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Contact your legislator: help important lake
bills move forward |
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Statewide ban on phosphorus
in lawn fertilizer
(SB 197)
With this legislative session quickly
coming to a close, it is critical to contact Representative Scott Gunderson very soon and urge him to schedule a public
hearing on SB 197 (the phosphorus lawn fertilizer bill) before
the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
In order for this bill to become law,
the Assembly Natural Resources committee must hold a public
hearing. The Committee can then vote to send the bill to the
full Assembly for their consideration.
We encourage all lake
group members and other lake enthusiasts interested in
this common sense, cost effective way to improve water
to call or e-mail Rep Gunderson and their
Representatives. Every contact counts!
Restoring an independent DNR
Secretary (AB 504)
Restoring the independence of the DNR
Secretary is one needed step to ensure natural resource
management decisions are made without undue political
influence. This action is one of three Conservation
Priorities. Assembly Bill 504 would restore appointment
authority of the DNR Secretary to the Natural Resources Board,
effective the date the bill is signed into law.
AB 504 is strongly supported; 46
legislators are co-sponsors, and 132 people testified in
support of this bill at its public hearing.
However, AB 504 is hung up in the
Assembly Organization Committee which schedules bills to be
voted on by the full Assembly. It is critical to contact the
Chair of this Committee, Speaker Mike Huebsch, and urge him to
schedule AB 504 for an Assembly floor vote as soon as
possible. Representative Huebsch can be reached at his
office phones: 608-266-3387 or toll free 888-534-0094 or
e-mail him at Rep.Huebsch@legis.wisconsin.gov
The Wisconsin Association of Lakes
supports the return of appointment authority for the DNR
Secretary to the Natural Resources Board. It is in the best
interest of lakes and all the people who enjoy boating,
fishing, swimming, and living on lakes to have the DNR
Secretary held solely accountable to the needs of the
resource, the mission of the Department, and the guidance of
the Natural Resource Board. Our lakes need effective
leadership over time. Improving Wisconsin natural resources
management means entrusting decisions to professional natural
resource managers. |
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Knocking at the Gates: an AIS
workshop |
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Learn more about the newest invasive
species to be on the alert for, what has been done—and what
still needs to be done— to control these unwanted visitors
by attending the Aquatic Invasive Species workshop set for
February 16, 2008, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown
Milwaukee. Download event brochure.
The all-day Saturday event will
explore aquatic invasive species prevention and management
tools available to fully address the concerns posed by new
invasive species with the potential to gain a foothold in
Wisconsin’s waters.
Cost to attend the Saturday
workshop is $40\person. The fee covers all meals and
workshop materials. Register online at the Wind Lake
Management District website: www.wlmd.org or call 262-514-3238.
Plan to join the conference hosts
at a traditional Wisconsin fish fry at the Rock Bottom Brewery
on the Friday evening preceding the conference. Cost is
$15\person. |
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Natural Resource Board approves new
fishing tournament rules |
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At its January meeting, the
state Natural Resources Board approved rules that will
allow fishing tournaments to grow in Wisconsin while
reducing crowding at boat landings and reducing the
potential that fish die, or invasive species are spread,
in conjunction with the events. The rules would affect
tournaments after Jan. 1, 2009.
In 2003, the Wisconsin legislature
directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to
promulgate rules to establish a program to authorize and
regulate fishing tournaments (Wisconsin 2003 Act 249). The
2003 law was passed in response to growing citizen complaints
about tournaments, including perceived problems with crowding
at boat ramps, concern over fish dying after being caught
during tournaments, and other factors.
The DNR developed the rule
proposals with the input of an advisory group which included
fishing clubs, fishing tournament organizers, the Wisconsin
Conservation Congress, the Wisconsin Association of Lakes, and
other groups.
After four years of work, WAL
feels the Department has developed a reasonable rule that
balances diverse interests and resource needs. Fishing
tournaments bring many visitors to our lakes. WAL feels
tournament rules should:
- Ensure all boaters take steps to
prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species from lake to
lake
- Require notification of local
governments prior to a tournament, as many Towns and Lake
Districts may have passed boating ordinances specific to
their lakes
- Limit the number of boats in a
tournament so that an individual lake's capacity to handle
those boats is not exceeded.
Under the rule approved by the
NRB, all tournament participants are required to follow state
laws and rules aimed at preventing the spread of invasive
species such as Eurasian water-milfoil and zebra mussels and
of a new fish disease, viral hemorrhagic septicemia. In
addition, DNR has the authority to establish additional permit
conditions to prevent the spread of
invasives. |
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| Report questions whether nutrient management
plans will result in clean water practices |
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Six million dollars in new funds was
appropriated to implement polluted runoff rules when the
2007-2009 biennial budget was approved in October. Much
of this money will go to farmers as cost-share payments
to do nutrient management plans, as required by state law.
Some of it will go to University of Wisconsin Extension for
farmer education and outreach. This funding increase approved
by the legislature, represents a first down payment and
commitment towards reducing polluted runoff and improving
our lakes.
But will this emphasis on nutrient
management planning translate into improved water quality? A
new report by the River Alliance of Wisconsin takes a hard
look at how Wisconsin is
investing this limited amount of new funding to address
Wisconsin’s number one water
quality problem, polluted runoff.
Based on interviews with conservation
professionals, researchers and farmers, and findings from
publicly available documents, the report finds serious flaws
in the current system, and recommends improvements, lest this
desperately needed funding goes into paper sitting on a shelf
rather than water quality improvements on the ground.
Problems identified include:
- Variable quality of plans. Completion of a
required plan doesn’t necessarily make it a good
plan.
- Lack of enough built in follow
up with farmers to help implement plans.
