Leader Staff
Area residents have two opportunities in the next few weeks to voice their opinions about fish and wildlife management in Wisconsin.
The state Department of Natural Resources will hold its spring hearings in conjunction with the Wisconsin Conservation Congress’ annual county meetings next week. The Shawano County meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Shawano Community Middle School, 1050 S. Union St.
Also, the DNR is taking comments until April 17 on recommendations of the County Deer Advisory Council for the 2016 deer season. The council last month proposed county hunters receive two free antlerless tags per license to help control the deer population.
At Monday’s meeting, residents will elect local representatives to the Conservation Congress and provide input on proposed DNR rule changes and advisory questions.
Results from the meetings in each county will be presented to the Natural Resources Board in May. If there is significant support for a proposal, the WCC advisory question could become a DNR rule change proposal in following years.
“Conservation Congress advisory questions generally originate from citizens’ ideas.” said Rob Bohmann, chairman of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. “If resolutions presented at the county level meetings are supported, the resolution is advanced to one of the Congress’ advisory committees and the Congress Executive Council for consideration.
“Each year, there are over 200 resolutions submitted locally. Not all pass, but the ones that do have the potential to become a rule, policy or legislative change in the subsequent years. It is a true grassroots process that empowers the citizens of this state to shape natural resources policy.”
The complete DNR spring rules hearings questionnaire is available for review online or at local DNR service centers. For information on the spring hearings, visit www.dnr.wi.gov and search key words “Spring Hearings.”
People interested in attending the hearings are encouraged to review the questionnaire online prior to the hearings and should arrive at the middle school early to register before the hearings begin.
The County Deer Advisory Council recommendations are also available at dnr.wi.gov. (Search keyword CDAC.)
The county council will review the public feedback when it meets at 7 p.m. April 19 at SCMS before making final recommendations to the DNR. These recommendations will be advanced to the Natural Resources Board for approval in May.