Policy
WGF analyses and statements on broad policy about science in natural resource management, as well as legislation and actions with wide-ranging policy implications for Wisconsin’s environment.
WGF Opposes the EPA’s Proposal to Rescind the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding
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 …
Read More >News Release: WGF Supports Audit Findings that Confirm the WDNR Properly Managed Fish and Wildlife Account Funds
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 …
Read More >Opportunity for Action – Federal PFAS amendments
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 …
Read More >WI Supreme Court Ruling on JCRAR
View of the East Gallery and Supreme Court wing of the WI Capitol, photo by Carolyn Pralle, November 2024
Supreme Court rules that JCRAR powers are unconstitutional
Last week on July 8, 2025, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on the case Evers v. Marklein. This case focused on the administrative rulemaking process …
Read More >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 >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 >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 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 …
Read More >Proposals to Protect Pollinators
Pollinators, photo by Kerry Beheler
Spring in Wisconsin is a busy time for pollinators.
What do you picture when you think about pollinators? Many people focus on bees, but bees are only a part of the pollinator picture! In addition to bees, other important pollinators include butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, even some species of …
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