Editor's Note: On Wednesday, 28th Assembly District Rep. Adam Jarchow (R-Balsam Lake) sent a letter-to-the-editor (LTE) to DrydenWire.com about his northern neighbor and fellow Assemblyman Nick Milroy (D-South Range) of the 73rd District on the topic of wolves. Earlier today, Milroy submitted his response to Jarchow's LTE. This evening, Jarchow followed that with his submitted response to Milroy. The latest message is on top and earlier ones are below.
Milroy Does Nothing for Northern Wisconsin
While every other State Representative from Northern Wisconsin has taken an active role in trying to return Wolf management to the state, Representative Nick Milroy has done absolutely nothing.
When we held a wolf summit, near his district, dozens of his constituents attended, but not Nick Milroy. He couldn’t be bothered. Too busy I guess. When we work to put constant pressure on Congress, Milroy sits on his hands. When we propose legislation to end State wolf involvement until management is returned to Wisconsin - a method that worked in Idaho to achieve delisting - Milroy votes no.
He has lots of excuses. But the fact is, neither he nor Sen. Janet Bewley have done a damn thing. They are content to ignore this crisis. And that’s pathetic. Why? Because we need them more than ever. The window is quickly closing on our opportunity for Congress to pass bi-partisan delisting legislation. Unfortunately, only a few Democrat US Senators support the bill. We need a few more. Every Republican US Senator supports the bill. But we need 9 Democrats (we only have 3 or 4). To get there, we need Tammy Baldwin to exert pressure on her Democrat colleagues. As fellow Democrats, Milroy and Bewley could be instrumental in getting Sen. Baldwin to twist some arms. But instead, Milroy and Bewley make pathetic excuses. They do absolutely nothing to help.
So here is your chance Rep. Milroy. Show your constituents that you care. Write an open letter to Senator Baldwin. You clearly have the time. In just one day, you wrote a lengthy letter explaining why you just couldn’t vote for a bill to put pressure on Congress to delist, so now maybe you can take some time to do something for your constituents instead of saving yourself. Rep. Milroy, I’ll look forward to reading your open letter to Tammy Baldwin urging her to get delisting done.
Adam Jarchow
28th Dist.
State Rep.
**Previous Post**
Milroy Responds to Jarchow's Letter to the Editor
Thursday, February 1, 2018 | Rep. Nick Milroy
Letter to the Editor,
I would be remiss if I didn’t respond to the deceitful Letter to the Editor by Representative Adam Jarchow regarding my vote on Assembly Bill 712 (AB 712), legislation authored by him that would put our law enforcement in the predicament of having to ignore federal and state law and would end all Department of Natural Resources (DNR) funding for wolf population research and management.
Rep. Jarchow states that I voted no on his legislation because I “caved to animal special interest groups in Madison.” There are many reasons I voted no, and not a single one of them has anything to do with animal activists. If Rep. Jarchow would have shown up at the committee meeting when the vote was being taken on his bill, he would have heard my thorough explanation as to why my vote was no.
Let me be clear. I support delisting of wolves by the federal government, followed by a managed hunt by the Wisconsin DNR. In fact, I voted for legislation that created a wolf hunting and trapping season in Wisconsin. I also have worked with the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation and our congressional delegation to remove wolves from the Endangered Species Act list. If Rep. Jarchow and the other authors of his bill spent more time talking with members of Congress than attacking their colleagues, the issue of wolves may have already been resolved and he wouldn’t need to introduce legislation that puts our law enforcement officers and sportsmen in the crosshairs.
Allowing sportsmen and women to randomly shoot wolves, which would occur under Jarchow’s bill, would cause problems on many levels. First of all, the DNR would not be able to keep tabs on the wolf population. Secondly, this bill would paint all sportsmen in a negative light. Poaching animals is unethical and the legislature should never condone these shameful acts. Thirdly, this bill may jeopardize federal wildlife grants and would certainly be contested in court. Sportsmen and taxpayers of Wisconsin could be on the hook for untold millions in lost wildlife grants and litigation fees. Lastly, the State of Wisconsin has an obligation to co-manage wildlife populations with our sovereign neighbors, the Lake Superior Ojibwe. This was reaffirmed decades ago by the Supreme Court of the United States. As you can imagine, the Ojibwe and Menominee tribes are opposed to this bill as it is highly disrespectful to their culture and heritage.
As a biologist by trade, I fully understand the need to manage animal populations. Enactment of Jarchow’s legislation will have the opposite result by ensuring the wolf remains on the Endangered Species Act list indefinitely. Rep. Jarchow is a lawyer who is more interested in spreading misinformation than understanding wolf management dynamics.
Finally, allow me to point out that Rep. Jarchow was not even at the public hearing to testify for his bill, AB 712, as he was too busy campaigning to become a State Senator. There’s no doubt in my mind that his Letter to the Editor filled with deceit is nothing more than retaliation for me pointing out his absence at the committee hearing.
Warm regards,
Nick Milroy
State Representative 73rd Assembly District
**Previous Post**
Jarchow: Milroy 'Caved to Animal Special Interest Groups' on Recent Wolf Bill
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 | Rep. Adam Jarchow
Letter to the editor:
On January 17, 2018, Representative Nick Milroy (D-South Range) caved to animal special interest groups in Madison and voted not to recommend passage of a bill which would pressure Congress to delist the wolf from the Endangered Species List. Rep. Milroy has stood firm in his stance even though the species’ population in Wisconsin is nearly triple the recommended size. His vote against the recommendation, as part of the Committee on Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage showed Northern Wisconsin that their Representative has chosen to vote the party line over doing what is right for the people. When it comes to issues in Northwestern Wisconsin, I am never afraid to vote contrary to my party because the people’s voice comes first.
Milroy’s 73rd Assembly District, according to DNR wolf monitoring, is a major hotbed of wolf predation within the state. Douglas County, nearly all of which Representative Milroy represents, has the largest number of confirmed wolf-caused animal killings of any county in the state, accounting for over 20% of them! How can a representative of those most affected by wolf-caused killings not support legislation aimed solely at forcing Congress to take action to return wolf management back to Wisconsin?
Admittedly, the bill takes drastic measures to achieve this goal. There is a broad, bipartisan consensus that the wolf should be delisted. Wisconsin’s congressional delegation has promised us that action will be taken to alleviate the population growth of the gray wolf in our state, but to no avail. Too long have we waited patiently for the wolf to be delisted, and Representative Milroy should know this all too well. That is why drastic measures are needed.
With the exception of Milroy, every single representative from Northern Wisconsin voted to recommend passage. Milroy’s Democratic colleagues on the committee have an excuse for the way they voted: they are from Southeastern Wisconsin, have no interaction with wolves, and can therefore be easily persuaded by those in Madison who don’t know the extent of our situation. They don’t understand our needs and problems up north. However, to stand in the thick of wolf territory and not be willing to take a hardline approach following promise after broken promise from Congress – well that is just irresponsible. I hope that the good folks in the 73rd Assembly District hold Rep. Milroy accountable for his inaction and lack of leadership on this extremely important issue.
Rep. Adam Jarchow
28th Assembly District
Last Update: Feb 02, 2018 7:00 am CST
