Stepp-ing Out Again....

Fringe "Reporter" pushed DNR to magically eliminate looming Climate Change!

My head is hurting after reading what appeared to be a fairly boring story about the DNR scrubbing their website of climate change information. It was crazy enough to disappear climate change, but even crazier to pretend climate change doesn't exist. Now we're finding out the DNR made the change at the request of a reporter at the Lakeland Times. That's all it took. You won't believe this...

It turned out the relevant and outrageous details of this national news story were oddly buried at the end of a JS story reported yesterday. So let’s start there:

Richard Moore: Climate Denier

In an interview on Dec. 19, Richard Moore, investigative reporter for the Lakeland Times, asked Stepp and Deputy Secretary Kurt Thiede that since “DNR officials have been publicly stating for at least three years that the causes of climate change are debatable … why the climate page was never changed,” the newspaper reported.

"Stepp said she did not know what we were referring to but said what we were telling her was concerning and she would check out the climate-change page to make sure she was getting the right information," the Minocqua-based newspaper reported.

"If there is something on our website that I'm not familiar was on our website, I thank you for bringing that to my attention," Stepp said.

Oh, and by the way, the “investigative reporter” is a right wing paranoid denier, a fact that again, was buried at the end of the JS story:

Moore is the author of "The New Bossism of the American Left," and "How the DNR Stole Wisconsin."

I want to make this perfectly clear, fake news instigators, authors and now right wing propagandist “reporters” are giving policy guidance our state government. And the Walker administration took the bait.

Cleverly Duping the DNR Again?: Hand it to the JS for craftily setting up what might be the next major deletion on the DNR’s website:

The Journal Sentinel asked the DNR whether the agency planned to scrub other language related to human factors in climate change on the website, such as a web page devoted waste management. The page says, "We now have a clearer understanding of the role waste and materials management plays in global climate change and, most importantly, the opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the waste and materials management sphere."

Dick, the DNR spokesman, responded in an email: "Thank you for bringing that landfill page to our attention. Now that you have, we’ll take a look at it and see if it needs updating."

If you take a quick look at Richard Moore's "How the DNR stole Wisconsin, Part 2," you'll see why Cathy Stepp made those DNR changes so quickly:

How the DNR Stole Wisconsin: These bureaucracies are filled with partisan, protected activists who care not about the will of the people. They peddle leftist and globalist agendas, and they have the authority through administrative rules to enact them. They lust after power and absolute power, and no lawmaker has the guts to take them on. in 2008. Here’s what I said about the agency then (2008): “The DNR runs roughshod over anyone who dares to question it. It uses intimidation, often hangs its hat on questionable science, makes up its own laws on the spot, enforces arbitrary, one-size-fits-all rules with often-absurd consequences, and lies and covers up when it has to.” 

The Times asked the DNR specific questions about its climate-change activities because we wondered whether the agency might rethink its policy assumptions given new information. We wondered why the agency presented only one point of view on its web pages, and why it distributed one-sided propaganda to school teachers. DNR spokesperson Mr. Cosh’s assurance in 2011 that a climate-change handbook for teachers had been discontinued, when in fact it is still distributed. The agency needs to perform a mea culpa and apologize for its dishonesty. 

The goal of those the DNR partners with is to work globally and locally to destroy the American economy and to shift power and wealth to nondemocratic Third World countries.

I checked out Richard Moore's other book, to get his perspective on the "American Left." I especially liked the bizarre assumption that anyone on the left "seeks to control every aspect of our lives." Not one progressive, liberal or Democrat I've ever met has made that claim, but it beautifully stokes and manipulates the paranoid rights fears perfectly:

The New Bossism of the American Left … Richard Moore exposes the inner workings of this increasingly all-powerful political machine: a collectivist bureaucracy … and a liberal state-run media. Together, they seek to control every aspect of our lives: what we eat, where we live, what we read, how long we will be in the shower. They want to control all the waters of the United States, and the dust on the nation’s farms … and continue to talk as if we are a free people. To restore the constitutional integrity that allows a free people to freely decide their fate demands that the true inner workings of the New Bosses be revealed, so its machinery can be dismantled.