- Using the number of completed
plans and acres with plans as the measure of success, rather
than changing farmer practices and measurable water quality
improvement.
Read the full report online at http://www.wisconsinrivers.org/index.php?page=news&mode=view&id=121 |
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Survey shows Wisconsin
citizens support strong Great Lakes
Compact |
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A new
poll conducted by the UW Survey Center finds strong,
widespread public support for passage of the Great Lakes
Compact among Wisconsin
citizens.
- 80% percent of those polled
indicated they wanted Wisconsin to make the
Great Lakes Compact law
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Citizens support the Compact
regardless of political affiliation. Respondents identifying
themselves as Republican, Democrat, or Independent all
support the Compact — 83 percent, 76 percent and 82 percent,
respectively.
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Support for the Compact is
consistent throughout Wisconsin--83% from non-Great Lakes
shore communities and 77% of respondents living in
Great Lakes shore
communities support passage of the Great Lakes
Compact
The
poll also shows the majority of citizens favor strengthening
the Compact with several specific actions.
- 94% of those surveyed said it
was important to require local communities to put in place
water conservation programs before they could increase their
use of Great Lakes
water
- 86% of those polled said
it was important to prevent local communities from changing
their boundaries so they could qualify to take water from
the Great
Lakes
- 86% of those polled said it was
important (“very” or “somewhat”) that Great Lakes water should not be
bottled and sold without more oversight and
regulation
Governors of eight Great Lakes States and two Canadian
provinces signed the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact two
years ago. The Compact would prevent diversion of Great Lakes water by industries and
municipalities, with some limited exceptions. The Compact must
be ratified by the legislatures of each state and by Congress.
Wisconsin remains only state
to fail to introduce legislation
Since the Great Lakes hold 90% of the nation's
freshwater supply, the pressure may increase on Congress to
approve taking water from this region. If Congress does not
ratify the compact by the 2010 census, redistricting may
result in Great Lakes states
losing 10 to 15 congressional seats to states in the South and
West with water shortages.
As leaders from thirsty southwest and
western portions of the United States express interest in
tapping the Great Lakes as a new source of fresh water, there
is a growing sense of urgency to protect Great Lakes resources
for Great Lakes citizens. The Great Lakes already supply
drinking water to 30 million people in Wisconsin, Chicago, Toronto, Buffalo and
elsewhere.
Adopting a Strong Great Lakes Compact is one of three
Conservation Lobby Day Priorities. Read more about
how Great
Lakes water management may affect Wisconsin
Lakes. Consider approaching your lake group about passing
a resolution in support of a strong Compact
and sending
your legislator a personal letter
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| Federal inaction prompts new Wisconsin
investment in ballast water treatment |
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Governor Jim Doyle has
dedicated $6 million to purchase ballast water filtration
systems to strengthen the harbors in Milwaukee, Green Bay
and Superior and protect
the Great Lakes from aquatic
invasive species. The money will be directed into the Harbor
Assistance Grants program and will fund innovative pilot
programs like Onshore Ballast Water Treatment in Milwaukee. Green Bay and Superior
ports will also be eligible for the new funding.
Ships deliver
approximately 8.8 billion gallons of ballast water per year to
Wisconsin’s harbors,
according to the Wisconsin Commercial Ports Association.
Ballast water from oceangoing vessels (called salties) can
dump invasive species—like the zebra and quagga mussels—into
the Great Lakes, causing big problems for regional businesses
and the Great Lakes
ecosystem.
Declines in native
fish populations, increasing amounts of noxious algae, and
recent widespread bird die-offs (see story below) are all
linked to contaminated ballast water discharges. Invasive
species from the Great Lakes often end up being transported
and introduced into Wisconsin’s inland
lakes. More than
180 invasive species have been introduced into the Great
Lakes.
Treating water at one
to three sites is not expected to solve the problem of
incoming invasive species; but it may prompt similar
facilities across the Great
Lakes. Absent Federal legislation taking serious
action, Great Lakes states
are taking matters into their own hands as best they can.
Michigan recently passed a law requiring
ships to clean their ballast before discharging in state
waters, and the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board is
considering adopting a similar rule. The Wisconsin Association
of Lakes is one of 13 Conservation groups that has petitioned
the DNR to establish a discharge permit program for ballast
water. |
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Invasive
species may be contributing to thousands of Great Lakes bird
deaths |
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In a disturbing
pattern that is becoming an annual occurrence and more widespread
across the Great Lakes,
thousands of birds—including loons, bald eagles, ducks and
many other species—are dying. The birds are dying of type
E botulism, which produces a toxin that slowly paralyzes
the birds. When the birds are no longer able to hold their
heads above water, they drown.
A handful of
scientific papers implicate invasive species—zebra mussels,
quagga mussels, and gobies—in the rising death toll of
migrating birds. These three invasive species have altered the
Great Lakes food chain, and
scientists theorize that this new food chain is passing
botulism and other toxins up the predatory chain in higher
concentrations.
The invasive
mussels filter naturally occurring botulism and other toxins
from the water; gobies eat the mussels, and birds are eating
the gobies. This new trend of now annual die-offs is
especially disturbing for species such as the loon, which live
in small numbers and are slow to reproduce. A decline in adult
population would almost certainly spell a decline among loons.
An estimated 3,500 to 8,000 birds died this fall alone.
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Working with you for clean, safe,
healthy lakes |
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The Wisconsin Association of Lakes is the
only statewide organization working exclusively to protect and
enhance the quality of Wisconsin's 15,000 lakes.
We represent citizens like you who care
about Wisconsin's lakes as a natural resource, and who also
recognize the value healthy lakes bring to property values,
tourist economies, and overall quality of life.
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