Unreported Changes
Last session, I co-sponsored a bill that would have
given the appointment authority for the DNR Secretary to the DNR board in lieu
of the governor. Also in conjunction with the bill was a complementary bill
balancing representation on the DNR Board.
The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board sets policy for
the Department of Natural Resources and exercises authority and responsibility
in accordance with governing statutory provisions. Currently, the only
requirement for serving on the Natural Resources Board is location.
The board is comprised of seven members that are
nominated by the governor with concurrence by the State Senate. Each member
serves a six year term. Three members of the board must be from the north and
three members must be from the south with the city of Stevens Point serving as
the mid-point of the state.
This session, the bill has been reintroduced as
Assembly Bill 138/Senate Bill 113. Named “Eliminating Political Control of the
DNR”, the bill once again removes the appointment of the Department of Natural
Resources Secretary from the governor and gives it to the DNR Board.
When the DNR secretary is appointed by the governor,
he or she is accountable to the governor. The bill purports this can lead to
partisan politics infusing it into day-to-day natural resources policies.
However, there is a fundamental problem with the
current bill. Absent this session is the complementary legislation ensuring the
Department of Natural Resources Board is represented by all of Wisconsin’s
natural resources community.
As the legislation read last session, representation
on the board would have included at least three members of the Natural Resources
Board must have held an annual hunting, fishing, or trapping license seven out
of the previous ten years, and at least one member of the board will have an
agriculture background. Exceptions would have made for military personnel who
have been on active duty.
Representative Spencer Black (D – Madison) is the
author of AB 138. A known environmentalist, he has written numerous articles
highlighting his strong biases. Additionally, Representative Black chairs the
Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. To date he has refused to schedule a
public hearing for AB 84 - the complementary bill balancing the board with fair
representation of the natural resources community.
The DNR handles sporting and recreation, as well as
agricultural issues on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important to maintain
sporting, recreational, agricultural, and environmental balance on the
Department of Natural Resources Board.
I do believe it would be beneficial to take politics
out of the DNR. However, I question whether taking the secretary’s appointment
from the governor in favor of the board would truly take politics out of the
position if all segments of the natural resources community are not duly
represented.
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