and the recent court case found no issue with how Wisconsin was managing the wolf population prior to relisting.

Attending and testifying on behalf of the WWF in support of delisting were the following Board Members: Ken Lund-berg (Lake Nebagamon), Pat Quaintance (Bayfield---also testifying on behalf of the Wisconsin Association of Sporting Dogs), Cody Kamrowski (Shell Lake), Matt Lal-lemont (Tomahawk) and George Meyer, WWF Executive Director (Madison).

Matt LallemontAssociate Delegate

Tomahawk, WI

Testimony of the National Wildlife Federation In support of S. 1514, the “Help for Wildlife Act”

The National Wildlife Federation submits this testimony in support of the Hunting Heritage and Envi-

ronmental Legacy Preservation for Wildlife Act, S. 1514, on behalf of our approximately 6 million members and supporters, includ-ing hundreds of thousands of hunters and anglers who are members of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and our state and territorial affiliates.

NWF would like to commend the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for its leadership in the 115th Congress in advancing the conservation in-terests of hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts, and doing so in a truly biparti-san fashion. NWF has supported Congress’ efforts to pass a bill for sportsmen and wom-en for over three Congresses now. All of those efforts have come up short. The Committee is showing leadership by continuing to try to pass a bill for sportsmen, and by taking a bi-partisan approach that is most likely to lead to of actual passage of legislation.

The Committee got off to a strong, bipar-tisan start on sportsmen and conservation policy with the WILD Act, S. 826, an innova-tive and non-controversial conservation bill that quickly passed through the Senate with unanimous consent. The Wild Act offers priz-es for innovations in addressing conserva-tion challenges, addresses invasive species,

and, like HELP, reauthorizes numerous con-servation programs including Partners for Fish and Wildlife and multi-national species programs for elephants and other wildlife.

The Committee has taken a similar ap-proach to S. 1514, the HELP for Wildlife Act. The Committee has put together a package of provisions that advance a variety of con-servation and outdoor recreation interests, that have attracted broad support, and that avoid some of the intractable provisions that have plagued previous sportsmen bills. The HELP Act is written so that it could pass on its own merits. The HELP Act could also serve as a basis for a broader Senate sports-men package when combined with provisions from the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. We encourage this Com-mittee to work with the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to come up with the strongest overall Senate sportsmen and con-servation package.

HELP would reauthorize numerous im-portant conservation programs for 5 years. NWF strongly supports these programs. We advocate for the conservation interests of hunters, anglers, and outdoors enthusiasts, and are pleased to see a healthy dose of con-servation in this sportsmen’s package.

• The Chesapeake Bay Program and Chesapeake Bay Initiative provide funds for a regional partnership coordinating the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed as well as for technical assis-tance focusing on conservation stewardship through the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network. The Chesapeake Bay is the United States’ largest estuary, a source of healthy food and outdoor recreation for millions of Americans that is experiencing an ecological recovery due to these programs after many decades of degradation.

• The North American Wetlands Con-servation Act (NAWCA) provides matching grants to organizations, state/local govern-

ments, and private landowners for the ac-quisition, restoration, and enhancement of wetlands critical to migratory birds. Main-taining wetlands in the face of economic pressures to drain them and convert them to other uses is critical to maintaining water-fowl populations and the huge recreational and economic benefits they bestow.

• The Neotropical Migratory Bird Con-servation Act supports programs that con-serve birds which summer in United States and spend the winter months in the Tropics. Bird migrations are one of the world’s most amazing and accessible wildlife spectacles, and the basis for one of the most popular outdoor activities and economic engines – birdwatching.

• The National Fish and Wildlife Foun-dation funds urgent conservation needs with matching private funds. NFWF provides vi-tal support for restoring wildlife populations and habitats including in large ecosystems like the Delaware Bay.

HELP would also authorize a National Fish Habitat Conservation Act to carry out programs to conserve fish and fish habitat through partnerships that foster fish habitat conservation and enhance fish and wildlife-dependent recreation.

HELP includes the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act,” which amends the Pittman-Robertson Act to allow up to 10% of this important program’s wild-life conservation funding to be redirected to fund the construction and expansion of public target ranges, including ranges on land managed by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The growing popularity of recreational shooting has led to significant increases in P-R funding for state-based wildlife conservation and hunt-er education due to increases in the excise taxes collected on weapons and ammunition. This has also created an increased demand for public shooting ranges. NWF recognizes the need for more public shooting ranges in many parts of the country to meet the de-mand for target practice and for recreational shooting. State wildlife agencies, however, remain in desperate need of more funding for wildlife conservation. NWF is optimistic this shift in funding from wildlife conserva-tion and toward shooting ranges will lead to an even greater amount of funding being re-turned to wildlife conservation as a result of increased spending on shooting equipment.

