January 9

Aquaculture Bill Receives Hearing

This week I had the opportunity to testify in the Senate Sporting Heritage Committee on Senate Bill 493, legislation that I authored with Senator Tom Tiffany, to help Wisconsin's aquaculture industry grow. Senator Tiffany and I collaborated with fish farmers and other industry stakeholders to identify ways to cut red tape and improve the permitting process for our private fish farmers.

Aquaculture is a 5.3 million dollar in Wisconsin and supports almost 500 jobs. Growing up in northern Wisconsin, I’ve been exposed to aquaculture all my life. These farmers have the same dedication and work ethic as those who plow our fields and raise our cattle; it just happens that they have a different crop – and that is, fish. Aquaculture is agriculture – that is the key element to SB 493. The clarification of current laws related to aquaculture will provide the consistency that our private fish farmers need to plan for the future and grow their operations in a sustainable way. Furthermore, by aligning state water quality standards with federal law and guidelines we will ensure that Wisconsin fish farmers are not at a competitive disadvantage to neighboring states.

The aquaculture legislation has also been introduced as Assembly Bill 640, and we expect to hold a public hearing in the Assembly Environment and Forestry Committee in the near future.

2015 Record Year for Wisconsin Tourism

According to Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett, this past year was one for the record books!

For the first time in recorded history, all 72 counties posted a positive increase in visitor spending.
The Department awarded more than $1.1 million dollars in Joint Effort Marketing Grants with estimated visitor expenditures exceeding $31 million.
The number of visitor sessions on TravelWisconsin.com reached an all time record of 7 million, a 38% increase from 2014.
When compared with other Midwest states, Wisconsin was ranked #1 in affordability, family atmosphere, sports & recreation, worry-free environment, and uniqueness.
The Department’s social media presence surpassed expectations with more than 400,000 Facebook fans and 80,000 Twitter followers, and our newly created Instagram page is approaching 6,000 followers.