CNOW week of Dec. 13, 2021
This week's notices:
- Oppose AB 676: Arbitrary Administrative Rule Repeal
- Oppose AB 677: Mandating Pheasant Stocking Quotas
- Cosponsor LRB 5204/1: Helping Local Communities Develop Bike Paths and Trails
- Cosponsor LRB 5337/1: Protecting the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico
Oppose AB 676: Arbitrary Administrative Rule Repeal
Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 676, which is before the Assembly Committee on Sporting Heritage on Wednesday.
Administrative rules are central to the implementation of statutes enacted by the Wisconsin Legislature. These rules are typically developed over the course of nearly three years, in close consultation with subject matter experts, government officials, and the public. AB 676 would require that for every new rule that the DNR promulgates related to hunting, fishing, or trapping, they must repeal three existing rules related to hunting, fishing, or trapping. This arbitrary requirement disregards the intensive stakeholder input and vetting that goes into establishing new rules, and the beneficial impact that rules have on the protection of our environment.
Oppose AB 677: Mandating Pheasant Stocking Quotas
Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to oppose AB 677, which is before the Assembly Committee on Sporting Heritage on Wednesday.
To protect the health of all species in our state, we need to listen to conservation experts who make decisions based on best practices in science-based management. This is especially true when it comes to introducing legislation that sets specific stocking quotas for any species. AB 677 would invert the ideal process for policy development by creating an arbitrary, legislature-led pheasant stocking quota. This would undermine the DNR’s capacity to implement adaptable, science-led management approaches to ensure that the entire ecosystem is being maintained.
Cosponsor LRB 5204/1: Helping Local Communities Develop Bike Paths and Trails
Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 5204/1, which is circulating for cosponsorship.
Bike lanes, walking paths, and trails are integral parts of any community’s transportation plan. These transportation options not only increase the health of community members, they also increase overall quality of life. The 2017-2019 biennial budget removed state and local eminent domain rights for bike and pedestrian projects. This hampered municipalities’ ability to build complete bike and pedestrian networks. LRB 5204/1 will restore the ability of state and local governments to use eminent domain to acquire land or interests in land for the purpose of building or extending state recreational trails, bike lanes, or sidewalks.
Cosponsor LRB 5337/1: Protecting the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico
Wisconsin Conservation Voters urges you to support LRB 5337/1, which is circulating for cosponsorship.
Sharing 260 miles of the Mississippi River, Wisconsin is key to limiting the nitrogen and phosphorus runoff that is flowing downstream and contributing to more than 6,000 square miles of an aquatic “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, formally known as the Northern Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone. LRB 5337/1 affirms Wisconsin’s dedication to the Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan, which is a national strategy aimed at reducing and controlling this issue.
Conservation Notices of the Week (CNOW) announces the pro-conservation positions on issues before the senate, assembly and/or governor in the week ahead to state legislators. Others wishing to follow activities in the state legislature also receive CNOW, including legislative staff, conservation voters, and media. All of these issues are tracked on the Vote Tracker. Issues in the CNOW may appear in the Conservation Scorecard.