The HELP for Wildlife Act removes the Great Lakes population of wolves from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by reinstat-ing a Fish and Wildlife Service wolf delisting rule overturned by repeated rounds of litiga-tion. NWF has been a strong supporter of the recovery of the gray wolf under the federal and state Endangered Species Act, but the wolf population in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan has clearly recovered, exceeding their original recovery targets by approxi-mately ten times. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that there are well over 2000 wolves in Minnesota, over 850 in Wis-consin, and over 600 in Michigan. The wolf management plans of the Minnesota, Michi-gan and Wisconsin Departments of Natu-ral Resources have been approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and all three agencies have demonstrated their ability to successfully manage wolves. It is time for wolves in these three states to be returned to management by the state agencies, free-ing the Fish and Wildlife Service to redirect scarce resources to much more highly endan-gered species. Yet the unique listing history

of the gray wolf, and the lack of clarity under the ESA around delisting species, makes it unlikely wolves in the Great Lakes will be removed from the ESA in the foreseeable fu-ture without Congressional intervention. For example, the Fish and Wildlife Service at-tempted to delist wolves in the Great Lakes four times between 2003 and 2011. The con-tinued labelling of this obviously recovered high profile population as threatened and endangered is straining the credibility of the ESA. While there are legitimate unre-solved legal issues raised by the litigation over wolves in the Great Lakes, plaintiffs’ pursuit of injunctions against state manage-ment while pursuing broader legal claims has exacerbated this situation. NWF there-fore accepts congressional intervention in this instance as the most likely way to return this recovered population of wolves to state management.

Wolves in Wyoming have already been re-moved from the ESA in the wake of a recent court ruling upholding the Fish and Wildlife Service’s delisting rule covering Wyoming. The HELP Act shields this ruling from fur-ther judicial review. This provision is no lon-ger needed to return wolves to state manage-ment in Wyoming, but, as in the Great Lakes, it does not prevent wolves in Wyoming from being relisted under the ESA in the future if conditions warrant it.

HELP would exempt lead sport fishing equipment such as lures and weights from regulation under the Toxic Substances Con-trol Act (TSCA). Lead is toxic for wildlife and people, and the state and territorial af-filiates of NWF have passed five resolutions supporting the reduction of lead in shot and tackle. NWF has worked for decades on re-ducing the use of lead-based ammunition and fishing gear, and in our experience the most success has occurred where broad co-alitions of hunters, anglers, conservation-ists, industry, and government agencies come together to develop effective solutions based upon sound science. While we do not believe regulation will be required to move toward greater availability and use of non-lead fishing equipment, we do not think this provision in the HELP Act eliminating the possibility of federal regulation under TSCA is necessary. We are also concerned it could unintentionally undermine the success of voluntary phase out efforts underway.

Finally, one area of vital importance to NWF and our members not addressed in the HELP Act is coastal Louisiana, aptly nicknamed “Sportsmen’s Paradise” for its unparalleled hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing opportunities. But this paradise for sportsmen and sportswomen is disappear-ing, a Vanishing Paradise. Over two thou-sand square miles of coastal Louisiana has disappeared since 1932, an area the size of Delaware. That is one third of the largest expanse of coastal wetlands in the lower 48 states. Without decisive action, another two thousand square miles could disappear in as little as 50 years. We strongly support Loui-siana’s Coastal Master Plan which proposes controlled sediment diversions that will al-low nature to begin rebuilding the delta of the Mississippi River, and we urge the Fed-eral government to work with the state, us-ing the funds flowing from the Deepwater Horizon settlements, to make real restora-tion happen now.

NWF thanks the Committee for its bipar-tisan efforts to pass sportsmen conservation legislation, and for accepting our testimony in support of those efforts.

WISCONSERVATION September 20177

Scott Gordon, WisContext

At the turn of the century, a Ca-nadian company named Nova Group sparked outrage across

the Great Lakes region when it proposed to withdraw millions of gallons water from Lake Superior water and sell it in Asia. In the short term, this led Canada to crack down on freshwater exports. Over the long run, proposals like this and a long-brewing fear of outsiders coveting Great Lakes wa-ter helped to motivate the 2008 ratification of the Great Lakes Compact.

