WGF Blog
Posts by WGF members on a variety of conservation-related topics.
Musings from Meleesa: Earth Week 2024
Let’s Celebrate Earth Week: April 21-27, 2024
Meleesa Johnson, April 2024
Earth Week is almost here, and we are gearing up for our Spring Appeal for Wisconsin’s Green Fire.
Late April is a special time of year in Wisconsin. Sturgeon are spawning, spring ephemerals are blooming, and birds are migrating back to their breeding grounds around …
Read More >PFAS News from Gov. Evers and the EPA
This week brings two big updates for PFAS in Wisconsin.
Gov. Evers and representatives from environmental organizations (Paul Heinen, WGF Policy Director at center of back row) at veto ceremony of SB 312, April 9th, 2024
1) Veto of SB 312 – the PFAS bill with a “poison pill”
On April 9, 2024, Read More >
Conservation Congress Spring Hearings April 2024
Help shape conservation policies during the Wisconsin Conservation Congress “Spring Hearings” this April.
Photo: Dr. F Eugene Hester, USFWS
Every spring, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) seek input from the public on natural resources policies. Since 1934, these “Spring Hearings,” have been an important part of Wisconsin’s conservation …
Read More >Making an impact – Tom Jerow and Gov. Evers
Conservation succeeds through nonpartisan teamwork!
by Meleesa Johnson, WGF Executive Director
Pelican River Forest WI, photo copyright Jay Brittain, courtesy of Gathering Waters
When Tom Jerow answered his phone last week, I bet he wasn’t expecting a call from Governor Tony Evers! As the two talked, Gov. Evers thanked Tom for helping to conserve the Pelican …
Read More >Discussing PFAS with Gov. Evers
by Meleesa Johnson, WGF Executive Director
Governor Tony Evers (left) and WGF Executive Director Meleesa Johnson (right) in Marshfield, March 14, 2024
On March 14th, I was proud to represent Wisconsin’s Green Fire (WGF) at an event in Marshfield to discuss PFAS funding with Governor Tony Evers. PFAS are the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances famous …
Read More >2023-2024 Legislative Session is Over
By Paul Heinen, WGF Policy Director
Summary of WGF’s Legislative Activities during the 2023-2024 Session
Madison skyline from Lake Mendota. Photo by Michael Cain.
The Wisconsin State Legislature has completed its work for the 2023-2024 session and will not return until early January of 2025. Following the November 2024 elections, the Legislature will have a whole …
Read More >Call for Art and Writing Submissions
WGF Now Accepting Art and Writing Submissions for 2024
Marsh Marigold by Diane Daulton
Are you an artist who enjoys recreating Wisconsin’s beautiful landscapes and wildlife in paintings or drawings, a photographer who captures natural beauty through a camera lens, or a poet who paints pictures with words? You are in the …
Read More >WGF Asks Gov. Evers to Veto SB 312
WGF’s letter to Governor Evers requesting he veto SB 312.
On February 26, 2024, Wisconsin’s Green Fire (WGF) sent a letter to Governor Tony Evers, asking him to veto Senate Bill 312 (SB 312). For months, leaders from WGF worked with the authors of this bill in attempts to make it beneficial …
Read More >WGF Opposes SB 999 – Changes to Managed Forest Law
Wisconsin’s Green Fire submitted a letter of testimony opposing SB 999, a Wisconsin Senate bill that would change Managed Forest Law (MFL) to require enrollees in MFL open enrollment to allow motorized access on all roads.
WGF Letter of Testimony – SB 999 | February 14, 2024
According to the Wisconsin …
Read More >Wake Boats and Lakes: New Report from Wisconsin’s Green Fire
May 2024 Update:
The February 2024 version of this report has been updated and replaced by the new version published in May 2024. Read the new version here: Wake Boats and Lakes: Updated Report from Wisconsin’s Green Fire.
The updated content better reflects the current scientific literature and emerging information from communities around Wisconsin and other …
Read More >