Hunters and anglers are Wisconsin’s best conservationists. We appreciate clean air, clean water and we work diligently on improving habitat for the wild creatures in wild places that we pursue. We fund the bulk of our state’s conservation work. We organize and fight for our constitutional right to pursue game and preserve our heritage. The fight today is changing.
I hunt on public and private lands throughout our great state. I fish wherever I can year-round. I’ve sent hundreds of hand-written letters to landowners seeking permission to access their land in exchange for some sweat equity. I’ve knocked the doors of our farmers to see if they have too many of a specific animal that is causing damage. I may not get a lot to say “yes”, but I have great conversations with those that share love for land, wildlife, and our heritage.
As I drive the backroads of Wisconsin, I’m noticing something new: thousands of acres of solar panels covering a once pristine, productive landscape surrounded by tall fences and ugly, massive webs of transmission lines.
I’m all in on new technologies and innovating. However, this doesn’t feel like a sound tradeoff. In the last eight years, Wisconsin has lost over 40,000 acres of cropland to solar panels. This means lost agricultural land and food, lost wildlife habitat, and lost access. These changes interrupt migration patterns, wildlife, and shelter. What’s worse is that when these panels are damaged or fail, they leak a nasty cocktail of chemicals including Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Yes, the same PFAS that Governor Evers and the legislature are spending $125 million on to remediate. It seems counterproductive to fund the cleanup of a chemical that we’re now willingly placing onto our most fertile soils.
It’s happening right now in the Town of Erin Prairie in St. Croix County. 5,000 acres of cropland are being pursued to create another solar farm. I fully respect property rights and don’t blame farmers for considering these massive payouts from utility companies, especially in tough times. But we all pay the price through government subsidies and our utility rates. Wisconsin’s investor owned utility companies are authorized to earn a profit of 9.8%.
We also pay for it in ways that are harder to measure, like our wildlife, culture, and access. We won’t understand the impacts on wildlife for maybe 20 years, after these panels have begun degrading and need replacement. I have discovered that there is no plan for what happens once degradation begins. I am by no means against renewable energy. I believe in energy abundance and common sense. I support community solar, geothermal, and a marketplace of energy resources.
I am concerned that this project contains the headwaters of the Kinnickinic River, one of the area’s best trout fishing rivers, and its proximity to hundreds of acres of public access for healthy birds, solid trapping, and plenty of wildlife and habitat to enjoy. We don’t know what second order effects will come from such a large solar project.
That’s why I oppose this solar project and would like a more thorough review from our regulatory agencies- something that isn’t required for utility-scale solar farms. For those wondering what a better alternative would be, I’d like to see more done to research and permit nuclear power, especially small modular reactors (SMRs).
Wisconsin’s sportsmen should acknowledge and accept our role in environmental preservation. We should collectively call upon policymakers to reduce the burdens surrounding SMR nuclear energy and invest in something that makes sense. These modular reactors can produce twice the electricity as a 5,000-acre solar farm on a footprint that is less than 40 acres. As a conservationist and outdoorsman, I believe this is our solution to improving energy abundance, protecting wildlife and habitat, and ensuring Wisconsin leads the way on reducing emissions while keeping our energy costs down. Nuclear energy and SMRs are the future for Wisconsin sportsmen.
Paul Schecklman is a lifelong Wisconsinite and avid hunter and angler. He is a Defense and Strategic Studies doctoral candidate and holds an MPSA from the Bush School at Texas A&M. He is a Senior Fellow for the Wisconsin Veteran Business Alliance.
Last Update: Dec 13, 2024 4:51 pm CST
