My chosen actor, Wisconsin Wetlands Association, collaborates with multiple NGOs, several levels of government, home and land owners, and every day people to promote advancement in wetland protection, reclamation, and sustainable recreation. The network is comprised of, but not limited to:
Wisconsin Wetlands Association
Ducks Unlimited
the Healing our Waters Coalition
the Association of State Wetland Managers
the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
the U.S. National Ramsar Committee
the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative
the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
and other regional or nationwide initiatives
The WWA has multiple programs, advocacy groups, educational workshops, and many other initiatives; however, I wanted to highlight the progress made in Door County.
"Joe-pye weed blossoms in a sedge meadow along Mink River shoreline in northern Door County. The Mink River drains to Lake Michigan at Rowley Bay." (Picture courtesy of Clint Farlinger/Journal Sentinel) The network of organizations involved with this project, headed by WWA, included The Nature Conservancy, USFWS, USDA-NRCS, and Wisconsin DNR. Working together they accomplished a "Wetlands of International Importance" (also referred to as Ramsar site) designation on over "11,440 acres of pristine sedge meadows, lowland forests, marshes, groundwater springs and fens in northern Door County that harbor rare plants and animals..." (Don Behm of the Journal Sentinel) The WWA has an underlying program entitled Wetland Gems which was created in 2009 to gain public attention and highlight the benefits of wetlands. This particular program helped guide site nomination for the WWA Wisconsin Ramsar Committee. Wetland Gems
In order to understand the significance of being a Ramsar site, it is important to learn a brief history of the Ramsar Convention. It is an international treaty, now including roughly 90% of UN member states, that targets wetland and habitat loss. During the 1960s this movement sprang to life, but the treaty wasn't ratified until 1973 in Ramsar, Iran and finally was put into place in 1975. (Ramsar Fact Sheet) Knowing the players involved and a general idea of the outcome of this program, let's breakdown how the program works. Ramsar's governing body controls the nomination process and requires scientific, historical, and cultural information for the site. Maps, letters of support from the community, local or state wildlife/natural resource agencies, at least one member of congress and all adjoining landowners of the site must approve of the designation. Before Ramsar reviews this documentation, the US Fish & Wildlife Service reviews and approves it.
The benefits of being classified as Ramsar site has significant benefits such as increased funding, stronger protection, and more potential for science and recreational opportunities. The Journal Sentinel article written by Don Behm included a fantastic picture of the areas in Door County that are the designated Wetlands of International Importance. According to Behm, over 150 bird species rely on these wetlands for their yearly nesting and migrations. Among the bird species, 23 of them are warblers. This habitat is crucial to the common goldeneye diving duck.
Within these wetlands reside the largest known population of an endangered species, the Hine's emerald dragonfly.
Another endangered species found here, is a rare plant - the dwarf lake iris. This particular plant is only found on the shores of Lakes Michigan and Huron.
I'd like to conclude this blog post on a more personal note. Doing the research on this topic and learning the scale of interest and protection for wetlands is thrilling. The Ramsar website is super cool - if you have time check out the pictures and videos. There are over 2000 Ramsar sites to date. (Ramsar site map)
This post is just for fun. My husband and our two kids went to Cedarburg Bog on Saturday. Here are a few pictures from our hike. It was a beautiful day to enjoy nature. Knowing that Cedarburg Bog is the southern-most string bog in North America and we can explore it any time we want is pretty cool!
Governor Scott Walker signed into law the Wetlands Reform Bill; the 2011 Wisconsin Act 118 on February 29, 2012. (Find the Act here!)
This Act has been highly controversial - hence the title of this blog: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. (Photo credit)
The Good According to Paul G. Kent and Jordan K. Lamb of Wisconsin Lawyer, Act 118 was devised to address certain goals (Full publication):
Develop a uniform and comprehensive state system for reviewing and potentially permitting activities in all wetlands, regardless of whether they are subject to federal jurisdiction or just state jurisdiction;
Develop a system of state permits that more closely corresponds to federal permits, including the use of "general permits";
Use a process for reviewing and potentially granting approvals that is consistent with the process used for permitting activities in and near navigable waters under Wis. Stat. chapter 30;
Provide greater clarity in the permit standards and require the DNR to consider a holistic "net-gain" analysis of the environmental impacts of a project; and
Allow for greater consideration of wetland mitigation measures to address effects on wetlands.
