OpEd: Toward an independent DNR---that puts citizens first....ditto for PUC

In the Conservation Priorities for 2009-2010, the League of Conservation Voters has written:

"In the last fifteen years, politically motivated legislative actions have eroded the
integrity of Wisconsin’s conservation and outdoor traditions. Such actions unnecessarily
jeopardize the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places where we
hunt, fish, and hike.

Two issues in particular have raised concerns over the integrity of natural resource
decision-making in Wisconsin:

» The change from an independent Department of Natural Resources
Secretary to a Governor-appointed Secretary in 1995.
» The temporary or permanent delay of votes for Natural Resources Board
appointees by the state Senate.

Independent DNR Secretary

The Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) oversees the agency
responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws and rules that protect air,
water, land, and sporting opportunities in Wisconsin.

Prior to 1995, the Secretary of the DNR was selected by the Natural Resources Board
(NRB). The citizen-based NRB was originally organized in1928 to reduce the role of
politics in conservation matters. Its formation made Wisconsin a national leader in
resource management for nearly seventy years.

Unfortunately, that came to an end in 1995, when the authority to appoint the
Secretary of the DNR was removed from the NRB. Instead, the DNR Secretary became
a partisan political appointment of the Governor.

Click on the post for the full text of the priorities.