"Liberal state run media?" It should be noted Moore is the former editor of the Lakeland Times...part of the liberal state-run media? I'd be curious to see how many other newspaper editors have similar books that are so politically radical on their resumes.

A one star reviewer pretty much summed up my feelings...

Propaganda – by MilwaukeeMax, January 9, 2017: This guy calls himself a journalist but is a disgrace to the profession and a complete hack. He ignores facts and spins his agenda into all his "investigative" writing, which only spews out his vitriolic rhetoric that is intended to confuse and create fear.

Walker Guts the DNR like a deer.

Trump promises to do on a national level what Scott Walker is doing in Wisconsin. With little fanfare and no debate over the corporate plundering of OUR natural resources, anyone who believes in small government has given in to the inevitable. Rural Republican voters seem to think contaminated wells, crumbling roads and vanishing schools must be the normal, part of the changing landscape they can't control.

After 6 years of total Republican dominance in the state, no one seems to seems to think the anger, frustration, and resentment they feel toward government might be coming from their own party.

But don't worry, Scott Walker is just restoring the "balance" between jobs and the environment. Welcome the new DNR:

WSJ: On Wednesday, the department will announce a reorganization that was demanded by conservatives who control state government. Republican elected officials have already buffeted the department with loosened environmental regulations and budget cuts targeting scientists because they researched climate change, mine pollution and deer herd management measures that were sometimes unpopular.
 DNR shortcomings in hiring and training new workers came to light in June when a state audit linked them to flaws in DNR enforcement of laws aimed at preventing pollution of lakes, streams and drinking water.

Respected top manager, chief state forester Paul DeLong, announced in September that he was leaving. At least eight other DNR bureau- and division-level managers retired or took other jobs over the last two year ... They include fisheries bureau chief Ron Bruch, facilities and land bureau director Steven Miller, chief legal counsel Tim Andryk, state parks and recreation director Dan Schuller, drinking water and ground water chief Jill Jonas, and deputy administrator for environmental management Eric Ebersberger. None of them commented publicly.
 Retired longtime wildlife management bureau chief Tom Hauge, 63, said he had seen enough of the proposals for his bureau to believe there would be major changes in managing deer and other wildlife.

Anyone looking for reasons DNR employees are retiring could also view a videotaped talk Stepp gave at a 2015 management seminar in Florida, Hauge said. Stepp told the group she had wanted to crawl in a hole after Walker appointed her in 2011 and she realized DNR employees were burned out, steeped in Earth Day values “and frankly weren’t real politically aligned with our new administration, most of them.”

Walker Mind-blower: Low unemployment, high participation rate now hurting businesses - not enough workers!!!

Wisconsin is a wonderful four season recreational wonderland for tourists. 

But tourism is now on the back-bench, playing third string to factory farms and mining. More on that below, but first…

...Walker's efforts to get government out of the way of business has made Wisconsin too successful!!!

That’s right, despite being in the middle of the pack on job creation, to being last when it comes to business startups, Walker is faced with a unique problem. This will blow your mind…:

Figures, a guy from Minn.

Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said … other factors contribute to (job) vacancies (at the DNR).

“State agencies actively seek to fill needed positions. Wisconsin’s low unemployment rate and high labor force participation are not only making it difficult to hire for the state, but many employers as well.”

No wonder Walker still hasn’t fulfilled his failed campaign promise of creating 250,000 jobs…a low ball number he said was just a starting point.

So the message to business: Stay away from Wisconsin, we don’t have the labor force? Big and bold admission.

Back to the original story, where Walker is dismantling another of Wisconsin’s biggest money makers (besides the UW); tourism. Eliminating taxpayer support of our state parks was outrageous enough, but..:

From 2005 to 2011, the water program dedicated most of its staff time inspections and enforcement, auditors said. After Walker took office, more time was spent on writing permits that spell out legal limits on discharges.

