LWV/ABC Testifies at Bayfield County CAFO Ordinance Hearing

Dee Johnson, co-chair of the LWV/ABC’s Water Committee, testified December 17, 2015 at the hearing held by Bayfield County’s Large Scale Livestock Study Committee, in support of the operations ordinance and other regulations developed by the Committee after months of careful study.  

Comments by ABC/LWV:

I am here on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ashland & Bayfield Counties.  We very much appreciate both the Committee’s thorough review of the potential impacts of CAFOs, and the efforts the County has made to keep its residents informed and involved.  The Committee’s extensive work has allowed it to develop an operations ordinance which will hopefully reduce the CAFO impactson the quality of the human and natural environments in Bayfield County.  

We understand that CAFOs have a multitude of potential impacts, including those to surface water, groundwater, microbiology and air quality.  We are glad to see that these extremely grave risks have been addressed in the proposed ordinance.  We also wholeheartedly support the adoption of an animal waste storage and management ordinance, as well as the incorporation of State NR 151 standards into that ordinance.  Together, these County regulations would help fill the gaps in the state regulatory scheme.  This is a self-reporting industry and this region’s CAFO specialist is located over 200 miles away and has 77 CAFOs to monitor.  The County should consider requiring CAFO operators to hire independent monitors to verify that they are meeting state standards, and to prove with written land leases that they have land control for all the acres listed in their nutrient management plans for the duration of their WPDES permit. In addition, the balance of the Committee’s findings and recommendationswhich would provide additional groundwater, air quality, and human and animal health protections, have our strong support.  

The Fish Creek and White River watersheds contain Exceptional and/or Outstanding Resource Waters, and Lake Superior, as you know, contains 10% of the world’s fresh water.  With increasing threats to other drinking water supplies, it is more imperative than ever that we do everything we can to protect the remaining sources of fresh water,.  The LWV Water Position states that “maintaining access to clean water which supports life and a healthy environment is a public trust, a fundamental human right, and is the shared responsibility of all who live or do business in Wisconsin.  .  .  Decisions about water use and management must be made with consideration for public safety and the impact those decisions will have on all current and future generations.”

The League fully agrees with the Committee’s recognition of the “economic and cultural importance of agriculture to Bayfield County.”  Large CAFOs bring none of the benefits to the area that our current family farms do. Rather they directly confer risks of pathogens, disease, and anti-biotic resistance, threatening the livelihoods of our existing farms.

The Badgerwood facility would be the first swine CAFO of this magnitude in the Lake Superior Basin and as such, poses unique and frightening risks. We hope the County will do all it can to require state-of-the-art manure management practices, including adoption of the Committee’s proposed operational ordinance and other recommended measures.  Lake Superior is a priceless and irreplaceable resource, and we cannot do too much to protect it.

The Large Scale Livestock Study Committee will forward the proposed ordinance and other recommendations to the full Bayfield County Board, which is scheduled to take this matter up at their January 27, 2016 meeting.  

CALL TO ACTION: Contact your Bayfield County Supervisor, and tell them to support the operations ordinance. For a list of the Bayfield County Board Supervisors click here to visit the Farms Not Factories website. 

Controversial Bills Introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature

Please contact your state Senator and Assembly Representative as soon as possible and urge them to vote no on these bills!

There are a number of controversial bills that have been introduced in the legislature in the past week or so. It is all moving very quickly so I am sending you this Action Alert covering four proposals the LWVWI strongly opposes. It is possible that the GAB and campaign finance bills below will have a hearing as early as Tuesday, October 13.

For contact information for your legislators, go to:  http://legis.wisconsin.gov/  and enter your address near the map of Wisconsin under the heading Find My Legislators.

SB 285/AB 373 – This is the civil service bill. It has already had a hearing. In 1905 Wisconsin rejected patronage as the basis on which hiring and firing should be determined for state employees. The Wisconsin LWV has strong positions in favor of merit recruitment and selection for state employees who implement programs, investigate complaints, and/or manage employees. This bill would gut the essential structure of Wisconsin’s civil service.

