Republicans on the state Senate’s sporting heritage committee pressed Gov. Tony Evers’ new appointees to the Natural Resources Board on a wide range of issues Tuesday, including their stance on wolf management and who should pay to clean up PFAS pollution.
In October, the GOP-controlled Senate voted to fire four appointees to the board that oversees environmental and wildlife regulations. Lawmakers rejected confirmation of Sharon Adams, Sandra Dee Naas, Dylan Jennings and Jim VandenBrook, knocking them off the board.
Evers blasted the move and immediately appointed four new members. They include former state Department of Natural Resources Deputy Secretary Todd Ambs, former DNR Environmental Loans Section Chief Robin Schmidt, former Democratic state Sen. Patty Schachtner and former Menominee Indian Tribe Chair Doug Cox.
On Tuesday, GOP lawmakers questioned Evers’ new appointees about their positions on management of the state’s wolf and deer populations, and tried to get their positions on who should be responsible for PFAS pollution cleanup costs. They also pressed them about how much public land the state should set aside, and whether the DNR should expedite its review of a proposed pipeline project in northern Wisconsin.
Are wolves affecting the state’s deer population?
Committee chair Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, questioned appointees on whether they felt the deer population was too low in northern Wisconsin and how wolves may affect the deer herd.
Ambs pointed to the recent gun deer season, during which hunters killed nearly 18 percent fewer deer than last year statewide. In northern Wisconsin, hunters bagged around 30 percent fewer deer. The DNR cited less than ideal conditions due to extreme snowfall last winter.
"When you've got a heavy snowfall and cold winter, you're going to have a weaker deer population. You're going to have more predation, and one of those entities that are going to (prey upon them) are wolves certainly," Ambs said. "So it's certainly a piece of it."
Even so, Ambs said a wide variety of factors play a role in the challenges of the northern Wisconsin deer herd. Schmidt agreed.
"When you have severe weather, then you have deer that are more likely to be more easily hunted, so I think there's a combination of factors," Schmidt said.
Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, asked Schachtner who the board should consider when weighing potential harms tied to the state’s wolf population. The board recently approved the DNR’s wolf management plan, which doesn’t set a statewide population goal. The plan is supported by environmental and conservation groups, but farming and hunting groups are staunchly opposed.
Schachtner said board members like lawmakers have to weigh what decision may cause the least amount of harm.
Who should pay to clean up PFAS pollution?
Felzkowski also asked some appointees who should pay for cleaning up PFAS contamination. The question comes as the Senate has passed a GOP bill that would spend $125 million included in the 2023-25 budget to help local governments and landowners address contamination from the forever chemicals.
Ambs said the reality is that the cost will be borne by many.
Source: wpr.org
Photo Credit: wisconsin-farm-bureau
Categories: Wisconsin, Government & Policy, Livestock