Previous outdoors and conservation news are also available on-line. That is among the conclusions found in the 1996 Wisconsin Water Quality Assessment Report to Congress, which details the state's efforts to meet the goals of federal Clean Water Act. The report, which is an addendum to the 1994 report, details activities the state has conducted during the last two years to monitor, manage and protect water resources. A reorganization that the DNR is currently undergoing is intended to integrate many different DNR programs on an ecosystem level. This approach will better help the agency address water quality problems that are caused by air pollution, poor land use practices, waste disposal and other factors.
Water is just one component of the ecosystem.
We need to look at all the parts, the land that drains to a waterbody, the air above it, the plants, animals and people using it, in order to effectively address water quality. The Clean Water Act requires all states to report to Congress on efforts to meet goals of the act. Wisconsin's report includes data derived from the state's monitoring and management programs from a number of programs and jurisdictions. Because the DNR is currently restructuring many of its water management programs, the state received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to submit an abbreviated report that serves as an addendum to the 1994 report. There are a variety of methods Wisconsin could consider to control an expanding population of geese in urban areas around Wisconsin, members of the Urban Waterfowl Task Force were told at their third meeting earlier this month.