CALL TO ACTION: Contact your state senator and assembly representative and tell them to oppose SB 285/AB 373, which would return Wisconsin to the discredited system of patronage hiring and firing for state employees.

GAB bill LRB−3073/2 – no bill number yet. This bill would undo everything League supported in the creation of the Government Accountability Board. The bill would make the structure of the GAB similar to that of the Federal Elections Commission, with three members appointed by each of the two major political parties. That is a recipe for deadlock and dysfunction. The bill would take Wisconsin back to the type of partisan appointee system that resulted in the Legislative Caucus Scandal of 2002 which sent legislative leaders of both parties to prison on felony counts.

CALL TO ACTION: Contact your state senator and assembly representative and tell them to oppose the bill which would dismantle Wisconsin’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Board.

Campaign Finance bill AB 387/SB 292 – According to Common Cause in Wisconsin, the bill would open up Wisconsin elections to permit campaign coordination between candidates and outside special interest spending groups, something which was prohibited for decades in Wisconsin, until the State Supreme Court in July said such coordination was permissible. That court decision, which is likely to be successfully appealed, is an outlier in the nation. The bill would make contribution limits meaningless because supporters of candidates could contribute or spend unlimited money on a phony issue ad communication and even remain anonymous!

CALL TO ACTION: Contact your state senator and assembly representative and tell them to oppose AB 387/SB 292, which would increase the influence of dark money in politics.

A bill prohibiting transgender students from using the restrooms and changing rooms that correspond with their gender identity. This mean-spirited bill also requires school boards to designate facilities exclusively for one physical sex or the other. According to Fair Wisconsin: “This bill is an unnecessary solution in search of a problem. It singles out, isolates and stigmatizes transgender students, who often already face harassment and exclusion at school. It also undermines the advances many school districts across Wisconsin, and the nation, have made allowing students to use facilities and participate in sports and activities consistent with their gender identity.”

CALL TO ACTION: Contact your state senator and assembly representative and tell them to oppose any bill which isolates and stigmatizes students.

The worst thing would be for partisan politicians to be able to say they did not hear any opposition to these horrifically bad measures. Thank you, League members, for letting your representatives know you oppose these bills. 

Andrea Kaminski, Executive Director
League of Women Voters of WI

Time for Action on Proposed Changes to Civil Service

From LWVWI

In 1905 Wisconsin rejected patronage as the basis on which hiring and firing should be determined for state employees. On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Senate Committee on Labor and Government Reform will hold a public hearing on a bill, not formally introduced as of today which would gut the essential structure of Wisconsin’s civil service.

The Wisconsin LWV has strong positions in favor of merit recruitment and selection for state employees who implement programs, investigate complaints, and/or manage employees.  (The League recognizes that high level policy-making positions are appropriately appointed in a different manner.)  Here are the League's positions (scroll down to Civil Service):  http://www.lwvwi.org/IssuesAdvocacy/GovernmentStructuresProcedures.aspx

In contrast, the legislative proposal (LRB-2783/1 and LRB 3389/1) which will be considered at Tuesday's hearing does the following:

·  replaces the examination process, which is currently used for hiring, with a resume based process.  Resume review is inherently more subjective and susceptible to political influence than an objective process that looks at specific achievements and skills.

·  “just cause” to discipline an employee is defined as “performance or conduct that is inadequate, unsuitable, or inferior.”  Could the definition of “unsuitable” be interpreted as comments supporting a candidate or position opposed by the current administration?

·  all personnel authority would be consolidated into the Department of Administration, which is headed by what newspapers routinely call “the Governor’s top aide” and is recognized as the most partisan of state agencies.

CALL TO ACTION: League members should contact their state senators and assembly representatives to express their opposition to the civil service bill, which would return Wisconsin to the discredited system of patronage hiring and firing for state employees.

For contact information for your legislators, go to:  http://legis.wisconsin.gov/  and enter your address near the map of Wisconsin under the heading Find My Legislators.
 

Andrea Kaminski, Executive Director
League of Women Voters of WI 

LWV/ABC letter to DNR for CAFO EIS; Send your own!

