DSORe POLL S1013

LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULTS  

Should Wisconsin sell naming rights to our state parks?

4 COMMENTS  

   

THIS WEEK’S POLL

Do you approve of hunting with silencers?

Hunting with silencers in Wisconsin?

Outdoor News blogger Kristen Monroe wrote:

I think of a hardcore criminal on the big screen trying to kill their enemy in silence when I hear the word silencer, or suppressor. I certainly never thought about them in a positive light. Why would anyone consider using them for hunting?

It is legal to purchase and hunt with suppressors in Wisconsin, but owning a suppressor that is not properly registered and taxed is a felony. To my surprise, only a few states prohibit them. And two of them are our neighbors.

It is currently illegal to own a silencer in Minnesota and Illinois. Illinois is in the process of adopting a new law that may change things in the future. In Michigan, you can own suppressors, but not for hunting. The process is the same for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) authorization; you must check with the state laws to see which state allows them and for what. Some states, like Michigan, only allow them for citizens' personal use, while in South Dakota it is only legal to use them for varmint hunting.

I found the site for the American Suppressor Association to be very valuable, but I still made a call and spoke with the Wisconsin DNR to verify that it is legal to use them for hunting in this state. According to Knox Williams, president and executive director of the American Suppressor Association, the process to own one legally is the same in every state in which it is legal.

In Wisconsin, you can legally hunt and own a suppressor if the ATF gives authorization. YOU need the stamp if approval. A licensed dealer can also walk you through the process.

Giving poachers more tools to wipe the deer population certainly isn’t something I would ever support. Then again, if criminals are willing to poach I bet they already are.

A friend told me, we can’t legislate based on what fear of what poachers or other law breakers might do. Williams explained several benefits that I had never thought about in the past.

READ MORE http://www.outdoornews.com/February-2015/Hunting-with-silencers-in-Wisconsin/

OUTDOORS RADIO POLL s1009

 

LASTWEEK’S POLL RESULTS

Is the Natural Resources Board dead in the water, now, due to Gov. Walker’s budget proposal stripping it of oversight authority over DNR?

  COMMENTS  

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THIS WEEK’S POLL 

Do you support Wisconsin Conservation Congress Chairman Rob Bohmann’s letter to Gov. Walker requesting the Governor reconsider his proposal to strip the Natural Resources Board of oversight authority over the DNR?

Conservation Congress Opposes Walker Budget Proposal

MADISON -- Text of letter Wisconsin Conservation Congress Chairman Rob Bohmann sent to Gov. Walker and State Legislators on Feb. 13:

The Honorable Governor Walker and Wisconsin State Legislators,

With full appreciation for your efforts to bring more efficiency to state government and the public sector, I must respectfully but vehemently disagree with the proposal in the 2015-2017 state budget to remove the policymaking authority from the Natural Resources Board and make them strictly an advisory council. The repercussions of this action will have a significant and adverse effect on our state’s natural resources.

Wisconsin has been widely regarded as the center of the conservation movement. It was renowned conservationists Aldo Leopold, William Aberg, and Haskell Noyes that helped forge the Conservation Act of 1927, which created the Conservation Commission (predecessor of the Natural Resources Board). With great foresight these pioneers of conservation created a unique system to keep conservation and politics separate by creating an independent board, beholden to no one. The Natural Resources Board has successfully operated with its policy-making authority uninterrupted for the past 88 years during which time Wisconsin has continuously been a national leader in environmental protection and wildlife conservation efforts.

Nowhere else in Wisconsin state government do the people of this state have such a direct avenue for input as through the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and the Natural Resources Board. Currently, natural resource policy decisions are made in full view of the public, broadcast online, and with ample opportunity for citizens to provide testimony or written comments. The unsurpassed level of citizen involvement we have in the anagement of our state’s resources is the envy of many other states. This proposed change would take the policy-making authority from the public arena to the political arena. Giving the policy-making authority solely to the department secretary would potentially allow for important natural resource decisions to be made behind closed doors without any public vetting. Any potential gains in efficiency that may result from this proposal do not justify the loss of an open and transparent government. The division of power and citizen involvement is essential for the long-term management of the state’s resources which are held in public trust and belong to all citizens of the state.

The Natural Resources Board and Wisconsin Conservation Congress have been working tirelessly in shaping conservation policies for over 80 years. Eliminating the authority of the Natural Resources Board and making the Conservation Congress advisory to the DNR secretary would undermine this proven system of citizen engagement that so many have worked so hard for and would irreparably mar the legacy we leave for future generations. I respectfully ask that the Natural Resource Board retain their policy-making authority and Conservation Congress remain the citizen advisory body to the board to ensure the continuation of Wisconsin’s rich tradition of citizen involvement in conservation.

Respectfully,

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Rob Bohmann, Chair 
Wisconsin Conservation Congress