Madison (AP) – The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted Feb. 20 to reject Todd Ambs, one of four appointments by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to the state’s Natural Resources Board (NRB).
The Senate voted along party lines to reject Ambs for the NRB. Ambs was the only one of four Evers nominees rejected by the Senate committee after a tense public hearing last fall. Evers passed on all four final nominees after the Senate rejected all four previous DNR board nominees in September.
The Senate confirmed Patty Schachtner, Robin Schmidt and Douglas Cox to the NRB. The three replaced three previous Evers appointees whom the Senate refused to confirm last fall.
Ambs served as deputy secretary of the DNR before retiring in December 2021. Ambs was questioned by GOP lawmakers during a December hearing about his online criticism of the Republican Party. Ambs said during that hearing that he “will not apologize” for speaking out against former President Donald Trump.
Republican Sen. Mary Felzkowski said board members must show they can work with Republicans and Democrats. Ambs rejected the notion that he couldn’t work with Republicans, saying in a statement after the vote that he had spent more than four decades working with both parties on a variety of environmental issues.
“I know how to work in a two-way way,” Ambs said. “The majority of parties in the Wisconsin Legislature don’t do that.”
MORE COVERAGE FROM WISCONSIN OUTDOOR NEWS:
Status overview: 96- and 102-year-old Wisconsin deer hunters wanted
432 sturgeon were weighed despite destitute ice during Wisconsin spearing season
Estella Bergere Leopold, the youngest of the Leopold siblings, dies at the age of 97
Evers appoints Dassaw to succeed Ambs at NRB
Madison – Deb Dassow, a former high school teacher at Port Washington High School, attended her first Natural Resources Board (NRB) meeting on Wednesday, February 28. She was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers after the Wisconsin Senate voted Feb. 20 to reject Todd Ambs’ candidacy for the NRB position.
Dassow taught for almost 40 years as a social studies and world studies teacher at Port Washington High School. Dassow’s initial interest in natural resources and the environment began when she was a student at UW-Stevens Point. She was previously a member of environmental organizations such as the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust (OWLT). Statements on the OWLT website indicate that the foundation supports and permits hunting on its property.
Ambs served as a career natural resources leader for the River Alliance and deputy secretary of the DNR before retiring in December 2021.
The state Senate refused to confirm Ambs, saying he could not work with Republicans, to which Ambs responded: “This allegation is patently false. They cannot cite a single case where this has happened. On the contrary, I have spent more than forty years working in Wisconsin, Ohio, and across the country with members of both parties on a variety of important environmental policy issues.”
—Tim Eisele
Assembly approves non-resident hunting and fishing license fee increases to support close deficit
Madison (AP) – The Assembly passed a bill on Feb. 22 that would raise various fees for nonresident hunting, fishing and trapping licenses to support reduce the deficit in the DNR’s fish and wildlife account.
The Assembly passed the bill 97-0, sending it to the Senate.
The DNR estimated the changes would bring about $780,000 annually to the account, which funds projects ranging from stocking to wildlife research. The account relies heavily on licensing fees. The DNR projects a $16 million deficit in the state’s next biennial budget period.
Republican lawmakers increased nonresident deer hunting licenses by $40 to $200, nonresident hunting and fishing license fees by $5 and nonresident combined license fees by $20 in the state budget signed by Gov. Tony over the summer Evers.
License coverage increases from $1 for a two-day overseas sport fishing license to a $5,750 enhance for a nonresident commercial fishing license. The Assembly approved a bill on Feb. 20 that would raise bowhunting license fees for nonresidents by $35 to $200, sending the measure to the Senate.
Assembly OK accepts dollar-only bill in the north
Madison (AP) – Hunters in northern Wisconsin will be prohibited from shooting any does for four years starting this fall, under legislation approved by the Wisconsin Assembly on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Republican authors of the bill hope the measure will support rebuild the northern herd after a nine-day gun hunt in November. Children under 16 years of age participating in the youth deer hunt will be allowed to kill a deer or deer, but will be restricted to one deer.
According to the DNR, northern bushbuck kills in 2023 are down 14.7% compared to the five-year average; the doe kills 27.2%.
The Assembly adopted this solution by vote. The bill goes to the state Senate.
DNR Agrees to Alteration of Brule River State Forest to Increase Work in Barren Habitat Area
Madison – The DNR has approved a variance from the Brule River National Forest plan to allow management of more barren habitat in the Mott’s Gorge area by increasing core area acres from 200 to 400 acres to 1,000 to 1,200 acres.
The approved variance applies only to DNR-owned land, while the proposed variance would also apply to land acquired later. After reviewing public comments, the DNR has determined that management of lands not owned under the levy is not within the scope of the variance.
The Brule River State Forest in Douglas County covers all 70 km of the Bois Brule River.