Red Flag marks the site of the proposed CAFO.

The League of Women Voters of Ashland and Bayfield Counties has sent a letter to the DNR providing input re the scope of a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Badgerwood swine operation in the town of Eileen in Bayfield County.

Click here to see a copy of the letter LWV/ABC sent to the DNR.

Please consider sending your own letter. Click here to see our previous Take Action item which has details for sending your own letter.

Join the 2015 Sacred Water Walk

The 2015 Sacred Water Walk is now in our area! Kate saw them on Highway 2 approaching the Bad River Reservation's east border on August 27th. You can join the walk or festivities. If you are interested in joining the last leg of the walk, please see the Walk Protocols.

Here is the latest information from Katherine Morriseau:

The Water Walkers will be walking across the South Shore — From Duluth to Red Cliff and on to Madeline Island. This is the schedule of events and everyone is invited to participate. Walk and talk and be part of an historic event. For more information check out these web sites.

Mother Earth Water Walk
Indigenous Rising
Water Walkers United Facebook page

Walk a block, a mile, or many more! All are welcome!

Tuesday Morning they will leave Port Wing and continue on to Red Cliff.

Aunt Josephine, the infamous lead walker begins her walk at 4:00am,  so I'm thinking is that once they depart from Port Wing on Tuesday Morning, Sept 1st,  it wouldn't be a surprise to see them walking past the Health Center maybe around  12:00 Noon...

Tuesday FEAST : community of Red Cliff is hosting a feast around 5:00pm at Legendary Waters or nearby. There will be signs on Hwy 13.   

Wednesday Morning up and early on the to catch the 6:30 am Ferry to Madeline Island.    

From the organizers: try to understand,  sometimes as much as we'd like to put a time out there, it might not work out. So, think of the water — the constant movement, or something such as a large rock might get in the way... and the water has to take a few minutes to flow around it... it will all happen as it needs to.

Chi Miigwech to all those that have put their heart, mind and body into making this event a memorable event!

From the Bayfield Chamber to its members:

Anishinabe women from across North America have been inspired to take up their work and walk the waters in their community. All of the walks are spiritual and physical in nature and are to raise awareness of the water. They walk to call attention to the sacred gift of water, the source of all life.

The Sacred Water Walkers are going to be coming through Bayfield on Wednesday, September 2nd and need our help and support. The Water Walkers will carry salt water from the Atlantic Ocean along the traditional migration route around the Great Lakes and end on Madeline Island. This walk is to raise awareness of oil spills by ship and train on the St Lawrence River to Lake Superior.

Protecting the water is crucial to our way of life in Bayfield and the Chamber and Visitor Bureau has twice voted to protect the water by resolution, once because of the proposed iron mine and more recently for the proposed pig factory (CAFO). Both of these posed an unacceptable risk to the water in Lake Superior and our region. 

If you would like to help the Water Walkers in their current walk you can do so in a number of ways:

1. You can walk with the walkers.  You can contact them directly at info@waterwalkersunited.com.

2. You can donate a gift to be given to the Water Walkers on Madeline Island at the end of the walk. Please drop these off at the Chamber office. Any and all gifts are welcome.

3. You can donate fruit, veggies, or pastries for the Walter Walkers to eat on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Please contact David at the Chamber office.

If you are interested in any or all of the above please contact David at the Chamber office. Please drop off any food items on Tuesday to be available on Wednesday morning 6 am.

Support the Walk    Tentative Schedule

From the Madeline Island Chamber:

The Water Walkers led by Elder Josephine Mandamin, will be arriving on Madeline Island Wednesday, Sept. 2 on the 6:30am ferry.  This will be the completion of their water walk from Quebec to Madeline Island carrying sacred water to bring attention to the importance of protecting our water resources. Their walk began in June and is re-tracing the traditional migration route of the Anishinaabeg.  Other Anishinaabeg leaders and participants will be arriving throughout the morning on Sept. 2.