State job vacancies (at the DNR) have been linked to weak regulation of pollution … began climbing again last year … after Gov. Scott Walker took office … the DNR had held off on filling enough positions for the rate to rise to 14.2 percent, surpassing the average for the 14-year period.

It started with a huge wave of retirements that swept through state government after the 2010 election and into 2011 as elected officials eliminated most public sector union rights. The 246 retirements at the DNR in 2011 left the department a vacancy rate exceeding 20 percent.

Walker had proposed reducing the DNR’s authorized workforce of 2,647 full-time equivalent positions by 67. The Legislature increased the cut to 92 positions. The agency wrote notices of violation to municipal and industrial polluters in only 33 of the 558 cases. 

DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp wants department to be more like managing a McDonald's.

The big story to come out of the meeting between the DNR board and Walker's embarrassingly incompetent Sec. Cathy Stepp, is her oddly bizarre comparison to her oversight of Wisconsin's natural resources to her former job as a McDonald's manager.

Apparently, the state needs to pare down regulation to the level of a McDonald's responding to a sudden busload of dollar menu orders. WSJ:

Board member William Bruins said the department has known for five years that the cost in staff time of regulating concentrated animal feeding operations far exceeded the revenue the state budget allows it to keep from fees CAFO's pay. “So in the five years has there been any effort by the department to correct that?” 

Stepp recalled her days as McDonald's restaurant manager as she talked about how state employment rules have hobbled the DNR. Stepp said she could quickly mobilize her fast-food employees when a busload of customers arrived unexpectedly, but the DNR can't react that nimbly to retirements. 

Yea, why can't running the DNR be like McDonald's? My god I wish I were kidding. All of this is happening because Walker and Stepp decided they were no longer going to spend valuable taxpayer dollars on trying to stop the pollution of our lakes, streams and drinking water.

Hat tip to Paulsnewsline

A Legislative Audit Bureau report released this month showing that over the last 10 years the DNR failed 94 percent of the time to take enforcement action against private industries and municipal sewage plants that exceeded water pollution limits, violating its own internal policies. DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp said money and state work rules complicate things.

But funding cuts were intentional. But it's more shocking to hear the DNR is to "complicated" for Stepp. Only now, under fire for violating her own departments rules...

Stepp said she has discussed those challenges with her boss, Gov. Scott Walker, and it's possible she could request an increase in revenue this year. But Stepp said she is mindful that other state agencies ... are also need money. And the Legislature wants requests for more tax dollars only as a last resort, she said.

Letting polluting go unchecked isn't enough to be considered a last resort.

Some of the problems in regulating water quality stem from employee turnover and job vacancies at DNR, she said. It can take up to two years to train a new employee to work proficiently with complicated laws and rules governing pollution permits, said Patrick Stevens, the DNR's top administrator for regulation of industrial and municipal pollutants. 

Another intended consequence of Act 10:

The department fell far behind in permitting when a huge wave of retirements swept through state government, including the DNR, around the time Republicans took over state government and eliminated most public sector union rights in 2011.

DNR hopes to kill scientific research that is "not being well aligned with program needs." "Policy would drive science instead of the other way around."

I didn't think it was possible to go beyond Scott Walker’s proposal to eliminate 18 scientists at the DNR; 

"Wisconsin DNR mulls dissolving … the agency’s Bureau of Science Services."

We saw it in the way the deer herds are now being managed; by hearsay and the desires of special interests groups, not research and science. 

Critics, both inside and outside the agency, say such a reorganization would rob the state of impartial science that should guide critical natural resource management decisions … management would more likely be driven by policy decisions and politics.

This is all politics and an outright taking of our government, driven by colluding lawmakers and businesses that have their own plans for Wisconsin’s great outdoors. Since no one believes anything the Democrats say (unless it’s backed up by at least one agreeing Republican), let’s go back to President Theodore Roosevelt, who’s on the mark warning about what is happening right now should be enough:

"It is also vandalism wantonly to destroy or to permit the destruction of what is beautiful in nature, whether it be a cliff, a forest, or a species of mammal or bird. Here in the United States we turn our rivers and streams into sewers and dumping-grounds, we pollute the air, we destroy forests, and exterminate fishes, birds and mammals -- not to speak of vulgarizing charming landscapes with hideous advertisements. But at last it looks as if our people were awakening. We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation."

