Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund up for renewal

Since 1989, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund has protected over 475,000 acres of Wisconsin lands in 71 of 72 Wisconsin counties.  Gov. Doyle recently announced the most recent Stewardship Fund purchases including parks, forests and open spaces in Douglas, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Marathon, Outagamie, Portage, Rock and Waukesha counties.

“For over 15 years, the Stewardship Fund has been an amazing success at protecting Wisconsin lands,” stated Dan Kohler, Wisconsin Environment Director.  “Whether you like to hike, bike, fish, hunt, camp or just enjoy open space, we can all celebrate stewardship of Wisconsin lands. The state Legislature should renew the Stewardship Fund and allocate $105 million annually to preserve our land heritage.”

Beyond Preposterous: Stop BP’s dumping scheme

Threatening to roll back years of effort to clean up the Great Lakes, BP wants to increase toxic dumping into Lake Michigan from its oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana.

Under the new permit, BP could dump 1,500 pounds of ammonia and nearly 5,000 pounds of toxic solids (containing heavy metals such as mercury) daily into Lake Michigan.
 
For years, no company has been allowed to increase dumping in the Lake. And although a quarter-acre wastewater treatment plant could help stop the new pollution, BP testified that there’s no room for one at its 1,700 acre refinery.  As this newsletter went to print, BP entered a non-binding agreement to cap its dumping at its previous level, but Wisconsin Environment and our allies are working to get their permit revised so they have to keep that promise.