There will be a feast at Ojibwe Memorial Park at noon on Wednesday sponsored by the Forest County Potawatomi,  and a potluck feast noon on Thursday at Joni's Beach on Madeline Island and organized by Islanders honoring the walkers.  Everyone is invited to extend a warm welcome to the Water Walkers on the completion of this important walk.  Organizers are grateful to the Forest County Potawatomi have donated funds for the feast, housing, and transportation of the Walkers.  Thanks to everyone who contributes time, food, and support to this event.

Wisconsin Voter ID Information — GAB Publication and Video

The Government Accountability Board has released a PDF and a Video explaining the Voter Photo ID law. Please view these in order to familiarize yourself with this important information.

Click here to view the PDF.

View the video below.

DNR Seeks Public Input on Badgerwood CAFO

Site of the proposed Badgerwood CAFO

The public is being asked to provide input to help determine the scope of a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Badgerwood swine operation in the town of Eileen in Bayfield County.

Please add your voice!

Here are the informational links:

http://dnr.wi.gov/news/Weekly/?id=496#art2 

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AgBusiness/CAFO/Badgerwood.html

Two Years Later — Tell Congress to Restore the Voting Rights Act

Supporter:

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law. The VRA was a cornerstone achievement of the civil rights movement and ensured that every American citizen, regardless of race, ethnicity or language, had equal access to the right to vote. But two years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key part of the VRA leading to a full frontal attack on the voting rights of American citizens.

Despite public outcry since the Supreme Court’s decision, Congress has ignored widespread voter discrimination and the will of the American people. Tell Congress it’s time to restore the Voting Rights Act!

We should be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and its protections, but what’s to celebrate when voters are instead more vulnerable to discrimination than at any time since the law was first passed in 1965. Congressional leadership has yet to act on restoring the law, putting the right to vote for all Americans in continuing danger.   

Every day that Congress fails to repair the VRA, Americans are in danger of increased barriers at the polls. Raise your voice and tell your Representative that now is the time to restore the VRA!

Congress must fulfill its obligations under the Constitution to eradicate voting discrimination by restoring the strength and effectiveness of the Voting Rights Act. Fifty years after brave Americans gave their lives for the right to vote, we cannot allow their legacy and the protections they fought for to continue to unravel. 

The right to vote is one of the most basic rights in our country and it must be protected. Tell Congress to stand with the American people and restore the VRA!

Yours in the Fight,

Elisabeth MacNamara
President, League of Women Voters

League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Talking Points re Budget

League of Women Voters of Wisconsin

Talking Points on State Budget

For legislator contacts and letters to the editor 

Updated June 17, 2015

While LWV of Wisconsin has submitted a statement to all State Senators and Assembly Representatives, all league members are encouraged to contact their legislators about the state budget. There are many problems in this budget but we are focusing on a few areas we view as most important to our state positions. We can speak to these issues because of our comprehensive studies. These non-partisan policy positions speak to our quality of life and in support of programs which benefit all the citizens in our state.  

1. Revenues

-Legislators should reject the mistaken impression that Wisconsin cannot afford the level of public services provided in the past and the top-notch institutions which have made our state great. 

-The League of Women Voters is one of more than 30 citizen groups supporting the Better Choices alternate budget plan, which identifies three actions that would increase revenues by a total of $782 million, making many of the proposed cuts to programs and services unnecessary. The recommended actions are: 

accept $345 million in federal Medicaid funds for BadgerCare expansion; 
cap the ballooning tax credit for corporations in manufacturing and agriculture, saving $226 million; 
cap property tax cuts for a second home, which would free up $211 million.

2. Maintain Strong Citizen Input and Government Oversight

-The executive budget initially proposed to reduce the state’s Natural Resources Board (composed of citizens from throughout the state) to an “advisory only” role giving all the rule-making power to the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, a gubernatorial appointee confirmed by the Senate. This proposal would remove the balance of citizen participation and put all the power in the hands of an appointee.

-Throughout the budget discussions there has been severe encroachment on the authority of locally elected school boards, which are accountable for education in their districts. 

-Such measures are not fiscal matters at all. They are very significant policy matters that threaten to change the fundamental relationship between the people and our government. They deserve more public input than they will have when included in the budget.