An agreement between eight U.S. states, the Great Lakes Compact regulates access to using the lakes’ water resources, which contain about one-fifth of the surface fresh-water on earth. Only communities within the Great Lakes Basin — the region in which water drains into the lakes ecosys-tem as opposed to other watersheds like the Mississippi River’s — may use these re-sources on a standard basis. Water utilities completely outside the basin must receive multi-state approval via the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council.

As vast areas in North America and around the world grapple with water scar-city, elected officials and business boosters anticipate that resource insecurity will lead more companies to set up shop in the Great Lakes region. One very water-inten-sive business is electronics manufacturing. As Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn touts its plans to build an LCD factory in southeastern Wisconsin, one open question is what demand that operation will place on Lake Michigan.

LCD screens: a thirsty productDavid Hsieh, a Taipei-based analyst and

displays expert with the financial intelli-gence firm IHS Markit, recently noted that such an operation could use as much as 60,000,000 cubic meters of water per day. That volume equals 15,850,200 gallons, which is nearly as much as the entire city of Racine uses in a day.

An LCD, or liquid-crystal display, con-sists of sandwiched layers of glass sub-strate, liquid crystals, and optical filters and reflectors. These layers, Hsieh said, are the key to why fabricating these screens requires so much water. Throughout the manufacturing process, the layers must be cleaned over and over again for the end product to function correctly.

“It needs the purity of the glass surface so that the semiconductor layer can be perfectly exposed onto the panel surface,” Hsieh said in an email. He noted that some of the water used in these processes can be recycled.

Some of these steps in electronics manu-facturing use a highly purified type of wa-ter called ultra-pure water. In the process of converting municipal water supplies into this form, some water cannot be returned to the ecosystem. That means that an LCD fabrication facility like the proposed Fox-conn factory would not be able to cannot return all the water it uses to Lake Michi-gan or other sources, even if it goes through proper wastewater treatment processes. Environmental regulators call this problem “consumptive use.”

The boundaries around Great Lakes water

The Great Lakes Compact sets a variety of conditions on how entities not located within the watershed can access the lakes’ water. How these rules applies to Foxconn will depend very specifically on where its factory complex is located. If plans of a site in Racine or Kenosha counties pan out, three distinct scenarios would trigger dif-ferent rules under the compact: The facil-ity will be entirely within the Great Lakes Basin, in a municipality that straddles the basin border, or in a county that straddles the border but not within a municipality that straddles it.

If a water user is located fully within the Great Lakes Basin, it can access the water with state approval. If the user is in a straddling municipality and creates a new or increased consumptive use of water over a 5 million gallon per day threshold, that would also require regional U.S. gover-nors and Canadian provincial premiers to review the water use and issue non-binding guidance, said Pete Johnson, deputy direc-tor of the Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers. John-son helped draft the Great Lakes Compact, and the conference is the organization in charge of administering its rules.

What Foxconn Means for the Great Lakes CompactManufacturer’s Path To Water Resources Depends On Location

The third scenario is a bit more complex. If the Foxconn factory is built in a munici-pality fully outside the Great Lakes Basin but still in a county that straddles the basin line — say, somewhere in south-central Ra-cine County — that’s considered a “diver-sion” of water outside the basin, and would require the unanimous approval from the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. (The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec have a role in non-binding reviews of water use plans in the Great Lakes, but are not technically parties to the Great Lakes Compact.) This last sce-nario is essentially the process the city of Waukesha went through in its long-fought and ultimately successful bid to tap Lake Michigan. Waukesha was the first city out-side the basin but in a straddling county to seek and receive access to the water under the compact.

Once it’s actually sourcing water from Lake Michigan in 2023, Waukesha plans to use about 8.2 million gallons per day. Foxconn is hoping to have its factory up and running by 2020. The company hasn’t indicated anything about how much wa-ter it would use, but a large-scale factory will require millions of gallons of water a day, not just for employee needs, but more importantly for the water-intensive LCD manufacturing process.

Waukesha spent years just seeking per-mission to access Lake Michigan water, albeit with support from state officials, in-cluding Gov. Scott Walker. Foxconn wants its facility to be operational by 2020. Mean-while, Walker and state legislators want to give the company a pass on broad swaths of state environmental regulations. This aspect of the state’s incentives package for Foxconn wouldn’t exempt the company from complying with federal regulations (some of which the state is tasked with en-forcing through its agencies, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resourc-es) or with the terms of the Great Lakes Compact.

What Wisconsin can and can’t change

Debate over the incentives bill Wiscon-sin legislators and Walker have put for-ward for Foxconn has muddied the waters over how the Great Lakes Compact would apply to the planned factory.

