| The Trickle Becomes a Flood - and the Damage Mounts |
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We have had many serious and heated disagreements with the agency over the years. When asked what our relationship is like with DNR, we often say we vigorously defend them to the public or the legislature in the morning and we sue them in the afternoon. As a sprawling and complex agency with often conflicting responsibilities and enormous political pressures, it's no surprise it does not always act wisely or consistently.
But recent events in Wisconsin are congealing to make the Wisconsin DNR even weaker and more prone to political machinations. The agency's lifeblood is its people, and they are suffering a triple whammy. First there are staffing cuts coming with the new state budget (no different from recent past budgets) that will mean the same work spread across fewer people, or work simply not getting done. Then there's the whirling retirement turnstile: veteran employees with decades of experience and hundreds of years of collective institutional wisdom are fleeing the place to take advantage of the retirement package they'd worked for before it is further eroded.
The third whammy is the most disturbing - the new tone and atmosphere in Wisconsin in which the knowledge and talents of state employees is cheapened and demeaned by notions they are overpaid and underworked "unelected bureaucrats" who stand in the way of the state being "open for business," as if that is the only function of state government.
These events will have profound effects on the state's land, air and water. What are they?
In addition to the usual water policy issues we bring you through Word on the Stream, we want to highlight in the coming months how both budget (staffing) cuts and the cheapening of both DNR's legal and moral authority will result in decisions that will likely mean dirtier water, less public access to land and water, more personal favors done by friends in high government places, and fewer channels for the public's voice in resource decisions.
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Cows & Canoecopia - A (Surprisingly) Popular Combination
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 The River Alliance crew was pleasantly surprised by the popularity of our presentation "Cows and Canoes: What 50K More Cattle Mean for Wisconsin's Rivers and the People That Paddle Them." It was a packed house in the conference room where the panel took place, filling up to standing and sitting-on-the-floor room only. Our panel delivered a lively discussion and audience members were eager to learn more about the impacts that both large and small farms can have on water quality.
Panelists included: farmer Rick Adamski of Full Circle Farm, a managed grazing dairy operation; Sandy Larson of Larson Acres Dairy, a large dairy farm in Evansville; and Gordon Stevenson former Runoff Management Section Chief at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Denny Caneff served as the panel moderator.
And while we would like to take all the credit for such a well-attended session, it was no small coincidence that the panel took place on the very day that over 50 farmers participated in a Tractorcade demonstration at the Capitol to bring attention to the impacts that the governor's budget will have on rural farms and families.
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River Rat Custom ReMix Tshirts
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With dozens of colors and hundreds of design choices, our brand new River Alliance custom river-themed Tshirts let you express your inner River Rat. Created by our friends at Nonsek.com, the Tshirts are part of a growing market for online custom apparel. To our knowledge, these are the only Tshirts of their kind in the nonprofit/conservation world. A portion of the sales of each T shirt goes toward our work to help save rivers. Warning: making these shirts can be addicting! Be prepared to spend some time having fun playing around with your designs. Which One Will You Choose? »
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Local Prof Wins Stockholm Water Prize
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 | | Photo: Jeff Miller |
And in a little bit of good news, we would like to congratulate UW Limnology professor (and River Alliance member!) Steve Carpenter who has been awarded the 2011 Stockholm Water Prize. As noted in the announcement, Professor Carpenter's groundbreaking research has shown how lake ecosystems are affected by the surrounding landscape and by human activities. His findings have formed the basis for concrete solutions on how to manage lakes. While he is a world-renowned ecologist in his own right, he also holds true to the spirit of the "Wisconsin Idea".
Dr. Carpenter has been passionate about how to solve water quality challenges in the Yahara river watershed in his own backyard and a champion of smart management of the highland lakes region of northern Wisconsin. The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute to an individual, organisation or institution for outstanding water-related activities.
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Little Rats Have Big Ears
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After being staked out recently at a big river rat hangout (a place where people who have fun in the water congregate every year, tell stories and buy stuff), Rat heard an earful... it sounds like some organization that takes care of rivers and lakes will merely pretend that's what they do.
Read the Rat »
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