3. Support an Educated Public

-The budget diverts money from public schools to private schools. Yet private schools do not have these requirements:

Accounting for the use of public funds
Comparable performance standards for their students
Same state standards for all school employees

  -Funding cuts are proposed to important programs and services in the public education system.

Seriously inadequate funding. 
No increase in property tax revenue limits.
Increased funding for private education at the expense of public education.
Large expansion of vouchers for private education.
Extending voucher availability to special needs students, who may not receive full services in voucher schools.
Allowing hiring teachers who lack a bachelor's degree.
Allowing home-school & private school students to participate in public school sports & extracurricular activities.  
Giving authority to Milwaukee County Executive to take over selected schools, removing authority from the local school board, a provision that could be extended to other districts.

There are also major concerns for the University of Wisconsin, especially:

Drastic reduction in funding after significant reductions in prior years.
Removal of faculty tenure from Wisconsin state law. 

4. Support a Healthy Population

-We are pleased that the Joint Finance Committee will not recommend the changes initially proposed for Senior Care, Wisconsin’s prescription drug program for low-income people. Senior Care, which has long had bipartisan support, is a program which serves the people of Wisconsin well.

-Family Care is a long-term care alternative that could be cut by $6 million in the second year. The oversight would move from the Department of Health Services to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance which reduces consumer and community input. The budget eliminates Aging & Disability Resource Center boards and councils. Is this what we want for our frail and elderly?

5. Support a Healthy Environment

-The Governor proposed freezing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, which would stop the acquisition of natural land and water areas used so widely for outdoor recreation and sports. The Joint Finance Committee restored half of the annual funding, but this does not do enough to protect hunting, boating and park areas for our citizens and it will impact our tourism industry. 

-The budget proposes to cut 66 fulltime positions at the DNR, specifically targeting the Bureau of Scientific Services and Communication and Education. Citizens and administrators need information to make sound decisions based on facts to insure good natural resource management.  

- There is a proposed more than $6 million in cuts to polluted runoff management efforts. These efforts have had a direct impact on water quality, and water quality affects every single citizen in this state.

6. Support Public Transportation

-While public transit is a small part of the transportation budget it is vital to the citizens who need it for jobs, child care, shopping and other daily business. 

-Keep public transit an integral component of the Transportation Fund to grow the Wisconsin economy, prevent air pollution and traffic congestion.

7. Support a sustainable justice & corrections system

-While we continue to see severe underfunding of K-12 education and the UW System, the Corrections system has a budget increase based on a projected increase of prisoners.

-There has been neither an effort to improve treatment alternatives and diversion nor any move to address the imbalance of the over-long prison stay of “old law” offenders.  These are actions which could actually save millions of dollars in Corrections spending.

Conclusion

We urge legislators not to allow institutions built over the past century and programs that have served Wisconsinites well for decades to be destroyed. We urge them to craft a state budget that serves all Wisconsin residents fairly with vital services, a healthy environment, high quality education, accountable government and wise use of revenue. That will reflect Wisconsin values, and it is what the people expect from our state.

Letter: Restore funding of the State Historical Society’s Tourism Specialist position at NGLVC

LWVABC sent the letter reprinted below to Representative Beth Meyers, Senator Janet Bewley, the Joint Finance Committee, and MaryAnn Lippert, Director of the Northern Region Office of the Wisconsin Department of Administration, Division of Intergovernmental Relations.

This was MaryAnn's response:

“Hi Madelaine –

Thank you for your thoughtful letter on behalf of the Ashland Bayfield League of Women Voters. I appreciate you sharing your concerns regarding funding for the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, and have forwarded your email on to Governor Walker’s office.

Here in Wisconsin, the Governor’s proposed budget is now in the hands of the legislature, where it will be debated and changed. I’m encouraging all Wisconsin residents who contact me to also contact their legislators and members of the Joint Committee on Finance to voice their opinion.”

— Best regards— MaryAnn

Please add your voice to our letter, as MaryAnn suggests!