WGF Blog
Posts by WGF members on a variety of conservation-related topics.
Wisconsin State Budget 2025-2027 Highlights
Historic 2025-2027 Budget Passes and is Signed into Law
By Paul Heinen, WGF Policy Director
As of July 3, 2025, Wisconsin has a new state budget signed into law. As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Evers signed the $111 billion two-year spending plan into law just after 1:30 a.m. Thursday, July 3, less than an …
Read More >A New Chapter for the U.S. Forest Service? Less Productive, Less Prepared, and Flying Blind
A New Chapter for the U.S. Forest Service? Less Productive, Less Prepared, and Flying Blind
By Fred Clark and Paul Strong, WGF Members, Edited by Carolyn Pralle, WGF Communications & Outreach Coordinator
Editor’s Note:
This essay is adapted from an earlier version first published June 24, 2025 on This Land. Written by Fred Clark and Paul …
Read More >Metallic mining in Bend deposit: WGF joins partners in calling for Environmental Assessment
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 …
Read More >Coalition to Protect Wisconsin’s Lakes Now Largest in the U.S.
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 …
Read More >Company explores for copper and gold in national forest in northern Wisconsin
Kidrick Swamp, Wisconsin State Natural Area #464, Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Taylor County, photo from Joshua Mayer via Flickr. This SNA is located in an area of the national forest northwest from the Bend deposit and drilling sites, and illustrates some of the forest and wetlands in the area.
Company explores for copper and gold …
Read More >Board reaffirms and endorses WGF efforts in face of federal changes
Dragonfly on lotus, image via Pixabay
Board reaffirms and endorses WGF efforts in face of federal changes
Written by Carolyn Pralle, WGF Communications and Outreach Coordinator
At present, many people who care about clean water, clean air, rich biodiversity, and healthy ecosystems are worried and outraged. The pace of change and the scale of damage at …
Read More >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.
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 …
Read More >Is killing birds a necessary evil if it benefits a special interest? – Dr. Stan Temple
“Shooting wild pigeons in Iowa” from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated News, 1867, depicting hunters and dogs shooting at a flock of passenger pigeons. These once-common birds went extinct in 1914, largely due to overharvesting. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Is killing birds a necessary evil if it benefits a special interest?
By Dr. Stanley Temple, Wisconsin’s Green …
Read More >PFAS Summit in Wausau
PFAS Summit in Wausau
Group photo from PFAS Summit in Wausau, June 5, 2025
On June 4-5, 2025, Wisconsin’s Green Fire participated in the first in-person summit of the statewide PFAS coalition. As you may know, PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These “forever chemicals” are common in many household and industrial products but …
Read More >Help WGF Raise $15,030 by the Summer Solstice 2025
https://wigreenfire.org/2019/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/summer-solstice-thank-you-1.mp4
Post-fundraiser update as of June 23, 2025: We did it!
Thanks to over 135 donors, we raised over $28,000 during our summer solstice match campaign from June 1st to 20th. The WGF community showed up in big ways, going way above and beyond our goal of $15,030!
When we combine those amazing gifts with the match, the …
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