Cathy Stepp’s DNR has outright admitted that the latest is “an effort to address the legislative perception of research not being well aligned with program needs.” Not clear enough yet? What happens when science says something is a bad idea, like iron mining? It’s called “biased:”

State Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst criticized a bureau report on environmental concerns surrounding the now-defunct plan from Gogebic Taconite to build an open-pit iron mine in northwestern Wisconsin. He said the report was biased against the mine. Tiffany also told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was not supportive of the bureau doing research related to climate change because the science behind global warming is still “theoretical.”

Side-note: Isn't it bizarre how Republicans say climate change is theoretical, but then stop all the research that could turn that theory into fact? 

So who needs the…

...hundreds of papers that, among many other things, evaluate the removal of phosphorus from Wisconsin lakes, the impact of lakeshore development, how timber cutting might affect breeding birds, fish surveys in the spring to help determine the health of the state’s fisheries … monitor air pollution levels and study the potential impact of practices such as frac sand and iron mining.

There is only bright spot: environmentalists could be big winners in court:

Dave Clausen, former chairman and member of the state NRB, which sets policy for the agency, said moving researchers out of an independent bureau and into other divisions will destroy objective science in the agency. He said researchers … would more likely be told to do research that only supports the division’s goals, even though those goals may be driven by a political agenda. In other words, he added, policy would drive science instead of the other way around. 

Clausen added that the lack of independent science could come back to haunt the agency if its management decisions are challenged in court. “When you start making decisions on hunter or user whimsy, you lose your ability to defend yourself,” Clausen said.

What makes the cuts to the DNR so surprising:

The DNR, for example, by its own admission, is more than 20 years behind on a state wetlands inventory. 

They've only been able to inspect 20% of the sand mines due to staff shortages. Republicans are bad managers and bad at budgeting, since they cut the taxes that would have paid for some of this.

Walker's DNR overseeing the end of our lakes...."There's just too many cows in Brown County..."

Republicans have been trying for years to open our state and federal park lands to energy and mineral plundering, saying they could do these things in an environmentally safe way.

Don't believe them for a second, if their management of agricultural land is any indicator. Scott Walker and his now hollowed out DNR are making it clear they will make no regulatory effort to keep our rivers and great lakes clear of phosphorus and algae blooms of dead water. In fact, they reversed previous efforts:

jsonline: New regulations will not be coming from state regulators, said DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp. Lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker's administration have shown no interest in increased regulation of dairy farms … Wisconsin became one of the first states to approve phosphorus reduction limits, using specific numeric standards. However, the Legislature in 2014 rolled back a full phase-in of those rules by up to 20 years because of concerns about the cost of the regulations.

See, who needs that when we have a massive phosphorus dead zone in beautiful Green Bay:

Walker, DNR have no plan to stem Green Bay pollution: The tide of nutrients from the Fox River and other tributaries will help create the latest, and most likely, longest-lasting dead zone in Lake Michigan's Green Bay this summer. The problem is caused by vast amounts of phosphorus and other nutrients that wash from farms and urban landscapes and produce conditions that create oxygen-deprived stretches on the bay. In 2014, areas of the bay where virtually nothing lives lasted 43 days. By comparison, in 1990 the dead zone was gone in four days, according to figures from the city's wastewater utility.

Regulation? We don't need regulation when we could just let people voluntarily figure out what to do:

WPR: Rep. Reid Ribble, R-DePere, said he'd like to avoid federal mandates to crack down on phosphorus runoff from agriculture and other sources. "We're going to take these steps voluntarily so there doesn't have to be a regulation that comes in," said Ribble.

Because even in a case like this, regulations to save our lakes are BAD. Regulations giving large farms the right to pollute...GOOD.