Prior to this Act the means of obtaining permits to fill wetlands was based upon Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, under by which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had top authority to issue or decline any or all discharge of material into waters, including wetlands. Due to wetlands often being isolated from navigable waters, Wisconsin, under the 2001 Act 6 shifted the control of permit authorization to the DNR. The Corps are only involved with Wisconsin's wetlands if they issue the Section 404 which demands a water-quality certification. This is one way Act 118 was trying to streamline wetlands permit approvals. General Permits were also introduced to Wisconsin under this Act. This was implicated to make Wisconsin's laws more parallel with federal law for water discharges and the filling of wetlands. It imposes size-based wetlands permits which can be streamlined on a much faster pace (30 day approval) then having to go through the process described above. However, if you don't qualify under the general permits, one can apply for individual permits. (DNR Permits) The General permits are authorized by the DNR without being subject to "public hearings or a detailed case-by-case basis" as noted in Kent's and Lamb's dissection of Act 118. Individual permits are subject to further scrutiny before being approved. The "net-gain" or otherwise called "Net Environmental Impact" is closely tied into both the new mitigation and practicable alternatives allowing the DNR much more flexibility when dealing with wetland decisions. Mitigation of wetlands was non-existent before Act 118 and it sort of reminds me of the Clean Development Mechanism ("CDM") in the Kyoto Protocol (Annex I must build green technology in developing nations in exchange for carbon credits). Basically, the DNR will allow wetlands to accept nasty discharge OR be filled in so as long as new wetlands are created in its place: For every 1 acre of wetlands filled/ruined; 1.2 acres of wetlands must be established or enhanced to compensate for the loss, thus creating the (eventual) "net-gain". Practicable alternatives takes the scope of the project and attempts to balance out economic benefit, necessity to build, and environmental impacts to determine if the project should be moved to a non-wetland location or remain as-is. That is what I was able to deduce from the various articles I reviewed which moves me to the next subheading: The Bad - Let the controversy commence! This particular Act has been meticulously reviewed and commented on by various non-state actors, including the NGO I previously introduced: Wisconsin Wetlands Association. Linda H. Bochert of Micheal Best & Friedrich LLP did a great job at capturing sentiments from both sides of the argument in her assessment in The National Law Review (Link to full article): From the Governor, upon signing the bill: “Preserving and protecting Wisconsin’s valuable natural resources while encouraging sustainable economic growth is an important task,” said Governor Scott Walker. “The bill I signed into law today balances these two interests and reforms the way the state regulates wetlands. I am confident this pro-growth, pro-environmental law will allow the state to protect our resources while providing a pathway to economic development. I would like to thank State Senator Neal Kedzie and Representative Jeff Mursau for providing leadership on this issue.” From the Wisconsin Wetlands Association (2/29/12 press release): “This bill passed without the endorsement of a single leader from the wetland professional community or any major statewide sportsmen's or environmental group,” said Executive Director Tracy Hames. “People need jobs, but they need wetlands too,” he added, “that is if they want flood protection, clean water, and more and better ducks.”Hames also emphasized that Wisconsin citizens could no longer rely on the state to protect the wetlands in their community. “It’s now up to the people of the state to get involved, speak up, and look out for the wetlands where they live." From Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (2/15/12 press release): Wetland regulation reforms that passed the state Senate early today will protect the environment, foster expanded wetlands, and promote job creation, WMC said Wednesday. “The wetland reforms are common sense legislation that will protect our environment while promoting job creation,” said Scott Manley, WMC director of environmental policy. From 77th Assembly District Democrat State Representative Brett Hulsey (2/29/12 press release): The Governor signed Senate Bill 368, called the “Flood our Families Act” because it will increase flood risks to Wisconsin families, home and business owners. “The Flood our Families Act means more Wisconsin homes and families will be at risk from flooding,” said State Rep. Brett Hulsey. “Allowing more people to build in wetlands today creates more flood victims and disaster costs tomorrow.” From the Dairy Business Association (DBA) (2/29/12 press release): DBA praises Governor Scott Walker for signing Senate Bill 368, commonly referred to as the Wetlands Bill. This new law streamlines the wetland permitting process for dairy farmers expanding their operation by creating statutory timelines and allowing better use of wetland mitigation. “This new law greatly enhances the wetlands permitting program by providing dairy producers consistency, and assures that the environment will remain protected while growing Wisconsin’s $26.5 billion dollar industry,” commented Laurie Fischer, DBA Executive Director. “In the past, wetland permits have taken years to obtain, resulting in lost business opportunities and jobs for the State of Wisconsin.”
Substantial opposing viewpoints! What this shows is the extent of people and actors are involved when dealing with this new Act.
The State: signing and passing legislation.
Various NGOs: opposing and protesting new regulations.
State representatives: also opposing the Act.
Agricultural entities: approving the Act.
DNR: issuing permits and enforcing regulations.
Homeowners/people impacted: Where do you stand on these changes?
Now that General Permits are automatically approved after 30 days, wetlands have been removed from the statutory list "Areas of Special Natural Resource Interest - ASNRI", and the mitigation aspects don't always force wetland creation where wetlands are lost, we can move towards the ugly aspect of this Act.
The Ugly
Case Study: Open Pit Mining in the Penokee Hills/Bad River Watershed - Iron County, Wisconsin.
Check out what my actor, Wisconsin Wetlands Association's involvement is on this project: Go WWA!
Maureen Matesuwic and Barbara With put together a comprehensive timeline of events regarding this destructive mining project HERE. Our lovely governor, Scott Walker and Bill Williams (President of Gogebic Taconite) worked together on both wetlands and mining reform bills for their own special interests. Once the wetlands were removed from ASNRI, streamlining the 30 day General Permits, and allowing questionable mitigation practices, wetlands barely have a leg to stand on for protection. Not to mention all of the other negative impacts to the groundwater, flora and fauna, or how it affects the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Check out their video in protest to this mining project:
The devastation created to the land, water, and wetlands is catastrophic and the jobs created do not even come close to being an economic benefit to our state, resources, flora, fauna, or citizens. GTac has been going back and forth on whether to proceed, but at least for now, more scientific research is being done on that area before this project has commenced. Wisconsin Public Radio - More Research Please!
The Journal Sentinel article written by Don Behm included a fantastic picture of the areas in Door County that are the designated Wetlands of International Importance.