An Aug. 1, 2017 op-ed by state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, a possible 2018 gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin, stated “[t]he bill changes the law related to diversion of water under the Great Lakes Compact.” However, the compact is a agree-ment among eight U.S. states, which means that no single state can unilaterally change its terms. That said, states do have discre-tion as to how they go about complying with the compact in certain situations.

According to an analysis from Wiscon-sin’s non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bu-reau, the incentives bill would loosen the state’s permitting requirements for water access if the facility were located within a straddling community — again, a city, vil-lage or town that is partially in and par-tially out of the Great Lakes Basin.

Foxconn would be exempt from hav-ing to submit to the DNR a “water supply service area plan” that spells out how the facility would go about using water sup-plies and the projected economic and envi-ronmental impacts. This exemption would be a considerable change in how Wisconsin holds up its part of the bargain under the Great Lakes Compact, but does not alter the compact itself. The bill changes noth-ing about what would happen if the factory were in a straddling county without being in a straddling community — because it can’t.

“Our understanding is that as long as it’s not changing the basic terms of the compact, the basic principles, then the state has some leeway as to how it’s im-plemented,” said Paul Ferguson, program director for natural resources at the LFB. However, he added that the Foxconn facil-ity would still have to return as much wa-ter as it uses to the Great Lakes Basin, or close to it. If it operates for a 90-day period in which it uses an average of 5 million gal-lons per day more than it returns, Ferguson said, that would trigger a review from the compact council.

Reached for clarification, a member of Vinehout’s staff referred questions to Fer-guson.

Pete Johnson of Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers would not comment specifically

on the Foxconn deal, but drew a distinction between what an individual state can and cannot do under the Great Lakes Compact.

“The general rule of compacts is that they’re a contract between states and you can’t change the terms of the compact,” he said. “However, when the terms of the compact were passed, each of the states adopted implementing legislation on how the terms of the compact would be imple-mented within each jurisdiction.”

Questions of location and lax regulation

Speculating about where the proposed Foxconn factory complex might end up in relation to the Great Lakes Basin gets messy fast. The basin’s border follows a jag-ged path through southeastern Wisconsin, not neatly aligned with political borders or important pieces of infrastructure like highways and railroads. One area Foxconn may be eyeing in Racine County would put the facility just barely in or out of the basin depending on which specific parcels of land the company buys and builds on.

Foxconn may try to source its water via the city of Racine’s waterworks. This also parallels the experience of Waukesha, which plans to get its water via the Mil-waukee suburb of Oak Creek, rather than tapping directly into Lake Michigan itself.

State and federal environmental regula-tions would treat a private facility like the one Foxconn proposes as a separate water utility unto itself, not simply a customer of a city water utility. In eastern Wisconsin, it’s fairly typical for smaller cities to pur-chase water from bigger ones that already have water intake and treatment infra-structure in place.

Foxconn could also try to draw on groundwater wells in the vicinity of its facility. However, that would be no less controversial, said John Dickert, who pre-viously served as the mayor of Racine and recently became president of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a nonprofit that brings together dozens of U.S. and Canadian communities to advo-cate for protecting the region’s water re-sources. The GLSCI opposed Waukesha’s bid for Lake Michigan water, as did Dickert in his capacity as Racine’s mayor.

Dickert said he’s been hearing the Fox-conn facility would use about 10 million gallons of water per day, lower than the 15.8 million estimated by financial analyst David Hsieh, but still a significant vol-ume and more than Waukesha plans to

draw. Sourcing any amount like that from groundwater would likely put Foxconn at odds with nearby farmers and communi-ties, and contribute to drawdown on nearby lakes, rivers, and streams.

“I don’t think you’d have a lot of people in those areas that would be excited about them pulling 10 million gallons a day out of a high-capacity aquifer,” Dickert said.

Dickert and other opponents of the Waukesha water diversion have said pub-licly that they believe the approval of that city’s bid set a bad precedent for future applications of the Great Lake Compact. Both Dickert and Pete Johnson of the Con-ference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors declined to speculate on how that precedent might play out for Foxconn, because so few details have come out about the project.

What Dickert and his organization do believe, though, is that more companies will try to establish a foothold in the Midwest in order to take advantage of the Great Lakes’ water resources.

“If you’re pulling it out of the lake, you know you have a significant resource that is sustainable,” he said.

Foxconn considered building facilities in Michigan before going with Wisconsin.

Hsieh also said that he anticipates elec-tronics manufacturers will continue to be drawn to the Great Lakes region in the fu-ture.