I always watch public televisions "Market to Market" farm program on weekends, and remember reports about Ag states that are proactive in their efforts to greatly reduce phosphorus. They use "cover crops" that prevent soil from washing away. But in Wisconsin...

One technique not widely used is to plant a cover crop between rows of corn and soybeans to hold soil in place.

Like congress, don't hold your breath waiting for Republicans to get anything done of real value. 

Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Green Bay) convened a "phosphorus summit" … "This is step one of a multiyear process."

Sure it is, take your time, don't rush into this like voter ID, concealed carry, religious freedom laws and unpaid for tax cuts that leave projected deficits. What's a little algae bloom here and there. 

Stepp was buttonholed by at least two attendees who told her the state isn't doing enough ... regulators don't consider pollution costs borne by the public when evaluating farm expansions or how much waste farms send to watersheds ... the agency fails to consider the cumulative effects of manure from many farms when it reviews a wastewater permit for Wisconsin's largest farms, known as concentrated animal feeding operations.

And under the watchful eye of the DNR:

Only the largest farms are required to get such permits, and the DNR has never rejected one.

 Research be damned...

Kewaunee County had seen its cattle population jump 34% between 1983 and 2012, according to state figures. In Brown County, cow numbers have increased 20% for the period. "There's just too many cows in Brown County, I'm afraid," said Val Klump, director of the Great Lakes WATER Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Klump's research includes study of Green Bay's dead zone.

The Fox River watershed is a source of one-third of all nutrients into Lake Michigan, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

I thought this comment summed it all up pretty well:

A Nihilist: Good thing republicans are in control. They understand that the environment is the enemy and if you stop killing the lake, you stop profits and therefore hate freedom.

What makes living in a trash heap an expression of freedom and liberty?

Walker's DNR muddies water on Judges Dirty Water Ruling: "Massive regulatory failure to protect groundwater."

Why should we worry? We have Scott Walker's DNR watch dogging our environment, right? 

jsonline: A state administrative law judge who put conditions on a closely watched expansion of a large dairy farm in Kewaunee County has found that numerous contaminated wells in the area "represented a massive regulatory failure to protect groundwater.

In one of the most ironic statements yet put out by this administrations DNR:

DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp, however, was critical of the tone of the ruling and told a farm publication it may "present an opportunity for misinformation and confusion to take place."

 No shit, ya think. When opportunity knocks...

Stepp took a swipe at Judge Boldt at a forum in Marshfield for "editorializing" in his 18-page ruling on the agency's regulatory oversight.

"…his 'editorializing' of our department came as a surprise to me. We have worked with him on farm issues before and usually find him to be very fair. I did not expect his comments that question our authority when it comes regulating groundwater contamination."

“Question our authority?” Wow, love the outright and unmistakable rightwing authoritarian slip. And all this coming from a “usually very fair” judge. How could that be? 

Boldt's ruling: “…many members of the public were deeply upset about what could only be described as a crisis with respect to groundwater quality in the area. It is also striking that none of this important context" was noted by the DNR in its environmental review of the farm's expansion plans. It is not unreasonable for residents to see a link to large farming practices in the area.

Does Judge Boldt's "editorializing" sound unreasonable concerning the quality of groundwater in the area? And what about the jobs?

Private Land Owner draws DNR fine, while Gogebic mining gets special treatment from Republicans lawmakers. And Walker wants our vote...?

This is another big story and exhibit B in our case against our big government corporate sellouts in the Walker Authority. Caught again.

Channel3000 originally featured this story as just another land owner simply getting screwed by the DNR. That was until the land owner connected the dots to Gogebic's unique deal and special favor from the Walker administration. Gogebic Taconite is getting the law rewritten to lesson their fine, while this poor guy has to pay a $1,000 fine under the old law.

