legislation

Hope

As a teenager, I was charged with speaking on the virtue of faith at a Catholic retreat for some schoolmates. I read my draft to the group organizing the gathering, which included a kind, elderly priest. He spoke after I finished saying, "Topf, that was not a good presentation on faith but quite excellent on hope." That about sums up my spirituality and outlook on life then and now, short on faith but long on hope.

Photo by Mandy Martin

We are Groot

What to do? Our only chance to save Stewardship is to join hands and send messages of Stewardship support to Governor Evers (so he'll insist on Stewardship being included in any version of the budget he'll sign) and legislators, especially Republicans, to support Stewardship. The arguments: it's good for the environment, animals, plants, people, outdoor recreation, the tourist economy and the overwhelmingly vast majority of Wisconsin voters and residents support it.**

Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

The Second Golden Age?

The Second Golden Age?

Northern Wisconsin's cherished public forests—the national, state, and county forests—resulted from government action. That was the first Golden Age of Public Lands in Wisconsin. Like many Golden Ages (the Golden Age of the Roman Empire, the Golden Age of the  European empires) greed and  suffering formed the foundation of the age. I think the legacy of Wisconsin's public lands is much more positive than the effects of some of those other epochs.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

Middleton and Madison move toward building cities safer for birds

Middleton, WI is the newest municipality in the country to adopt a bird-safe glass ordinance as of February 20, 2024. The ordinance, which matches the one implemented in Madison in 2020, requires buildings over 10,000 square feet to use bird-safe design or bird-safe glass.

Photo by Steve Kersting FCC

Urge Governor Evers to VETO the hunting dogs on public lands bills

If you saw our action alert last week, you know that the Wisconsin legislature was discussing a set of bills that would remove WDNR-imposed 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.

Photo by Gary Shackelford