Wisconsin, Eau Claire: City defies DNR on deer law

[Horizontal Hunter]

City defies DNR on deer law
Council calls grant withdrawal ‘blackmail’
posted May 13, 2015 12:00 a.m. (CDT)
by / Andrew Dowd



The Eau Claire City Council defied the state Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday by not repealing local urban bowhunting regulations.
Short of the six votes needed to change city deer hunting laws approved last year, the council’s 5-3 vote was preceded with criticism that the state was “blackmailing” Eau Claire.

The DNR has withheld a $30,000 grant it had awarded Eau Claire to pay half the costs of acquiring waterfront property on Loken Lane because Eau Claire’s hunting regulations differed from a 2013 state law.
Councilwoman Kathleen Mitchell called the DNR’s withholding of the grant “monumentally annoying” and “blackmail.”
“I also feel like we’re being extorted somehow,” Councilwoman Catherine Emmanuelle said. “This is enough. This has crossed a line.”
Emmanuelle, Councilman Andrew Werthmann and council President Kerry Kincaid cast the three votes that kept the city’s own regulations in place. Mitchell and others on the council said they’d also want to vote against it, but feared the DNR would withhold other grant money.
However, Councilman Dave Strobel spoke in support of changing the city’s laws to meet the state’s demands.
“I don’t think it’s that big a deal,” Strobel said, noting that the DNR already handles hunting regulations for the entire state.
City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department director Phil Fieber noted the city collected about $600 in fees last year from bowhunters versus the $30,000 grant pulled by the DNR and the potential to be declined for future grants.

Dowd can be reached at andrew.dowd@ecpc.com.

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[Rutnstrut]

I knew this was going to happen. I live in bloomer which is about 25 miles north of Eau Claire. I do a lot of business in EC, there are a LOT of liberals with money in power in EC. Time to hit them where it hurts and take even more grants away.

[Crazinamatese]

I knew this was going to happen. I live in bloomer which is about 25 miles north of Eau Claire. I do a lot of business in EC, there are a LOT of liberals with money in power in EC. Time to hit them where it hurts and take even more grants away.

Agreed. EC is second in line right behind Madison when it comes to liberal strongholds in WI.

[dan]

Why is it these Liberals are above the law? I could care less what they voted, a law was made and they are not following it... If we break the law, there are fines, if we do so at work we lose our jobs... These people need to be arrested and charged, and fired, for blocking people from there legal rights. This could easily fall under the hunter harassment law.

Hunting was opened in Milwaukee, and all the surrounding large suburbs... No one is having any problems. So, what is the reason, they feel they can shut down legal access to tax paying citizens? Bowhunting is statistically safer than just about any sport and 100's of times safer than driving a car...

These people need to be run out of office...

[Rutnstrut]

Dan, I agree and get just as frustrated as to why the laws don't apply to the libs. They are actually breaking a few laws. They are also charging bowhunters a fee to hunt within the city limits. in essence an additional license fee, when no one has the power to charge for hunting/fishing licenses other than the DNR.

[dan]

All we can do about it is complain to the media, Walker, and the WDNR that we want them brought to justice. If enough people sent emails, something would be done.

[Horizontal Hunter]

Recent council vote failed to change bowhunting ordinance
posted 12:00 a.m. (CDT) email article print font size - +
by / Joe Knight . bio | email



Dan Reiland

A city of Eau Claire requirement that hunters obtain permits to bowhunt in the city violates a 2013 state law, a state Department of Natural Resources official said.
Act 71, approved in December of that year, is designed to increase opportunities for urban bowhunting, according to Roy Zellmer, a DNR warden supervisor for recreation safety wardens.

“We don’t feel that the permitting of someone to hunt on their own property is legal, so any fee that is charged would not be legal,” Zellmer said.
On Tuesday the Eau Claire City Council voted 5-3 in favor of revising its bowhunting ordinance, a decision that fell one vote short of the six votes required to change the ordinance.
In return, the DNR is withholding a $30,000 state grant from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program it had awarded to Eau Claire to pay for half the cost of buying a waterfront lot on Loken Lane.
Council Vice President Kathleen Mitchell called withholding the grant “blackmail” even though she was among the five council members who voted in favor of more revisions because of the importance of DNR grants to the city.

“I wanted to vote ‘no,’ ” Mitchell said. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate for them to hold up the grants. But the fact is they can hold up those grants.”
In August the council voted to reduce the permit fee from $45 to $20 to encourage bowhunting in the city, but the DNR said permits are not required and can’t cost a fee.
City attorney Steve Nick said the city views the permit process and the local resolution as a safety issue. While the DNR has authority to manage deer, the city has an obligation to look out for the safety of its residents, he said.

“We think the permit has some validity in a densely populated urban area,” he said.
But Zellmer said, under Act 71, the city cannot require a permit for someone to hunt on their own land or on private land where they have permission. It follows that the city cannot require a map for the permit process or a fee.

Zellmer said there are cases when the DNR would review a city’s bowhunting resolution: If the city has applied for a stewardship grant and if the DNR has received complaints from residents or hunters.
A city ordinance that bans the use of bait by hunters during hunting season also is contrary to state law, Zellmer said. Using bait is legal, he said, subject to restrictions on the amount that can be used daily in counties where there are not deer disease concerns.
Eau Claire County is among the counties that are open for baiting and feeding of deer.
Mitchell said when the City Council revised its ordinance in August to comply with Act 71, she thought the decision had been cleared with the DNR.
“I guess what we have here is a disagreement over the interpretation of Act 71,” she said.

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[Kabic]

If I lived in Eau Claire I would just ignore the illegal law, if they tried to ticket me I would take it to court and sue for attorney fees and punitive damages.