MADISON, Wis. – On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, joining Rep. Vincent Miresse (D-71), Rep. Angelito Tenorio (D-14), other legislative allies, leaders from indigenous communities around Wisconsin, environmental advocates and fighters for justice at WISDOM Wisconsin and allied organizations, and many others, Rep. Darrin Madison (D-10) released a package of bills to codify and protect the Rights of Nature in Wisconsin.
The bills would do the following:
- LRB-4418, Re-establishing a requirement for sulfide ore mining projects to prove they will prevent harm to the environment prior to approval;
- LRB-4420, creating specific new protections for Devil’s Lake Park in Baraboo, known to the Ho-Chunk people as Tee Wakącąk; and
- LRB-4400, formally recognizing the inherent rights of nature and Wisconsin’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
Representative Madison (D-10) issued the following statement:
“Right now in Wisconsin, many of our protections are based in well-established law and in individual rights, but we lack a clear framework to protect nature as a good in itself. As someone who grew up exploring and enjoying Milwaukee’s Washington Park, while learning its ongoing story at the Urban Ecology Center, I know that access to nature, preservation of our state’s ecology, and collective stewardship are essential for our communities to not just exist, but thrive.
This package of bills shows us the path forward – it is a start, but an important one. “Prove-it-first” is a well-established and effective regulatory system that prevents the type of devastating, lasting damage many communities have suffered from profit-driven, slapdash sulfide ore mining operations. These protections for Devil’s Lake Park. known to the Ho-Chunk as Tee Wakącąk, demonstrate a stronger regulatory system that can and should be extended to other state parks and special places in Wisconsin.
We urge our colleagues in the majority to give these bills the fair hearing they deserve. I’m proud I was asked to lead alongside Rep. Miresse and Rep. Tenorio in this effort .”
