Participate in the Wisconsin Conservation Congress “Spring Hearing”

April 7, 2025

Printable Voter Guide
(or read below)

Engage in Shaping the Future of Wisconsin’s Natural Resources
Amy Mueller- Executive Committee & Wildlife Team

The Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) is a unique entity that collects public input focused on the state's natural resources. As the only statutory body in the state where citizens elect delegates to advise the Natural Resources Board and the Department of Natural Resources, the WCC plays a role in shaping conservation policy.

The majority of citizen input is gathered in their annual Spring Hearing Survey which is a conduit for public opinion on various issues, from hunting and fishing regulations to environmental protection measures.

Where and When to Participate in the Spring Hearing Survey

Each spring, the WCC conducts a survey that allows residents to express their opinions on a wide range of conservation issues. This survey is a critical tool for gathering public input and shaping future policies. Participation can be done online or in person.

You have an in-person opportunity Monday, April 14, 2025, at 6 p.m. in each county. (Locations available here)
The online survey starts at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 14 and continues through 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Link to survey here

Pro tips to know before taking the Spring Hearing Survey:

Need an express version? In order to support the most critical issues with a limited amount of time - you can always select “no opinion” and keep moving through the survey to get to the questions you really want to provide your opinion. Generally, taking the survey can take between 30-45 minutes.
Not sure how to answer? When not sure about a question, the safe bet is also to select “no opinion” and keep moving through and submit the survey.
Check out our Voter Guide - This is for reference to help highlight very important questions and provide some context on the topic. See the voter guide below or download a printable version here.

Emphasis on Limited Time to Vote

The public survey is only open online for 47 hours this year! (This is less than previous years)

Your participation in the WCC Spring Survey is a powerful way to contribute to the stewardship of Wisconsin’s natural resources. By writing resolutions and voting, you help shape the policies that protect and enhance our environment for future generations. Do not miss this limited-time opportunity to make a difference!

