This story comes from the Wisconsin News Collaborative, a partnership of Wisconsin public media newsrooms, including WUWM, Wisconsin Public Radio, and WXPR.
Wisconsin is being forced to close some fish hatcheries and stop some stocking of muskies, walleyes and pheasants because the state’s budget committee hasn’t granted the Department of Natural Resources new spending authority.
The reductions are the latest development in ongoing challenges the agency has faced with the state’s fish and wildlife account.
In recent years, the account has faced a $16 million shortfall as license fees for hunting and fishing have remained largely flat since 2005, even amid rising costs and declining license sales. Lawmakers in last year’s biennial state budget approved a $30 million transfer from the state’s forestry account to make up the deficit.
But without approval from the Legislature’s Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance, DNR Secretary Karen Hyun said the agency lacks authority to spend all that money. A few weeks ago, the agency requested authority to spend roughly $4 million by April 12 to maintain core work on stocking, habitat management, monitoring and maintenance of public facilities.
“We are needing to consider cutting core work that we do — things like stocking of pheasants or stocking of fish that are important to people who recreate across the state, like muskies and walleyes,” Hyun said.
GOP co-chairs of the committee Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, did not respond to requests for comment.
In two letters to the committee’s GOP co-chairs, Hyun wrote that the agency would decrease fish population monitoring and habitat management, as well as reduce fish stocking by 11 percent or more than half a million fish.
The DNR said all cuts to stocking are being put in place regardless of whether the agency receives additional funds. The reduction means a total of nearly 4.3 million fish will be stocked this year, which is down from nearly 4.8 million.
The agency will stock 40,000 fewer muskies or a 70 percent reduction. Walleye stocking will also drop by 45 percent or a reduction of just under 300,000 fish.
The Brule and Osceola state fish hatcheries in northern Wisconsin are currently closed due to the lack of funding. The agency plans to pursue all other cuts to monitoring, assessments and habitat management unless the committee approves the DNR’s request or finds other sources of funding by July 1.
Todd Kalish, deputy director of the DNR’s fisheries bureau, said it’s expensive to raise brown trout at the Brule facility, which are stocked into Lake Superior. He noted rainbow trout reared at Osceola have seen limited survival and interest from anglers.
The DNR also plans to keep 10 positions vacant through June 2027. Kalish said the agency has already lost 50 fisheries positions in the last 20 years.
Tom Johnson, director of the Douglas County Fish and Game League, said fewer opportunities for anglers would mean fewer people buying licenses or spending money on fishing trips at hotels, restaurants and bait shops.
“We’re doing a good job with our fisheries right now. Continue it,” Johnson said. “Don’t stop. Don’t cut anything.”
DNR proposes to scale back wildlife stocking, surveys and maintenance
Related to wildlife management, the DNR will reduce pheasant stocking by 10,000 birds. Wildlife monitoring may also be reduced by 28 percent for a mix of game species, including deer. Maintenance of public facilities would also decline, and the agency would reduce management of forest habitat by one-third or 22,000 acres. The agency also plans to scale back winter wolf tracking by 20 percent and chronic wasting disease testing in deer by 10 percent.
The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation led a coalition of groups last year that supported raising funds for the fish and wildlife account. Cody Kamrowski, the group’s executive director, said it’d like to see the Legislature raise license fees, as well as explore something similar to an outdoor recreation pass for those who don’t fish or hunt.
In addition, he wants lawmakers to examine a sales tax to fund conservation or backfill the account with state funding to make up for $22 million in discounted license fees for youth, seniors and other users.
“We need to make the necessary investments to ensure that these resources are around and plentiful and pristine for many generations to come,” Kamrowski said.
Last year, Gov. Tony Evers proposed raising hunting and fishing license fees, which lawmakers rejected. GOP lawmakers and Evers have signed off on raising some non-resident license fees in the past, but Republican leaders have opposed raising fees on Wisconsin sportsmen and -women.
Last year, an audit of the account ordered by Republicans found the DNR was not mismanaging funds.
Editor’s note: The DNR clarified Thursday that the Brule and Osceola state fish hatcheries will not operate this year, and all stocking cuts are being implemented. The agency said it may be able to prevent reductions on monitoring, assessments and habitat management if it receives funding authority by July 1.
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