Pinefarm
04-27-2002, 05:40 AM
Madison - State wildlife managers and veterinarians said Thursday they can't save Wisconsin's deer herd from a deadly brain disease without adequate funding, and they urged lawmakers arguing over the budget bill to agree at least on that issue now.
Stressing the need to act quickly, they spoke to an Assembly subcommittee about their battle against chronic wasting disease at the same time legislative leaders meeting in another Capitol hearing room failed to make any progress in their budget talks.
Fearing an outbreak, the Department of Natural Resources enlisted hunters in killing 516 deer this spring near Mount Horeb. Brain tissue from 11 of the deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease, said Tom Hauge, the DNR's wildlife management director.
Hauge said a multi-agency team working to stop the disease from spreading wants to drastically reduce the deer herd in south-central Wisconsin, starting as early as May 6.
But Hauge and others appearing before the committee said they don't have the necessary funding for the equipment and personnel to test deer killed yet this spring and during an expanded fall season under consideration.
$4 million sought
Hauge said they are seeking $4 million, a transfer from a surplus in a state fund for wildlife damage to crops, to fund testing, surveillance and deer herd-reduction efforts until anticipated federal funding becomes available.
Hauge said he had one request of Rep. Scott Gunderson (R-Union Grove) and committee members.
"Urge your budget conferees, whether they be on the Senate or on the Assembly side to agree quickly to the emergency chronic waste disease funding and the statutory provisions that have already been put on the table on both sides," Hauge said.
"We simply need to get that stuff done, and I think I can speak for everybody who cares about deer resources in the state of Wisconsin, that we want them to take action right now."
Another measure in the budget bill would expand the DNR's authority to regulate deer baiting to include the feeding of deer. While scientists don't know exactly how the disease is spread, they do know from the experience of other states that it spreads quickly when deer gather in large numbers. To avoid that, state game officials have urged people not to feed deer.
Wisconsin has no labs to run tests on brain tissue taken from deer and must rely on the National Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Ames, Iowa, which also is running tests for other states struggling to control the disease.
Hauge and state veterinarian Clarence Siroky cited an immediate need for $1.2 million to hire people and purchase equipment for the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Impasse continues
Leaders from the Democrat-controlled Senate and the GOP-run Assembly have been meeting in a conference committee in an attempt to reach a compromise on a budget bill to erase a $1.1 billion budget deficit. They've reached agreement on two budget provisions but can't agree on more than 300 others.
The budget conferees include at least three avid deer hunters - Sen. Russ Decker (D-Schofield), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala (D-Madison) and Rep. John Gard (R-Peshtigo), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee. Gard and Chvala have trophy bucks mounted in their offices.
"I personally want to give them the tools that are needed to immediately respond to the problem," Gard said. But he said the DNR has sufficient funds and the flexibility to divert money to combat the disease, especially given the state's fiscal crisis.
"They can't just walk in and say, 'Well, we need all this more staff and all this more money,' " Gard said. "I mean, they have a lot of money over there that they should immediately divert and use on this situation."
Chvala and Decker could not be reached for comment, but Chvala aide Mike Browne said the Senate budget would let the DNR combat the disease with $1 million from the fund for wildlife damage to crops. He said that when the Senate passed its budget repair bill, the DNR wanted just $1 million but has since said it needs $4 million. He said the Senate Democrats would consider providing more, if necessary.
During the hearing, Hauge said that in the 57 days since the disease was first detected in Wisconsin, the DNR, the agriculture department and other agencies have spent as much as $600,000 to address the problem.
"CWD is expensive, and it will continue to be expensive for us," Hauge said. Others said that efforts to combat the disease would span several years and expand to include the entire state.
After the hearing, Gunderson and other members agreed to send a letter to the budget conferees urging quick action on funding to protect the deer herd. Gunderson described the threat to the deer herd and the state's economy as serious.
"I'm still not sure that everyone in the state understands how serious it is," he said.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on April 26, 2002.
Stressing the need to act quickly, they spoke to an Assembly subcommittee about their battle against chronic wasting disease at the same time legislative leaders meeting in another Capitol hearing room failed to make any progress in their budget talks.
Fearing an outbreak, the Department of Natural Resources enlisted hunters in killing 516 deer this spring near Mount Horeb. Brain tissue from 11 of the deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease, said Tom Hauge, the DNR's wildlife management director.
Hauge said a multi-agency team working to stop the disease from spreading wants to drastically reduce the deer herd in south-central Wisconsin, starting as early as May 6.
But Hauge and others appearing before the committee said they don't have the necessary funding for the equipment and personnel to test deer killed yet this spring and during an expanded fall season under consideration.
$4 million sought
Hauge said they are seeking $4 million, a transfer from a surplus in a state fund for wildlife damage to crops, to fund testing, surveillance and deer herd-reduction efforts until anticipated federal funding becomes available.
Hauge said he had one request of Rep. Scott Gunderson (R-Union Grove) and committee members.
"Urge your budget conferees, whether they be on the Senate or on the Assembly side to agree quickly to the emergency chronic waste disease funding and the statutory provisions that have already been put on the table on both sides," Hauge said.
"We simply need to get that stuff done, and I think I can speak for everybody who cares about deer resources in the state of Wisconsin, that we want them to take action right now."
Another measure in the budget bill would expand the DNR's authority to regulate deer baiting to include the feeding of deer. While scientists don't know exactly how the disease is spread, they do know from the experience of other states that it spreads quickly when deer gather in large numbers. To avoid that, state game officials have urged people not to feed deer.
Wisconsin has no labs to run tests on brain tissue taken from deer and must rely on the National Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Ames, Iowa, which also is running tests for other states struggling to control the disease.
Hauge and state veterinarian Clarence Siroky cited an immediate need for $1.2 million to hire people and purchase equipment for the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Impasse continues
Leaders from the Democrat-controlled Senate and the GOP-run Assembly have been meeting in a conference committee in an attempt to reach a compromise on a budget bill to erase a $1.1 billion budget deficit. They've reached agreement on two budget provisions but can't agree on more than 300 others.
The budget conferees include at least three avid deer hunters - Sen. Russ Decker (D-Schofield), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala (D-Madison) and Rep. John Gard (R-Peshtigo), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee. Gard and Chvala have trophy bucks mounted in their offices.
"I personally want to give them the tools that are needed to immediately respond to the problem," Gard said. But he said the DNR has sufficient funds and the flexibility to divert money to combat the disease, especially given the state's fiscal crisis.
"They can't just walk in and say, 'Well, we need all this more staff and all this more money,' " Gard said. "I mean, they have a lot of money over there that they should immediately divert and use on this situation."
Chvala and Decker could not be reached for comment, but Chvala aide Mike Browne said the Senate budget would let the DNR combat the disease with $1 million from the fund for wildlife damage to crops. He said that when the Senate passed its budget repair bill, the DNR wanted just $1 million but has since said it needs $4 million. He said the Senate Democrats would consider providing more, if necessary.
During the hearing, Hauge said that in the 57 days since the disease was first detected in Wisconsin, the DNR, the agriculture department and other agencies have spent as much as $600,000 to address the problem.
"CWD is expensive, and it will continue to be expensive for us," Hauge said. Others said that efforts to combat the disease would span several years and expand to include the entire state.
After the hearing, Gunderson and other members agreed to send a letter to the budget conferees urging quick action on funding to protect the deer herd. Gunderson described the threat to the deer herd and the state's economy as serious.
"I'm still not sure that everyone in the state understands how serious it is," he said.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on April 26, 2002.