If this industry clustering does indeed become a major trend, Dickert wants to see state and federal environmental regula-tions upheld, along with Great Lakes Com-pact provisions that govern access to water. He called it “incredibly irresponsible” to carve out special environmental exemp-tions for Foxconn.

In other words, an agreement initially designed to prevent shipping water out of the Great Lakes to places like like Asia might be tested by foreign companies.

“If you do this for Foxconn, the next company that’s going to come in is going to ask for the same thing,” Dickert said.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to clarify the terms of the Great Lake Com-pact.

This report was produced in a part-nership between Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television and the Uni-versity of Wisconsin Cooperative Exten-sion. © Copyright 2017, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

Friends of the Central Sands (FOCS) has reviewed the re-cent lawsuit filed by the Dairy

Business Association against the Wis-consin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Alarmingly, at a time when water pollution from large farms is an increas-ing public health and environmental concern, the lawsuit seeks to significant-ly weaken oversight of concentrated ani-mal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Currently, all CAFOs must receive a Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System, which limits and controls discharge to ground and surface waters. There are currently 296 permitted CAFOs in Wisconsin, according to the DNR’s website.

The lawsuit, if successful, would en-tirely eliminate the requirement to get a permit for CAFOs that say they are not or do not intend to discharge pollu-tion. The lawsuit does not indicate how CAFOs would demonstrate that they are not discharging or would not discharge.

“Permits are the best tool we have to ensure CAFOs are properly designed and are accountable for discharge violations,” said FOCS President Bob Clarke. “These facilities generate millions of gal-lons of waste each year. It’s astonishing that the industry wants to forego having to get permits at all.”

In addition to limiting pollution that CAFOs generate, permits also provide

New DBA Lawsuit Aims to End CAFO Regulation in Wisconsin as We Know It

an opportunity for the public to receive notice of CAFO siting and amounts of manure that are stored on site and land applied. Public notice and participation requirements would be eliminated if permits are not required.

The lawsuit also challenges the DNR’s recent guidance on using “vegetated treatment areas” to store waste and new design requirements for calf hutches.

“As FOCS learned in its challenge to the Richfield Dairy WPDES permit, vegetated treatment areas are designed to infiltrate, meaning waste often ends up in groundwater,” added Bill Vance, Vice President of FOCS. “It’s appropriate for DNR to require a better strategy for handling contaminated runoff.”

The DBA contends the DNR cannot regulate CAFO discharges to groundwater in its calf hutch challenge.State statutes have for years stated that permitted facilities cannot exceed groundwater pollution standards.

Recent data has shown groundwater pollution associated with CAFOs, particularly in areas of the state with karst topography and sandy soils.

“The DBA’s lawsuit would make it significantly harder to prevent groundwater contamination at a time when wells are already being affected by landspread waste,” said Clarke. “It’s re-ally unbelievable.”

WISCONSERVATION September 20178

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Take Note!Art Contest. Page 3

Frog Reappears after 50 Years. Page 4

Legislative Summary. Page 5

Foxconn & the Great Lakes Compact. Page 7

Editor Jim Swanson

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Venison StroganoffIngredients:2 lbs. round steak (cut into small cubes) 1 small can mushroom pieces1 c. sour cream 4 T. butter1 bay leaf 2 tsp. celery saltPepper to taste 2 T. Worcestershire sauce

Cut round steak into small cubes. Roll in flour, salt and pepper and brown in hot butter. Add 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. vinegar and simmer until tender. Add water as necessary to keep from burning. When tender, pour off excess liquid. Add sour cream, bay leaf, salt and pepper, mushrooms, butter, celery salt and Worcestershire sauce.

Cover and simmer until everything is heated through. Don’t boil. Serve over egg noodles.

WWF “Kitchen News”

Balsamic-glazed CarrotsIngredients: 10 carrots (1¼ lb), peeled, quartered lengthwise¼ c. Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing3 T. brown sugar1 T. butter1 T. finely chopped fresh parsley

Cook carrots in boiling water in large saucepan on medium heat 4 to 6 min. or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, cook dressing, sugar and butter in small saucepan on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Drain carrots; return to saucepan. Add sauce, stir. Cook 2 to 3 min. or until carrots are heated through and evenly coated with sauce. Sprinkle with parsley.

Ground Hog and Sweet PotatoesIngredients: 1 ground hog PepperCold water Sweet potatoesSalt Cornbread

Dress the groundhog as quickly as possible, and let soak for several hours in cold salty water. After the meat is cold, trim any excess fat. Parboil for 20 minutes to remove any remaining fat. Drain well. Place in oven at 350° with the sweet potatoes and bake until brown. About one hour.

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