It will be fall at least before the DNR makes a recommendation whether to issue permits for the firm's proposed copper and zinc mine Back to Top Court ruling Leaves Many Still Wet A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting protections for some wetlands is stirring confusion among Wisconsin property owners. State officials are warning them that they must check first with federal and state governments before beginning any work to fill in or dredge a wetland. The ruling has also prompted DNR Secretary Darrell Bazzell to send a letter urging lawmakers to move quickly to pass a strong bill restoring protections to wetlands negatively affected by the Supreme Court's Jan. 9 ruling involving an Illinois case. The Natural Resources Board, the policy making body for the DNR, also asked lawmakers last week to act quickly to pass a similar bill in order to protect Wisconsin's valuable wetlands. The Supreme Court's January ruling narrows the scope of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' jurisdiction over certain wetlands and, in turn, narrows the DNR's role in protecting those wetlands.
Nobody knows exactly how many isolated wetlands are left unprotected in Wisconsin.
It is estimated the state has lost about half of the 10 million acres of wetlands present before statehood, Cain says. The corps and state agencies will likely not know exactly how many wetland acres are left unprotected by the Supreme Court decision until property owners or others challenge the corps' jurisdiction over specific wetlands. Back to Top Citizen Power State environmental groups will get together in Madison for a Citizens' Assembly, bringing together rural and urban organizers interested in building a statewide movement opposed to corporate rule in Wisconsin, and to plan for democratic and sustainable alternatives. It is time to celebrate that same populist spirit in Wisconsin, one century after Bob La Follette's progressive movement came to power. The event is free and open to the public.