MADISON, Wis. — Republican legislators pressed three of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the Department of Natural Resources board Wednesday on wolf administration, a sandhill crane hunt and PFAS air pollution prices forward of doable affirmation votes.
The state Senate’s GOP-controlled sporting heritage committee didn’t get numerous onerous solutions from Sharon Adams, Dylan Jennings or Paul Buhr throughout a 90-minute listening to, nevertheless. The trio revealed little about their private stances, maintaining their solutions imprecise.
Such hearings are usually the precursor to a committee vote on whether or not to advocate Senate affirmation. Gubernatorial appointees don’t want affirmation to serve so long as their predecessor vacates the place. But a Senate vote to reject them would end in them dropping their jobs.
All seven members of the DNR board are Evers appointees, giving the governor full management over state environmental and wildlife coverage. The Senate has solely confirmed two of them up to now – Bill Smith, confirmed in 2019, and Marcy West, confirmed in 2020.
Evers appointed Adams to the board in 2021 and Jennings this previous May. Jennings, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, is the primary Native American to serve on the board. Evers re-appointed Buhr in May. He appointed Sandra Dee Naas in 2021 and Jim VandenBrook in May.
Naas and VandenBrook have been invited to Wednesday’s listening to however couldn’t attend. According to the governor’s workplace, Naas had a instructing dedication with the Drummond Area School District, the place she serves as a pure assets and agriculture teacher, and VandenBrook was in a foreign country. That left Adams, Jennings and Buhr to face the committee.
The panel’s chairperson, Sen. Rob Stafsholt, requested every appointee in the event that they believed the DNR’s wolf administration plan ought to set a tough inhabitants restrict and whether or not they imagine folks ought to hunt wolves.
The DNR plans to undergo the board in October a brand new wolf administration plan that erases its present 350-wolf objective and replaces it with a advice to scale back the inhabitants if it reaches 1,200 wolves.
State legislation mandates an annual wolf hunt. But a federal choose positioned wolves again on the endangered species record final yr, prohibiting looking. The new plan would go into impact if wolves are delisted, however the lack of a particular inhabitants objective has left hunters and farmers coping with wolves preying on livestock fuming. Stafsholt, who hails from New Richmond in rural northwestern Wisconsin, has authored a invoice that might require the DNR to set a inhabitants restrict within the plan.
Adams mentioned she wants extra data earlier than deciding whether or not a tough inhabitants objective needs to be a part of the plan. Jennings known as it a “fantastic question,” and he’s going forwards and backwards on it. Buhr mentioned that farmers he has spoken with need fewer than 350 wolves within the state, however the DNR should work out a quantity that’s sustainable. He didn’t elaborate.
Stafsholt grumbled that scientists have studied wolves for 40 years and questioned when folks could have sufficient information to make choices. Jennings countered that science isn’t excellent and is at all times altering.
Stafsholt questioned Jennings on his beliefs about preserving wolves. Chippewa tribes see the wolf as a non secular brother and oppose looking it, going as far as to file a lawsuit in 2021 to attempt to cease the Wisconsin season.
Jennings responded that he doesn’t assume the tribes are unsuitable to defend their beliefs. But he has by no means let his private emotions get in the way in which of working with a broad vary of constituents, Jennings mentioned.
Sen. Mary Felzkowski requested the appointees if the state ought to permit looking of sandhill cranes to stop them from consuming crops. Adams mentioned she didn’t have a solution and research needs to be achieved on whether or not the inhabitants might maintain looking. Jennings mentioned a hunt could possibly be possible if the inhabitants might maintain it, however as a result of sandhill cranes are migratory different states needs to be consulted. Buhr mentioned that it seems the cranes’ numbers have grown a lot {that a} future hunt could possibly be seemingly.
Felzkowski additionally questioned Adams and Buhr on who ought to pay for cleansing up PFAS contamination.
Adams mentioned cleanup needs to be a collective effort combining authorities help and cash from the polluter. Buhr echoed her, saying it needs to be a joint effort. If it’s decided that industrial firms that produce PFAS have hid the well being dangers, they need to be on the hook, he mentioned.
PFAS, quick for per- and polyfluorinated substances, are a broad class of chemical substances utilized in nonstick, water- and grease-resistant merchandise reminiscent of clothes and cookware, in addition to some firefighting foams. The compounds have been linked to a wide range of well being issues, together with liver and immune-system injury and a few cancers.
Multiple Wisconsin municipalities, together with Madison and Marinette, have found the chemical substances of their groundwater. Wisconsin is one in every of 22 states which have sued 3M Co. over PFAS contamination.
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This story has been up to date to right that Naas now teaches for the Drummond Area School District.
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