Issue Position: Preserving our Pristine Resources

Issue Position

My family has spent countless hours hiking, biking, fishing and enjoying the great outdoors. Our generation must be guardians of our natural resources; their preservation for future generations is a moral imperative. But in the last biennial budget, Republicans eliminated all public funding for our beloved state parks and forests, increased user fees and allowed the DNR to sell corporate naming rights to our parks. I will be a tireless advocate for policies that protect our resources from short-term exploitation and that reverse the GOP attack on our--and our children's--precious natural heritage . We must not drill for oil in the Great Lakes. We should fully fund the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund--slashed by $30 million dollars in the last GOP state budget--to protect our beautiful state wild lands and waters. We need to preserve and strengthen our state's Smart Growth Law to promote sensible land use planning. We should also seek to assist recycling in our communities (Republicans cut $4 million from these programs) and make recycling facilities accessible throughout the state. We should reestablish the Wisconsin Conservation Corps to allow low-income youths to earn money by working on conservation projects.

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