WIsconsin League of Conservation Voters - Wetlands at Risk
Contact: Anne Sayers, Program Director, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters
Wisconsin’s Outdoor Heritage in Limbo--
Senators Kedzie, Wanggaard, Galloway and Moulton
Vote to Fill Prized Hunting and Fishing Areas
Madison – Today, SB 368, a bill that impairs habitat prized by Wisconsin’s outdoorsmen, passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee. Senators Kedzie, Wanggaard, Galloway, and Moulton voted to uphold the measure. They also voted against a series of amendments offered by other members of the committee to maintain environmental protections.
Wetlands provide critical habitat for some of Wisconsin’s best game species. SB 368 threatens hunting and fishing traditions, as well as Wisconsin’s tourism economy by:
- No longer requiring a developer to always first look at alternate sites to build before filling in a wetland.
- Removing protections for our most sensitive and important wetlands.
- Allowing developers who want to build in a wetland to do mitigation in a location that is not connected to the watershed.
Seventy-five percent of Wisconsin’s wildlife species depend on wetlands for some portion of their life cycle, including important game species such as deer, bear, ducks, geese, woodcock, pheasant, grouse, walleye, and northern pike.
“No one knows better than a Wisconsin sportsman that our wetlands are not meant to be used as partisan political pawns. The Senators who voted today to jeopardize those recreational lands are going to have a hard time explaining their actions to hunters and fishermen,” said Anne Sayers, Program Director for Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.
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Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to electing conservation leaders, holding decision makers accountable and encouraging lawmakers to champion conservation policies that effectively protect Wisconsin's public health and natural resources.
