Gov Doyle -Vetoes Protect Environment

[rodeodance]

I got this as an email today. Good for our Gov!!


------- Original Message --------
Subject: Vetoes Protect Environment
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 14:04:29 -0500
From: Governor Jim Doyle <[e-mail]>



Dear Friends:

As someone who cares deeply about protecting Wisconsin's environment, you know that Wisconsin said goodbye recently to a favorite son -- former Governor and Senator Gaylord Nelson. He was a close friend of my family, and I feel a special obligation to protect the legacy he left for all of us.

Next week, I will do just that. As I sign the 2005-2007 state budget into law, I will use my veto authority to make substantial changes to protect Wisconsin's environment.

My first veto will protect the Stewardship fund that the Legislature wanted to eliminate entirely. The Stewardship fund is one of the greatest environmental achievements in state history - protecting hundreds of thousands of acres of Wisconsin's most pristine wilderness for future generations.

In fact, just since I took office, we have gone forward with 176 Stewardship projects in 67 counties, forever protecting more than 55,000 acres of forests, parks, wildlife habitat, and shoreland. This program has helped us preserve great natural places like Straight Lake in Polk County - a wild, totally undeveloped lake and surrounding areas with a rich, vibrant ecosystem that includes everything from Northern Pike to Trumpeter Swans.

Unfortunately, the budget sent to me by Republicans would have destroyed the Stewardship fund. Their proposal was to force the state to empty out the Stewardship fund to buy land that is already owned by another part of state government - land that is already protected. In other words, almost $80 million would have been spent, not a single extra acre of land would be protected, and there would be no money left to protect other land threatened by development.

In two and a half years of traveling our state, I have not had one single person come up to me and ask me to cut the Stewardship program. As far as I can tell, there are only 79 people in Wisconsin who think we should get rid of the Stewardship program - but unfortunately, they're all in the Legislature.

These legislators are totally out of touch with the mainstream of our state, and even the mainstream of their party. When I go to Stewardship sites around the state, the program has enormous support, but for some reason, Republican legislators have launched an all out attack on Stewardship.

Future generations deserve to have the opportunity to hike, hunt, fish and camp just like we have, and so I will veto this senseless attack on Stewardship. I will continue to use the Stewardship fund the way it was intended - protecting our natural heritage.

Sadly, their attack on the environment didn't stop with the Stewardship fund. Legislators also wanted to reduce the tipping fee for out-of-state garbage by 25 percent, making Wisconsin a much more attractive site for trash from Minnesota and Illinois. This was a special interest favor of the worst kind, and I will veto it because we are not going to make Wisconsin the dumping ground for the Midwest.

Finally, I will use my veto pen to protect Smart Growth. Republicans have moved so far out of the mainstream that they are actually trying to dismantle part of Tommy Thompson's legacy - repealing one of the programs he championed. Communities across Wisconsin have used comprehensive plans to increase development and keep growing, while at the same time enhancing quality of life, protecting the environment, and saving tax dollars. To date, 743 communities have used the Smart Growth program to develop plans for their future development. The program has earned the support of local governments, realtors, builders, and conservation groups. Therefore, I am vetoing the Republican provision eliminating Smart Growth, restoring the $4 million they cut from its grant program.

In my life I have lived in other states, and even other countries, and the image that always brought me home to Wisconsin was one of a beautiful lake, surrounded by a rich forest. In Wisconsin, we are lucky to have some of the best, most pristine wilderness in the country.

I know you agree that we should keep it that way. With your help and support during the last two and a half years, we have done just that. I will need your support on these issues in the future, so I hope I can count on you as we continue to work together to protect Wisconsin's environment.

Sincerely,


Jim Doyle
Governor

JED: rbw

[brystheguy]

1. Oh, how I'd like to move back to Wisconsin.

Left in the fourth grade and I've always pined for it since.

[sybylla]

3. We'd sure welcome you back, brystheguy

We need all the Dems we can get to turn this puke legislature into something our Dem gov can work with.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

2. LTTE Time!

Wisconsin DU'ers need to write to their local media and remind people that Doyle is trying to be the "adult" in this process.

[Broca]

4. I too applauded these environmentally friendly vetoes

yesterday.

Today Doyle moved the other direction again by signing AB 437. This bill strips local authority from governments including towns and counties when it comes to protecting their county forests, local government parks, etc. from corporate sponsored transmission lines. This was a special interest piece for the American Transmission Company. Doyle's signature cost about $14,000 ( http://www.opensecrets.org/wdc/employerdetail.asp?name=American+Transmission+Co ). Tommy Thompson would have got $30,000 for this. The bill forbids local governments from having any say in transmission line citings.