Sierra Club Wisconsin’s 2025 Conservation Congress Voter Guide

Question	Sierra Club Position	More information
1. Do you support allowing hunters who quarter their deer in the field to leave nonedible parts at the site of harvest?	Oppose	Lead ammunition is the main cause of lead poisoning in birds and other wildlife. When lead bullets are used, the bullet fragments into very small pieces inside the shot animal. When deer remains with lead fragments are left in the field by hunters, they are consumed by scavenging animals and birds. Current studies provide information detailing the harm to wildlife, especially to raptors.
2. Do you support using technology to meet the trap tending requirements?	Oppose	Leaving traps unintended for too long creates safety risks for people and animals.
44. Do you favor requiring that all active bear baits on public land in Wisconsin to be labeled with either the individual responsible for the bait’s customer ID or their name and address?	Support	Requiring bear baits to be labeled on public lands would also be consistent with the requirements for other objects. This will also help wardens in situations when they need to quickly contact bear bait owners.
45. Do you support an exemption from Wis. Stat. s. 227.139 for rules regulating PFAS in the environment?	Support	PFAS are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they’re very difficult to break down, and, what’s more, are carcinogenic, interfere with our hormone systems, and have made their way into Wisconsin’s waterways and drinking water.
46. Do you support the legislature providing DNR statutory authority to require submittal of the same federal PHMSA reports to the Department for additional spill notifications?	Support	An extensive network of pipelines carry various materials, including petroleum and other products, throughout the state. Last year, Enbridge Energy Co. was responsible for the largest oil spill in Wisconsin, yet it took weeks for the public to learn about the spill.
47. Would you support phasing out uses of lead so that it is not left behind on our lands and in our waters?	Support	Once in the environment, lead persists for hundreds of years. Often, eagles and other species will pick up pieces of the toxic metal left behind from bullets or fishing gear. And just like humans, they can face dire health consequences from lead exposure. Each year in the US, 10-20 MILLION animals die from lead toxicosis. (*Learn more below)
48. Would you support increasing funding for nonpoint source pollution control and the establishment of an independent team of experts to recommend changes that protect our water, lakes and streams from pollution by spreading animal manure and commercial fertilizer?	Support	Protecting our waters from pollution caused by run-off from agricultural fields will require adequate funding for changes in the regulation of controlled animal feeding operations and the spreading of manure on agricultural fields. Current practices are promoting pollution which may be getting worse and be ecologically unsustainable. Current non-point source pollution control practices are not meeting the state’s public trust responsibilities to protect our water, lakes and streams.
52. Would you support allowing the use of foothold traps with a jaw spread of up to nine inches in the water?	Oppose	The resolution increasing the maximum allowable jaw width/spread of foothold traps set for beaver from 8” to 9 ½” is unnecessary, and unjustified. It is a “solution in search of a problem”. According to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “most injuries are associated with larger traps”.
53. Would you support a rule change which would require a favorable BMP rating, irrespective of jaw spread, for traps to be legal for use in Wisconsin?	Oppose	We support adding BMP rating to the requirements, but want WDNR to be able to continue using the requirements they think is best for Wisconsin’s natural resources.
56. Would you support legislation establishing a $5 annual habitat stamp to fund upland, warm water lakes and streams habitat projects?	Support	Requiring each customer to purchase one $5 stamp per year would raise more than $5 million to fund habitat work for our uplands, warm water lakes and streams. Such a stamp would also provide a way for non-consumptive users such as: hikers, nature observers, canoeists, kayakers and recreational boaters to help protect and enhance the resources they are enjoying.
57. Do you support the DNR helping Wisconsin’s farmers to mitigate livestock conflicts with non-lethal preventative solutions using education and state-funded financial assistance?	Support	This funding would help prevent livestock loss before it happens. The current practice of compensation to farmers is only reimbursement after an issue has occurred, creating a dangerous cycle where money is spent to kill the wildlife and the farmer doesn’t come out ahead. In fact, it has been proven that killing the local predators works only in the short-term and ultimately becomes a vacuum for new predators in the future.
60. Would you support having the Wisconsin DNR’s Bureau of Parks and Recreation build additional site appropriate camper cabins in campgrounds to allow more opportunity for those with physical disabilities to go camping?	Support	These upgrades would allow more people to enjoy our parks
62. Would you support legislation that creates a Sandhill Crane Stamp to help farmers reduce crane-caused crop damage?	Support	No program currently exists in Wisconsin to assist farmers with crop damage caused by sandhill cranes. To help farmers pay for the cost associated with seed treatment this resolution suggests creating a Sandhill Crane Stamp. Funds raised by stamp sales or donations to the crane stamp program would be used to compensate farmers for treating their corn with a crane deterrent or purchasing pre-treated corn.
69-73 Harvest of white deer	Oppose	White deer in Wisconsin are currently protected from hunting due to social and cultural reasons. Not hunting white deer is a recognition of their uniqueness.

More on Phasing out Lead:

The toxic effects of lead have been known for thousands of years. Once in the environment it persists for hundreds of years. Lead has been an issue for the state’s birds for a long time, said Sean Strom, fish and wildlife toxicologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Often, eagles and other species will pick up pieces of the toxic metal left behind from bullets or fishing gear. And just like humans, they can face dire health consequences from lead exposure. Lead can collect in animal tissues and bone over time, so it bioaccumulates causing animals with lead exposure to succumb to starvation, disease, roadkill or predation. Studies have shown a correlation between high levels of lead toxicity in eagles during the deer hunting season suggesting that eagles are ingesting lead from scavenging the carcasses of deer shot with lead ammunition.. According to the Cornell University of Veterinary Medicine: Each year in the US, 10-20 MILLION animals die from lead toxicosis.

A recent study of bald and golden eagles across the U.S. found that almost half of them suffered from chronic lead poisoning — and that lead was suppressing population growth in these species. Eagles aren’t the only birds dealing with lead exposure in Wisconsin. In a DNR study from 2009, Strom and his team found that lead also poses a major threat for trumpeter swans and common loons.

Today’s non-toxic bullets, shot and fishing weights are widely available and often comparable in price to lead. Lead poisoning is 100% preventable and can be eliminated. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services “recommends the use of non-lead ammunition as the simplest and most effective solution to lead poisoning, in both humans and wildlife, arising from the consumption of deer killed with lead ammunition.”

For more information and to stay updated on the specifics of the Spring Hearings, visit the Wisconsin Conservation Congress website: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc/springhearing.

Participate in the Wisconsin Conservation Congress “Spring Hearing”

Where and When to Participate in the Spring Hearing Survey

Emphasis on Limited Time to Vote

More on Phasing out Lead:

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