YOU can play an important role!
By Bruce Ross, Executive Director bruceross@wi.rr.com
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s March, 2021 Newsletter edition.
Wisconsin Wildlife Federation has been very busy lining up a lead bill sponsor in both the Senate and Assembly to restore the right of sportsmen and women to directly cross railroad tracks for the purpose of hunting, fishing and trapping. This bill has been supported by WWA for several years, but with the new legislature, post-election, there’s a chance to get this legislation across the finish line.
Background: A bill passed in 2006 removed the right of sportsmen and women to cross railroads tracks that had been in existence for as long as there were railroads. This has blocked the access to public lands along the full length of the Mississippi for hunting, fishing and trapping. But the number of public lands affected are far greater; DNR has identified 121 state wildlife areas, fishery areas, state forests, state parks and state natural areas that have railroad tracks crossing them. This does not even include federal forests, county forests or other federal, state and local public properties. This means that sportsmen and women and other citizens, when they come to a track on a public property, need to go out to the nearest road and then hike back in to continue using the land. In some cases railroad tracks have resulted in some of the public land actually becoming landlocked and totally not legally accessible. Direct crossing of these tracks by individuals hunting, fishing and trapping has not proven to be a safety hazard.
Update: Senator Bernier from Chippewa Falls and Representative Magnafici from Dresser have agreed to be lead sponsors in the Senate and the Assembly. The bill is the same simple bill that has been introduced in previous legislative sessions.
They are now circulating the draft companion bills to their colleagues in the Senate and the Assembly requesting additional co-sponsors. The more sponsors that can be gathered on the bill, the better. We only have a few days to contact our respective Representatives and Senators asking them to co-sponsor the bill. If you do not know your Representative and/or Senator, go to the Legislature’s website: https://legis.wisconsin.gov. On the first page of the website, on the right side in the middle, is a link: “Who are my legislators?” If you click that link it will take you to a page with a map of Wisconsin. On the upper right hand corner is a search box where you can type in your address. Your state senator and representative, and their respective emails, will pop up.
The message should be some version of this:
Please cosponsor the following draft bills: LRB 1879 and LRB 2321 which are currently being circulated by Senator Bernier and Representative Magnafici. This bill will restore the right of sportsmen and women to directly cross railroad tracks for hunting, fishing and trapping on public lands.
Besides WWA and WWF, this bill is supported by the Safari Club, Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, Wisconsin Trappers Association, and others conservation clubs throughout the state.
Note that the DEADLINE FOR SIGNING ON TO THE BILL IS THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2021.