WISC's Adam Schrager shows us all who the Walker Authority really serves:



This whole sordid mess is explained by Cap Times reporter Jessica VanEgeren:

Prior to purchasing 200 acres of land in Iowa County in June 2012, Jim Kostohrys knew the land was part of the DNR’s Managed Forest Land program. Kostohrys recently received word from the DNR that it made a mistake. Of the 200 acres he purchased, three were in a separate … To add the three acres to his plot would require pulling the land out of its current managed forest land tract, then turning right back around and putting it into his. And here's the problem: By law, removing land from the managed forest land program obligates the property owner to pay unpaid back taxes from the time the land was entered into the program. In this case that amounts to about $1,000.

“It’s not about the $1,000,” Kostohrys said. “It is about the total disregard from a state agency that is supposed to be working on our behalf.” Kostohrys’ frustration with the DNR grew when he read Republican lawmakers were crafting a bill that would let mining company Gogebic Taconite remove roughly 3,500 acres of its land, which like his are in the managed forest land program, without paying roughly $900,000 in back taxes.

Kostohrys said the state coming after him for $1,000, when his goal is to keep the land in the program, and letting Gogebic temporarily close its land without collecting nearly $1 million is an “outrageous double standard.” “If my name was Koch and not Kostohrys, things would be a lot different,” he said … “If you are a big donor or you are a big business, you get the royal treatment in this state. You don’t have to worry about laws.”

“We need to have a list of registered environmental offenders,” Kostohrys said. “And the DNR secretary should be on it. Cathy Stepp shouldn't be allowed within 500 feet of a tree."

United Sportsmen debacle Exhibit A in Walker Donor Welfare Handouts.

So what happens when an over confident super majority of Republicans get caught recklessly giving taxpayer money away to crony donors like United Sportsmen, approved by the governor?

They take responsibility, right? :

...Not me!

WSJ: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said former Rep. Scott Suder, took the lead in adding the grant to the 2013-15 state budget.

The buck stops here/accountability is number one, right? :

Vos said he “was not directly involved” in adding the language, which resulted in only one group, which has political connections to Suder, applying for the grant.

Stopping reckless taxpayer spending is job one, right? :

“When questions are raised that were not brought about in the past, the governor made a good decision to say let’s go back to the drawing board,” Vos said in an interview.

Even after finding out this group of crony donors, with ties to the Koch brothers, lied about their tax exempt status, broke a hunting law, and had no prior experience promoting recreational hunting and fishing, they were still given scarce taxpayer money based on their qualifications, right? :

DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp “even though (the group) did and does still meet the statutory criteria established by the Legislature for the grant award … it is essential for any organization that receives financial support from the state to have the trust of the public in its capabilities to produce concrete results.”

A courageous decision by Cathy Stepp, even though a panicky governor, up for reelection, ordered the contract canceled. That's "leadership," right?

And  now we're  finding out that United Sportsmen of Wisconsin has never filed a state tax return, despite having done business here.

Taxpayers on the hook again, after Walker’s DNR rejects bid to renew nonprofit control of MacKenzie Environmental Education Center.

Republicans continue to dismantle the last remaining acts of Democratic legislation on the books. Wisconsin is now purely Republican, with no one to blame but themselves.

This visceral Republican hatred for government is nothing but an excuse really to explain their inability to manage anything well, and to tear things apart in an effort to be efficient.  And yet, they have decide "government" is better qualified to teach our kids about the great outdoors, and not a nonprofit experienced organization. This is probably the first step to close the facility. See this snide response from DNR Sec. Cathy Stepp:

“…opportunity to re-invigorate the programming. By taking responsibility for the MacKenzie Center, we are able to bring to life the vision we had for MacKenzie … we did not receive a proposal that met our needs. For me, status quo was not an option. I have stated all along, we want to use MacKenzie to address our decline in hunters, anglers and trappers through innovative recruitment and retention strategies. We’ve appointed a very talented individual … (who) understands our vision and the need for frugality without compromising quality … now it is time for a new chapter with the DNR. We are going to be working with our talented staff to develop vibrant outdoor and environmental programs…”

So I found this statement to be a nice summation:

jsonline: "Just last week the DNR awarded $500,000 to a group that had little to no experience, and this week it rejected an application from a well-qualified group with 60 years of experience. The bottom line is how politicized natural resources management has become under Governor Walker," Rep. Nick Milroy of South Range, the ranking Democratic member of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, said … he found the different decisions on the two groups by the DNR "ironic."  

