Earlier this fall, Republican legislators introduced a slate of bills intended to expand privileges for sport hunters. Many of these bills require the DNR to loosen their regulations on hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges. Others require the DNR to farm-raise desirable sport species of fish and fowl for the purpose of stocking lands and waters. Most troubling among the package’s provisions are Senate Bill 612, Senate Bill 618, and Senate Bill 620.
SB 612 would require the DNR to annually stock Lake Michigan with at least 100,000 brook trout. We oppose this bill because the DNR should be able to study the potential impacts of stocking and determine what the ecosystem can handle rather than be forced to meet a quota set by the legislature. There is a potential detrimental impact on the ecosystem and other species when adding giant influxes of a single species for no reason other than "sport", which is the motivation for the bill. This detrimental impact is illustrated by studies showing that hatchery fish actually weaken the natal genetic stock of brook trout and are therefore a bad idea. Finally, without funding for the program proposed by this bill, the DNR would likely have to divert funding from more important programs in order to fulfill this legislative mandate.
SB 618 would repeal hunting, trapping and fishing administrative rules in conjunction with the promulgation of new rules. The bill requires that, for each new rule that the DNR creates relating to hunting, trapping and fishing, they must also repeal three existing rules relating to these activities. We oppose this bill because the DNR is responsible for hosting stakeholder deliberation, tribal engagement, and public input before creating rules around hunting, and this arbitrary law would disregard these processes and undermine the DNR’s authority. Rules should only be repealed when determined through these processes to be appropriate, not as a trade-off for new regulations.
SB 620 would permit the hunting of sandhill cranes and provide wildlife damage abatement assistance and claim payments for damage caused by sandhill cranes. We oppose this bill because the legislature should not be mandating hunts. They are not in a position to conduct the necessary stakeholder deliberation, tribal engagement, and public input processes before creating rules around a hunt. Wisconsin can not afford to have politics remove these critical science-based analyses and stakeholder deliberations, which would normally be conducted by the DNR before any hunt. Moreover, Sandhill cranes are an important migratory species that require protection. The eastern Sandhill crane has a low reproductive rate and is in a population recovery status across most of their range, so a hunt could seriously threaten their future. Juvenile sandhill cranes also bear an uncanny resemblance to the whooping crane, an endangered crane that the state has gone to great lengths to protect, whose population could also be jeopardized by hunters confusing the two.
These are just some of the more egregious examples of how this legislative package prioritizes the desires of recreational hunters and fisherman over the needs and limits of Wisconsin’s diverse and complex ecosystems. Responsible sportsmanship requires a person to carefully consider the ecological ramifications of their activities and modify accordingly.
A bizarre development in this legislative fiasco has been the reliance upon musician and hunting advocate Ted Nugent for increasing the package’s posterity. Known for his subscription to conspiracy theories, his predilection for underage girls, and his often racist political rhetoric, Nugent certainly presents as a strange choice for legislators looking to shore up the credibility of their proposed agenda.
Proponents of the package have spoken extensively about protecting the interests of sportsmen in Wisconsin, while paying relatively little attention to the fact that this isn't how hunters in Wisconsin want our wildlife managed or the potential threats these proposals pose to vulnerable ecosystems and species.
Contact your legislators and ask them to oppose the Wisconsin Sporting Freedom package, for the sake of our wild places and animals. Join us in opposing these bills and spreading awareness of their potential negative consequences. Call your legislators at 1-800-362-9472 to tell them to vote NO to SB 612, SB 618, and SB 620.
Written by Caitlin Moeller, Sierra Club Organizing Project Aide