DNR board meets in Eau Claire, Sept. 25-26

EAU CLAIRE - The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will be in Eau Claire on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 25-26, and will conduct its monthly business meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the Ramada Inn and Convention Center downtown.

The board, which sets policy for the state Department of Natural Resources, will also hold a public listening session from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Grand Hall of the Ramada Inn, 205 S. Barstow St.

Any individuals with any concerns they would like to bring to the attention of the board are welcome to speak. The registration deadline has been extended until noon Monday.

To register, contact Laurie Ross, NRB liaison, at 608-267-7420, or by email at laurie.ross@wisconsin.gov.

The same deadline applies to individuals who wish to address the board during Wednesday's business meeting.

At the business meeting, the board will be asked to approve a scoping statement on an emergency rule setting restrictions on training dogs to track and trail wolves. A scoping statement establishes the DNR's intention to begin work on a rule proposal.

If the board approves, the emergency rule would come back for a vote at the October meeting.

DNR managers will also ask the NRB to approve a scoping statement for a range of rule proposals for wildlife management, including restrictions on training dogs to track wolves, to be considered at the 2013 Spring Fish and Wildlife Rules Hearing next April.

Fisheries managers will seek approval to begin work on changes to fishing regulations to be considered at the spring hearings. Many changes are designed to simplify regulations.

The board is scheduled to vote on master plans for the Lower Wolf River Bottoms Natural Resources Area and the Governor Knowles State Forest, and to approve the DNR's proposed 2013-2015 biennial budget.

Meg Galloway, DNR dam and floodplain section chief, will present an update on a Wisconsin waterway inventory, which will address issues kayakers and canoeists encounter when attempting to portage around locks and dams surrounded by security fences.

More information, including Wednesday's agenda and details about public participation, is available at http://dnr.wi.gov/about/nrb/.

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