Changes To DNR Draw Criticism At Budget Hearing

Several people testified against Gov. Scott Walker’s Department of Natural Resources budget during a public hearing in Brillion Wednesday.

Walker’s budget would take away the power of the Natural Resources Board, a move that bothered Lil Pipping of Elkhart Lake.

“Please, do not mess with something that isn’t broken,” she told lawmakers.

Mike Arrowood, who’s a member of Wisconsin’s Conservation Congress, asked why Walker was making so many changes to the DNR when most of its funding comes from user fees.

“Why is the governor messing with my money? My money and the tens of thousands of people like me, the 1.6 million people who fish in the state of Wisconsin, the 650,000 people that deer hunt in the state of Wisconsin. Why mess with our money?,” Arrowood said.

Others testified against Walker’s plans to cut DNR scientist jobs and end state funding for Wisconsin’s state park system.