The Wisconsin conservation spring hearings will feature hybrid format for 2023
The traditional Wisconsin spring conservation hearings will feature a new format in 2023.
The gatherings, formally called the Department of Natural Resources Spring Hearings and Wisconsin Conservation Congress County Meetings, allow the public to provide input on issues pertaining to conservation, wildlife and the environment.
Voting totals are not binding but are used by the DNR as it considers rule changes or by legislators as an indication of public sentiment on issues.
For decades the meetings happened only in-person at sites in all Wisconsin counties. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, from 2020 to 2022 they shifted entirely to online voting.
This year the process will include in-person open houses in early April in each county followed by online input April 10 to 13 on the questionnaire.
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Attended by DNR staff and WCC delegates, the open houses will be held to elect local congress delegates, "discuss local issues of importance, answer questions from the public and open a dialogue between the public, the DNR and the WCC about areas of interest and concern," according to the DNR.
Elections will be held for two of the five delegate positions in each county.
The WCC is established in state statute as a public advisory body to the Natural Resources Board and DNR.
The county gatherings will be held from April 3 to 6; details are still being worked out. Information will be posted on the the DNR's events calendar and spring searing webpage when finalized, according to the DNR.
The 2023 questionnaire will offer 28 DNR fisheries rules change proposals and one fisheries advisory question, nine DNR wildlife rules change proposals and 38 WCC advisory questions.
The DNR proposals were released to the public and presented to the NRB in January. They include a statewide daily bag limit of three walleye and expanding the youth deer hunt to four days.
The WCC advisory questions were released last week.
Among the list, the group's Deer and Elk Committee will attempt to gauge public preference for the state's firearm deer hunting season. It will ask voters to choose one of three options: a 16-day firearm season with an earlier start followed by a 10-day muzzleloader season; combining the current nine-day firearm season with the muzzleloader season for 19 days of firearm deer hunting (this would allow hunters with the proper authorization to use rifle, muzzleloader, crossbow or vertical bow for the entire 19 days); or the current nine-day firearm deer season followed by the 10-day muzzleloader season with no changes.
The Warm Water Committee will ask about appetite in Wisconsin for allowing spearing of northern pike through the ice. Minnesota has such a season.
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The Environmental Committee will present two questions related to lead poisoning in wildlife, problems which are particularly evident in common loons and bald eagles.
The first will ask if the public supports the WCC working with the DNR, the Natural Resources Board and our statelegislature to implement a statewide ban on lead jigs and sinkers weighing 1 ounce or less. Such tackle is a leading cause of lead poisoning in loons, according to wildlife rehabilitators.
The second deals with lead poisoning in wildlife, often eagles, caused by the animals consuming lead bullet fragments in deer and other carcasses. It asks if the public would support the WCC and DNR working cooperatively with other conservation organizations to develop a statewide outreach program that increases the use ofnon-lead ammunition.
As part of the spring hearings process, members of the public can submit citizen resolutions to the WCC for possible inclusion on the ballot.
Individuals are limited to two submissions per year. Resolutions will be accepted through March 1.
The WCC recently modified its resolution process. People interested in submitting a resolution are encouraged to reach out to the resolution review committee or their WCC County Chair for guidance in drafting a resolution.
The WCC and DNR's spring hearings website also includes tips for preparing a resolution.
At the close of the submission process, the resolutions will be reviewed by a committee of WCC delegates to ensure they meet the criteria for inclusion and will be prepared for the April 10-13 online input.
For additional information or questions contact WCC vice chair Terri Roehrig at (920) 540-2775.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin conservation spring hearings feature hybrid format in 2023
