There's a twist this year for people interested in participating in the annual Spring Fish & Wildlife hearings involving the DNR and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.
On Monday, April 8, there will be 72 public hearings, one in each county starting at 7:00 p.m.
Individuals interested in natural resources management have an opportunity to provide input to the DNR and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress (WCC) on proposed rule changes and advisory questions relating to fish and wildlife management. The Congress is a citizen advisory board to the DNR.
DNR liason to the Congress, Kari Lee-Zimmerman, says there's an electronic addition to the format...
"...So in addition to the in-person hearings we have in all 72 counties, this is the first year we're going to be offering an opportunity for people to provide input for people on-line. For instance, if they can't make a hearing in person they can still provide their input..."
Lee-Zimmerman says online participants will need to sign in with their county of residence but can provide information just like people who attend in person. The citizen resolutions that are introduced and election of delegates are for in-person attendees only. She says this year is a rule-change year, so the department has 49 questions that are related to proposed rule changes. She says most are fisheries questions with 8 from the wildlife bureau.
More information is on the DNR website.