The legislative session is winding down and two bills that will encourage more wetland, stream and floodplain restoration are scheduled for a vote in the full House and Senate soon. Please contact your state legislators before February 18th to ask them to support the flood demonstration projects proposal, Senate Bill (SB) 252, and the hydrologic restoration bill, Assembly Bill (AB) 701.
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association helped develop and strongly supports these proposals.
- On Tuesday, February 18th, the State Assembly will vote on SB 252 and AB 701. SB 252 provides funding for up to three projects in Ashland County demonstrating natural flood risk reduction techniques like restoring upper watershed wetlands. AB 701 facilitates and encourages more hydrologic restoration by creating a general permit for certain wetland, stream, and floodplain restoration projects and creating a council of experts to advance the use of hydrologic restoration practices in Wisconsin.
- A State Senate vote is also expected soon on AB 701. (SB 252 has already cleared the Senate with unanimous support.)
Please contact your State Representative and State Senator to let them know you support the flood demonstration projects proposal and hydrologic restoration bill (SB 252 and AB 701). To contact your legislators, call the general legislative phone number at 1-800-362-9472 or click here and enter your address in the upper right hand box to find your legislators.
If passed, the bills will move to Governor Evers for his consideration. You can voice your support and ask the Governor to sign these bills into law if they come to his desk at http://evers.wi.gov/ -> Connect -> Voice an Opinion.
When communicating with your legislators and Governor Evers, key points to emphasize include:
- Wetlands serve important functions on the landscape. Increasingly, wetlands are being valued as solutions to water management problems because they help keep lakes and rivers clean, store floodwaters, and build resilience to more frequent severe weather.
- The Ashland County demonstration projects enabled in SB 252 will showcase the benefits that wetland, stream, and floodplain restoration techniques have for reducing flooding, protecting infrastructure, and improving watershed health. Communities throughout Wisconsin will benefit from the information learned through the flood risk reduction demonstration projects.
- The hydrologic restoration bill, AB 701, will facilitate restoration projects that reconnect streams and floodplains, reestablish healthy channel conditions, and restore upper watershed wetlands’ capacity to hold water. Through the newly created council of experts, the bill will also advance the science and practice of hydrologic restoration to help solve water problems in Wisconsin.
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