Couldn't have said it better. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, which runs the MacKenzie Environmental Education Center, will say goodbye to the kids at the end of the year. Here’s their short film, and response over what happened:

The DNR had invited competitive bidding to run the MacKenzieEnvironmental Education Center, with the idea that taxpayer money could be saved. But the WWF, which has run the center since 2006, was the lone bidder. On Thursday, the DNR rejected the bid and decided to take over the center itself, even though it will likely mean spending more on the operation, not less, according to agency officials.

The MacKenzie Center is located on about 250 acres of state-owned land. It features 30 buildings, including classrooms, dormitories, a kitchen and main meeting building, as well as prairies, forests and a native animal collection. Under programs run by the WWF, the center hosted about 16,000 students in 2012, up from about 9,000 in 2006. Since July 2006, the WWF has funded (by over a third) the educators, maintenance staff and the operational costs associated with the education program.

Like everything else the Republicans do for the great outdoors (Badger Ammo), they included a gun range. For the time being though, it looks like that idea has been put on hold.  

United Sportsmen just another Scott Walker mistake.

Caught again, Scott Walker had no choice but to overrule a bad decision made by DNR Sec. Cathy Stepp. As it turned out, the blatant cronyism wasn't the deciding factor, this was; the president of United Sportsmen ironically broke a hunting law back in 2005:

jsonline: Gov. Scott Walker late Thursday canceled a controversial $500,000 grant to a sportsmen's group with little training experience but close ties to GOP politicians. The decision was announced only hours after the Journal Sentinel asked state officials about a 2005 case in which the president of the United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc. was cited for hunting with an improper license.

I can only hope this fast tracked giveaway will not be forgotten.

Walker’s bad decision to put DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp in charge is now proving to be another growing liability for him. After the DNR and Republican legislators did nothing to stop this festering cronyism, the Walker Authority instead had to step in and cut their losses.

But Walker had no choice after being caught red (state) handed funneling taxpayer money to donors. Stepp's reaction typified the bizarre "follow the leader" mentality within the party:

Cathy Stepp said she spoke with Walker on Thursday and he canceled the grant to United Sportsmen … Instead, Walker ordered the DNR to find other means to achieve that goal … Stepp (said) “United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc. did and does still meet the statutory criteria established by the Legislature for the grant award, the governor asked me to not finalize the grant award. I will honor this request and fully support this decision."

DNR Research and Science takes back seat to Business "Priorities."

Political Environment posted a DNR memo that explains a lot about how wrong Republicans are as the chosen stewards of a state known for its grand country sides, lakes and tourism. 

The state’s only purpose now is to server corporate interests, and the DNR "Leadership Team," at the expense of everything else.

From: Lamers, Holly J - DNR On Behalf Of Stepp, Cathy L - DNR Dear Colleagues, On behalf of the Department Leadership Team …The Division of Enforcement and Science will be eliminated as a Division and its component parts … Aligning Science Services as a direct report to the Secretary’s Office will have the following benefits: 

•  Ensures research reflects the Department’s priorities... 

“Research reflects the Department’s priorities?” Pretty amazing stuff. Since when is science just a “reflection?” Stepp’s DNR isn’t hiding anything, and frighteningly enough, voter complacency is allowing them to get away with it. These little phrases unintentionally expose their real intentions, and are treasure troves of potential abuse.

And judging by the overwhelming opposition to mining in the north woods, if a recent listening session is any indicator, just the idea of “public input” is really nothing more than a cruel joke. Anyone think the DNR will stop Gogebic’s plan for the iron ore mine based on the area's opposition?

Provides a broader perspective on agency research needs (e.g., fish, wildlife, environmental quality) and an opportunity for broader public input.