The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated in Wisconsin state government. It is underwritten by the WNA and produced exclusively for its members. WisPolitics.com President Jeff Mayers is a former editor and reporter for the Associated Press and a former political writer for the Wisconsin State Journal.
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Running the DNR is never an easy task.
The Department of Natural Resources touches just about every
Wisconsinite in regulating or managing issues affecting the
environment, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, state parks, state
forests etc etc etc.
Staff are used to dealing with the political winds, but recent events
are buffeting the agency.
First, the GOP-run Senate’s fired four members of the policy-making
Natural Resources Board. That is followed quickly by Secretary Adam
Payne’s sudden resignation.
Payne, on the job less than a year, writes in his resignation letter
he needs to spend more time with his ailing parents and his
grandchildren.
After that news breaks, Payne tells WisPolitics the family matters he
cited for his departure have been weighing on him for more than a
month. He said he’s been thinking about his and his wife’s parents —
all of whom are in their 80s — for about eight weeks and wondering,
“Am I going to regret not spending time with my parents while I still
could?” Payne adds his wife, a registered nurse, put in her notice
eight weeks ago to spend more time caring for their parents, and
sleeping in a hotel three nights a week and being on the road every
weekend has been “brutal.”
Some wonder if there’s more to the story. Insiders are also
sympathetic. They also wonder who would want to take the job next
under such politically divisive circumstances.
The Republican Senate nixed eight executive branch appointees, more
than the chamber had rejected in the previous four decades.
It left some wondering whether Senate Republicans had finished sending
their messages to Dem Gov. Tony Evers or if there could be more
rejections to come.
For someone appointed to a board, that might not be much of a concern
other than the sting of being shot down in public. But for cabinet
secretaries, such a move can impact their livelihood. Many agency
leaders are plucked from good paying jobs. Some ask, would you feel
comfortable giving up that security to be at the whim of the Senate
GOP caucus?
Senate Natural Resources Committee Chair Rob Cowles told WisPolitics
he had expected Payne to win the backing of his committee and the full
Senate, despite what he called a “dustup” over PFAS.
Still, beyond disagreements between the Evers administration and GOP
senators over that bill, the Natural Resources Board has signed off on
a new wolf policy that does away with a numeric population goal and
instead focuses on adapting to changing populations.
The move came as GOP lawmakers have advanced legislation that would
require the DNR to set a numeric goal — an issue particularly
sensitive for northern Wisconsin lawmakers. Evers quickly appointed
four new members to the board after his previous picks were rejected,
and insiders expect the overall policy approach of the agency to
remain largely unchanged so long as he’s the governor.
They also note such abrupt changes can be a hit to staff morale at an
agency. The agency handles big problems, and it’s going to take time
for the next secretary to get up to speed.
The Capitol Report is written by editorial staff at WisPolitics.com,
a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in
coverage of government and politics and is distributed for
publication by members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
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