Senate committee advances 3 Natural Resources Board appointees after rejecting 4 previous Evers picks

MADISON - A Senate committee has advanced three of Gov. Tony Evers' appointees to the Natural Resources Board, but not before voting down a fourth appointee who earlier went through tense questioning.

The Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage voted to approve Robin Schmidt, Patty Schachtner and Douglas Cox, but voted down Todd Ambs.

The committee voted by paper ballot on Friday, without a meeting. According to the ballot all members voted in favor of Schmidt, Schachtner and Cox. The vote for Ambs fell along party lines, with the three Republican members voting against and the two Democrats for.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers appointed the four after the Senate rejected a previous slate of four appointees.

While the vote doesn't dismiss Ambs from his position, it does set the stage for what a vote could look like in the full Senate as soon as Tuesday.

In January, Ambs spoke about the rumors swirling following his hearing last year, saying that it was false that he couldn't work in a bipartisan or nonpartisan manner as a member of the board. He spoke of his time working on the Great Lakes Compact, which is a bipartisan group of people from both the U.S. and Canada.

"Working with both Democratic and Republican appointees from across the Great Lakes region, we succeeded in developing what many consider to be the greatest conservation agreement in North America in this century. And that bipartisan international work continues to this day," he said during the meeting.

"I know how to work in a bipartisan way to the benefit of our natural resources. It is my fervent hope that these baseless claims will not carry weight with the majority of the state Senate as they consider my nomination," Ambs said. "But whatever the outcome, I will continue my public service work. It is what I do. I've devoted my life to public service, as did my father and his father before him. I am proud of the many shining successes of I've been able to play a small part in over the past four decades. I will not allow that record to be tarnished."

More: New NRB appointees grilled on role of board, cranes, stewardship by Senate

Ambs most recently served as the deputy secretary of the Wisconsin DNR before he retired in December 2021. He has also served as the water division administrator for the DNR, executive director for the River Alliance of Wisconsin, and campaign director for Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition.

Schmidt retired from the DNR in 2018 after 34 years of state service, having most recently served as the chief of the environmental loans section. She is a licensed hydrologist with experience managing water quality programs.

Schachtner served in the Senate from 2018 to 2021, representing the 10th Senate District. She now serves on the Somerset Community Food Pantry Board and the Board of Directors for Turningpoint Wisconsin, a center for victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

Cox has more than 30 years of experience with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and is currently the tribe’s land management director. Cox has also previously served as the tribal chairman, a forest monitoring specialist and the environmental program coordinator for the tribe’s environmental services department.

Ambs, Schmidt, Schachtner and Cox faced questioning by the committee at the end of December, attracting criticism from Republicans over whether they believed a sandhill crane hunt should be established, their thoughts about land stewardship, the role of NRB members, mining and Enbridge Energy's reroute of the controversial Line 5.

Democrats largely remained silent during the hearing.

In particular, Ambs, who served as the deputy secretary for the DNR before retiring in 2021 and did work on water quality for the department for years before that, was questioned about his online criticism of the Republican Party. Committee chair Sen. Rob Stafsholdt, R-New Richmond, questioned Ambs about some of his tweets from 2022, in which he said the party was full of "assholes."

More: Conflict over the Natural Resources Board flared again. What to know about the latest developments

"Would you like to explain to me how as a Republican, you believe that I can work with you?" Stafsholdt said during the December hearing.

Ambs said he wasn't sure what those posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, were in reference to and that he'd have to look at them.

"I know it's no secret but I am no fan of the former president," Ambs said during the hearing, referring to fomrmer President Donald Trump. "And for that I make no apologies."

Four previous appointees rejected by Senate last year

Sharon Adams, Dylan Jennings, Sandra Dee Naas and Jim VandenBrook were all rejected by the Senate, largely along party lines.

More: Senate Republicans vote down appointees to Natural Resources Board; Evers appoints new members

Concerns raised about the appointees stemmed from the committee hearings held for each appointee. They were asked if they would support administrative rules brought forward by the DNR that cost more than $10 million over two years, which is the limit set in state statutes. Often rules proposed by the DNR will have a cost analysis by the agency that is less than $10 million over two years, but outside analysis will suggest that compliance could cost more.

Several of the appointees said they would vote to approve such a measure, if it was supported by the DNR, which became a sticking issue for Republicans.

Only one Republican broke ranks and voted alongside Democrats to confirm the appointees: Sen. Rob Cowles of Green Bay. Cowles said that his colleagues can't expect to agree with every opinion of every appointee, especially when they're appointed by a governor affiliated with the opposing political party.

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Senate committee advances 3 of 4 appointees to Natural Resources Board