WGF Work Product (public comments, testimony, press)

WGF Opposes the EPA’s Proposal to Rescind the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding

View from an airplane window of the upper atmosphere over the US Midwest

Wisconsin’s Green Fire Opposes the EPA’s Proposal to Rescind the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding

WGF Comments on EPA’s proposal to rescind the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment FindingRE: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194

Wisconsin’s Green Fire (WGF) urges the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to keep the 2009 Endangerment Finding in place and to maintain …

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News Release: WGF Supports Audit Findings that Confirm the WDNR Properly Managed Fish and Wildlife Account Funds

Deer doe and fawns run through a summer clearing near water

White tailed deer doe and fawns in Black River Falls WI, photo via Snapshot Wisconsin (Source: https://wi-dnr.widencollective.com/portals/zssbwavl/SnapshotWisconsinPhotoLibrary)

Wisconsin’s Green Fire Supports Audit Findings that Confirm the WDNR Properly Managed Fish and Wildlife Account Funds

Correction (12:42pm CT, Sep. 9, 2025): The $30 million one-time transfer from the Forestry Account to the Fish and …

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Opportunity for Action – Federal PFAS amendments

Photo: Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) containing PFAS at use in a fire at a city of Madison electric substation in July, 2019.

Opportunity for Action – Federal PFAS amendments

Wisconsin’s Green Fire is part of a statewide coalition of groups working on PFAS (the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances also known as “forever chemicals”) in Wisconsin drinking water, soils, and people. PFAS can cause serious environmental and human health problems.

We encourage you to consider taking action with us on …

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Join Us for Prairie Day on August 16

Prairie grasses and flowers

Prairie Day – August 16, 2025

Update: Thank you to everyone who joined us for this beautiful prairie event.

View a photo album of the event here and make sure to join us for more events in the future!

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Metallic mining in Bend deposit: WGF joins partners in calling for Environmental Assessment

Aerial view of forest and proposed drilling sites in Bend deposit with overlay of wetland areas, roads, and drilling holes.

Image from our comment letter: Figure 7: Map of Existing Forest Trail/Roads and Drill Sites.

WGF cosigns formal comments on proposed mining in Bend deposit

Click here to read the PDF of the joint letter by ELPC, Wisconsin’s Green Fire, River Alliance, and Sierra Club – Wisconsin …

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Coalition to Protect Wisconsin’s Lakes Now Largest in the U.S.

logos from various members of coaltion to protect wisconsin lakes

Logos of various groups in the coalition to protect Wisconsin’s lakes, as of June 27, 2025 (not all member organizations depicted).

Coalition to Protect Wisconsin’s Lakes Now Largest in the U.S.
Surge in Group Size Hits 80 WI Groups
Membership Now in the Tens of Thousands

News Release Prepared by Steve Lyons

A coalition focused on protecting Wisconsin’s …

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Letter Urging Senate to Support USGS Ecosystems Mission Area Funding and Workforce

Prairie grassland flowers on the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center campus in La Crosse Wisconsin, with USGS silos pictured in the background. Photo by Anna Hess, USGS, image in public domain.

Prairie grassland flowers on the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center campus in La Crosse Wisconsin, with USGS silos pictured in the background. Photo by Anna Hess, USGS, image in public domain.

Responding to Science Funding Cuts in the Federal Budget

Usually at Wisconsin’s Green Fire, we focus on responding to state-level issues in conservation policy and natural …

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Conservation History Ignored to Weaken the Endangered Species Act – by Dr. Stanley Temple

Male Kirtland's warbler from Adams county, Wisconsin. The Kirtland's warbler is an endangered species that nests in jack pine stands in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada.

Male Kirtland’s warbler from Adams County, Wisconsin. The Kirtland’s warbler nests in jack pine stands in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada. Due to successful habitat protection and management, the species was delisted from the Endangered Species Act in 2019. Image courtesy of Joel Trick/USFWS via Flickr.

Conservation History Ignored to Weaken the Endangered …

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WGF Opposes Proposed Rule Change to the Endangered Species Act

Examples of endangered and threatened species in Wisconsin with a whooping crane, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Karner blue butterfly, Canada lynx, northern long eared bat, Higgins eye mussel, slender glass lizard, Hine's emerald, and piping plover

Examples of endangered and threatened species in Wisconsin depicting a whooping crane, eastern prairie fringed orchid, Karner blue butterfly, Canada lynx, northern long eared bat, Higgins eye mussel, slender glass lizard, Hine’s emerald, and piping plover. Photos via USFWS and Canva.

Speaking Up for Rare Species and their Habitats

UPDATE – May 19, 2025:

A …

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Op-Ed: Wisconsin’s Long History of Local Control and Wake Boat Regulations

sun and clouds over a northern Wisconsin lake

Sunset over a Northern Wisconsin Lake, photo by Ashley Gries

Wisconsin’s Long History of Local Control and Wake Boat Regulations

by Dan Butkus, President- Wisconsin Lakes (dbutkus@wisconsinlakes.org)
and Meleesa Johnson, Executive Director, Wisconsin’s Green Fire (mjohnson@wigreenfire.org)

Note: This op-ed was prepared by WGF Executive Director, Meleesa Johnson, and Wisconsin Lakes President, Dan Butkus in early …

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