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Report finds Wisconsin led states in cuts to pollution prevention

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Wisconsin cut more support from pollution control programs than any other state over the last decade.  State spending for pollution control programs within the Department of Natural Resources was reduced by 36 percent from 2008 to 2018, according to a report from The Environmental Integrity Project, an advocacy group based in Washington D.C.

Other states have also made significant reductions, while federal funding for science and pollution programs within the Environmental Protection Agency was also been reduced by 16 percent over that past decade. The decline in funding in Wisconsin correlates with former Republican Governor Scott Walker’s time in office.

Deer kills decline for 2019 hunting season

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The number deer harvested during the just-concluded gun-deer season is down sharply compared to a year ago. A preliminary report from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says hunters killed 90,286 deer in 2019, down from 123,090 in 2018. That’s a decrease of 26.7%.

The DNR’s Jeff Pritzl said the drop can likely be attributed to the late start to the season.

“Because of the calendar shift, having the latest possible season opener, that does have an effect when we look at that phenomenon from previous years,” Pritzl told WTAQ.

Hunters have told the DNR the deer have been hard to find. “Deer activity and observations of deer certainly appeared to be depressed and slow compared to what we’re accustomed to or what expectations were,” said Pritzl.

There were no counties in the state that reported increases from a year ago.

We Energies opens first small scale solar plant in New Berlin

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We Energies is partnering with local schools and municipalities to help bring solar power projects online.

The project is called Solar Now, and Spokesman Brendan Conway says the projects are using existing properties to host arrays. 

“We install solar panels on their properties, so often times roofs or other land they’re not using, we pay them some money to lease that land, and then all of that clean renewable energy goes into our grid and is used by all of our customers.”

Conway says the first two megawatts of solar panels are now online. 

“We have partnered with the New Berlin School District to put solar panels on four of their locations: three school buildings and some empty space at one of their schools.” That’s enough power to run 400 homes.

Conway says they’re working out similar plans with the city of Racine, UW Parkside, and locations in Washington County. 

DNR reports opening weekend deer harvest

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The numbers are in, for the opening weekend of Wisconsin’s gun deer hunt. “Things started out a little slower than we were hoping that they would, but still we had over 90,000 deer registered, with a little over half of those, 47,000 being antlered bucks,” said Kevin Wallenfang with the Department of Natural Resources.

“We are down right now, in comparison, about 30 percent, and that was not totally unexpected. When we have years where we go from the absolute earliest opener which we did in 2018 to the absolute latest opener which we had this year, we tend to see usually a 20 to 25 percent reduction in the opening weekend buck harvest.”

The nine-day gun deer season opened Saturday and runs through Sunday. “I would just encourage people, you know we’re only talking about the first two days of the season, and there’s still lots of time out there and lots of deer out there to pursue, so get on out there and enjoy it,” Wallenfang said.

DNR reports four gun injuries in opening weekend of deer hunting

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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is investigating four different hunting gun-related incidents that happened over the opening weekend of deer season, including one that is being treated as a criminal investigation. Law enforcement are looking for information after a man was shot Sunday morning in the Washburn County Town of Minong.

Two hunters shot themselves in the left foot with their own weapons, one in Oneida County and one in Marantion County. In Fond Du Lac County, wardens report that a hunter fired at a running deer and instead struck a 19-year-old woman in the hand.

Expect snow and cold to hang around this week, says NWS

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This early blast of winter weather will be hanging around for a number of days.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Taylor Patterson says you’re not mistaken if this seems out of the ordinary.

“Yes, yes, this is quite unusual for early November. As far as temperature wise, well below normal, and then for the snow, both Milwaukee and Madison, we’ve had records set for consecutive number of days with snow on the ground.”

Patterson says we can expect cold temperatures and more snow. 

“Expect Tuesday morning to be really cold with temperatures in the single digits. For the highs on Tuesday, we’re expecting highs to be in the teens or low twenties. As we get into Wednesday, Wednesday night, we could see another round of precipitation and some snow.”

Expect sunshine and temperatures near freezing on Thursday.

DNR: keep deer carcasses out of the woods

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With archery deer season underway and rifle season not far off, Wisconsin DNR officials are reminding hunters to properly dispose of their carcasses to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease.

Daniel Kroll is a Waste Management Specialist in the DRN’s Green Bay Service Center, he says they’ve put together a comprehensive website detailing municipal landfills equipped to handle what’s left of the deer.

“We don’t want the deer on the landscape,” said Kroll. “[CWD] can be spread through contact with deer and it also can be incorporated into the soil where it’s been known to survive for many years.”

Kroll says as of now there are just over a dozen landfills that will take the carcass. Hunters can use the site to find basic information such as directions to the site, hours of operation, and any cost that may be associated with the drop-off.

Other city and county facilities are also accepting carcasses, as are some private businesses.

Additionally, hunters can use the site to find the nearest drop CWD testing kiosk.

In Portage County residents can take their carcasses to the Solid Waste Transfer Facility where a DNR dumpster will be stationed from November 1st through December 31st. The Marathon County Landfill will also accept remains for a fee outside of that window.

Firearms deer season will open November 23rd and close December 1st.

WSAU

Scientists discover new virus affecting Wisconsin bald eagle population

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Scientists in Wisconsin have discovered a virus infecting nearly one-third of America’s bald eagles.

They found the virus while searching for the cause of Wisconsin River Eagle Syndrome near the Lower Wisconsin River. The newly identified bald eagle hepacivirus, or BeHV, may contribute to the fatal disease, which causes the birds to stumble and have seizures.

But BeHV was also found in eagles without symptoms of the syndrome, making a direct link between virus and disease difficult to confirm.

The virus and the syndrome don’t appear to threaten the resurgence of the bald eagle, which was removed from the endangered species list in 2007.

Evers announces climate change task force

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Governor Tony Evers has announced creation of a climate change task force for Wisconsin. Climate change as an issue was largely ignored by the administration of Evers’ Republican predecessor, Scott Walker.

Evers signed an executive order on Thursday at Milwaukee’s Urban Ecology Center. He said it’s “time to deliver on the promise to our kids that we’re leaving them a better life and world than the one we inherited.”

Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes will lead the task force. The task force will report their findings and policy recommendations to Evers by August 2020.

Climate crisis is global focus on Friday

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WRN photo

Young people are taking their climate change fears to the streets on Friday. Around the world, across the U.S. and in Wisconsin, they’ll be out for the Global Youth Strike for Climate. Sophie Guthier is executive director of Wisconsin’s Youth Climate Action Team.

“We’re going to continue fighting for this. They don’t get to just ignore and hope that we won’t say anything after this. This is going to be an ongoing fight, an ongoing struggle where we’re going to continue disrupting the status quo, until we get what we need to survive.”

Guthier says young people hold both political parties responsible for the failure to address the climate crisis, and after rallying at Madison Gas & Electric, they plan to occupy the Capitol.

Scott Blankman, Director for Energy & Air Programs with Clean Wisconsin, said climate change is already making itself felt in Wisconsin.

“We’re already seeing some of the impacts of climate change here in Wisconsin, with the historic flooding that we saw last summer, and even the flooding that we’re continuing to experience here in late August and into September her in Wisconsin as well as throughout the Midwest.”

In addition to Friday’s Global Youth Strike for Climate, the United Nations Climate Action Summit begins in New York City on Monday.