The Portage County Drainage Board and the Isherwood Family Farm will soon go to court after a dispute over the creation of a trout habitat in the Isherwood Lateral. Land owner, Donald Isherwood’s plan was to alter his drainage ditch by adding downed coniferous trees and other debris. In addition to creating a trout habitat, the debris was also intended ... Read More »
Tag Archives: dnr
High-Capacity Wells, Low-Regulation Legislation
On Wednesday, April 5 the Wisconsin state senate handed a bill to the state assembly which, if passed, will allow repair, replacement, or change in ownership of high-capacity wells without state approval. According to the Wisconsin DNR website, “Wisconsin Administrative Code defines a high capacity well system as one or more wells, drillholes or mine shafts on a property that ... Read More »
Wisconsin DNR Website Omits Humans as Cause of Climate Change
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has removed any mention of human-caused climate change from their website. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel believes these changes were made around Dec. 21 of 2016. One of the most prevalent changes in language on the DNR website takes place on a page which was previously titled, “Climate Change and Wisconsin’s Great Lakes.” Now the ... Read More »
Frac Sand Mining: Some Residents Cannot Sand It
On Nov. 22 Winona County in Minnesota voted to ban frac sand mining. Sand mining is the procedure of extracting specific sand types for use in hydraulic fracturing in the western United States. Frac sand mines are found throughout southwestern Wisconsin and neighboring parts of Minnesota. While there are no active sand mining sites in Portage County, neighboring Wood county is ... Read More »
Wisconsin DNR Sued Over High-Capacity Well Approvals
Nine high-capacity wells have recently been approved in central Wisconsin. The wells are used for irrigation for agriculture in the area, but high capacity wells are controversial due to their high usage of water. High-capacity wells pump more than 100,000 gallons of groundwater every day. According to the Wisconsin Administrative Code, “a high capacity well system has one or more ... Read More »
DNR Land Up for Sale
Budget cuts to the state of Wisconsin are not just impacting the education system. The Department of Natural Resources is putting up 10,000 acres of land that must be sold before June 30, 2017. Wisconsin Act 20 enacted in 2013, revised the state budget, requiring the DNR to sell its land to the private sector. Dr. Anna Haines, professor of ... Read More »