Group
advocates river protection
Rusk County Waters Alliance, along with 40
local and statewide conservation organizations,
called for more protection of Wisconsin's northern
rivers with the Northwoods Hundred Healthiest
Rivers Campaign.
The groups petitioned the
Natural Resources Board, the governing body of the
Department of Natural Resources, to increase
protection of the Flambeau, Chippewa, Thornapple
and other river segments in northern Wisconsin for
future generations. To view a list of those
segments and go to or
.
Midwest
Environmental Advocates prepared the petition in
collaboration with the River Alliance of Wisconsin
when the organizations analyzed Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) information
that showed that some high quality waters were not
being given the legal protection needed to limit
pollution into those waters.
"Our rivers
deserve recognition for being among the healthiest
rivers in Wisconsin," said Ralph Heuschle,
President of the Rusk County Waters Alliance. "We
support this petition because it makes sense –
protect the great rivers we have, before it is too
late. That means placing legal limits on pollution
before it occurs, and educating the public about
this great resource," said Denny Caneff, Executive
Director of the River Alliance of
Wisconsin.
"This petition to the Natural
Resources Board joins economic health and water
quality in Wisconsin's northwoods," said Caneff.
"This is about improving Wisconsin's economy by
protecting and restoring the best, most important
rivers in Wisconsin for future tourism and
recreation."
The DNR gathered the
information on Wisconsin's most pristine rivers as
part of the Northern Rivers Initiative (NRI). The
DNR created the NRI Initiative in 1997 in response
to growing public concern about overdevelopment
and declining water quality in northern Wisconsin.
As part of the NRI Northern Rivers Initiative, the
DNR evaluated 1,494 rivers and river segments in
Wisconsin's 20 northern-most counties.
"The DNR has the information it needs to
protect these rivers," said Andrew Hanson, staff
attorney with Midwest Environmental Advocates.
"The challenge for the Natural Resources Board is
to turn that information into action – and get
these rivers the legal protection they deserve."
In the petition, a coalition of more than
40 conservation and environmental organizations
identifies In the petition, the River Alliance of
Wisconsin and Midwest Environmental Advocates
identify the top 100 river segments in Wisconsin's
northwoods, and requests that the DNR use its data
to upgrade legal protections for those rivers. The
enhanced That protection will limit pollution that
harms fish and wildlife, and will help to
safeguard our waters for Wisconsin residents and
for our valuable the tourism economy. The petition
will also help protect valuable treaty resources
in the ceded territories. The petition will also
help the DNR honor treaty rights held by Chippewa
Tribes to hunt and fish in areas that were ceded
to the federal government.
The River
Alliance of Wisconsin is a non-profit,
non-partisan group of 2,000 citizens,
organizations and businesses dedicated to
advocating for the protection, enhancement and
restoration of our rivers and watersheds. For more
information visit www.wisconsinrivers.org or call
(608) 257-2424.
Protecting Northern
Wisconsin rivers is good for local economies. A
1995 Natural Resources Board Report found that
high water quality contributes significantly to
local economies. For example, tourism activities
in Marinette County in 1993 generated $42.7
million and 1,135 full-time equivalent jobs from a
work force of more than 16,000. Tourism in
northern Wisconsin is dependent on Wisconsin's
high quality waters.
The federal Clean
Water Act requires the DNR to protect and restore
the highest quality waters in Wisconsin. The DNR
does so by classifying rivers, streams, and lakes
as Outstanding Resource Waters or Exceptional
Resource Waters. These classifications give the
DNR authority to limit pollution from grading and
dredging on river banks, from sewage and
industrial sources of pollution, or from depletion
by high capacity groundwater wells.
The DNR
launched the Northern Rivers Initiative to review
existing water quality information on 1,494 stream
segments in 20 northern Wisconsin counties. The
purpose of the effort was to identify high quality
streams and riparian areas for future protection.
The River Alliance of Wisconsin reviewed
the Northern Rivers initiative data and found that
many of the high quality waters identified there
by DNR in the NRI have higher water quality than
many of the northern waters currently classified
as Outstanding RWs or Exceptional Resource
Waters.
Despite this finding, many of these
high quality waters have not been given designated
uses calling for higher protection from the DNR.
Currently, undesignated waters receive "default"
protections. Under "default" waters protections,
it is possible for a high quality river to be
degraded significantly before a response is
legally
required.
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