A Northern Harrier flies above the prairie. Northern Harriers nest on the ground in grasslands. *Photo by Gary Shackelford.*

If you saw our action alert last week, you know that the Wisconsin legislature was discussing a set of bills that would remove WDNR-created restrictions on hunting dogs accessing public lands during spring. I’m sorry to say both the Assembly and Senate passed the bills, but it’s not too late to voice your concerns! Governor Evers needs to hear from you if you want to prevent these proposed laws to take effect this spring.

Below is a summary of the issue from Kathy Bartilson of the Friends of the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area. Although the Namekagon Barrens and the geographic focus of these bills are outside Southern Wisconsin, this affects birds and wildlife that move throughout Wisconsin and beyond. Please urge Governor Evers to veto these bills.

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Thursday, February 15, 2024
Greetings Friends of the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area,

I’m writing to let you know that two bills (Assembly Bill 512 and Senate Bill 545) have been passed by the State Assembly and Senate. These two identical bills remove restrictions on hunting with dogs on public land in spring in a northern zone of the state. I sent emails to our mailing list about this last fall when the bills were first proposed.

As a non-profit organization, our Friends group can only do limited lobbying, but we can advocate and educate. Our concern is that allowing dogs off-leash in the spring will result in the stress or even death of nest-bound or fledgling songbirds, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Upland Sandpipers, Wild Turkeys, and even fawns and other small mammals. While there are still restrictions on using dogs on state land, these bills will allow their use on county forestland, which as most of you know borders nearly every boundary of the Namekagon Barrens. Dogs in pursuit will not know when they have crossed the property line.

There is still an opportunity to urge Governor Tony Evers to veto these bills. With many large tracts of contiguous public land up north, it’s especially important to protect our wildlife during the spring.

The advice we have received from the Governor’s office is to use this website to register your concern: https://appengine.egov.com/apps/wi/governor/voice-an-opinion

The site is easy to use, and has room in the last space at the bottom for very lengthy comments, if needed.

Kathy Bartilson

for the Friends of the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area