Northern Wisconsin residents claim Wisconsin DNR is violating its own standards to protect water quality

One Sunday morning in April two years in the past, Ardis Berghoff set out along with her buddy John Schwarzmann for an early morning hike within the state forest round Whitney Lake close to the city of Boulder Junction in northern Wisconsin.

“We began seeing paint marks on timber, and we each knew that was marking a timber sale. And as we acquired nearer and nearer to the lake, John acquired quieter and quieter,” mentioned Berghoff. “And I used to be simply exclaiming out loud again and again, ‘My gosh. This seems like a heavy timber sale.’”

What they noticed involved Schwarzmann, who previously served as a forest supervisor for the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. He mentioned loggers have been harvesting too near the water and never leaving sufficient timber evenly spaced on land alongside the lakeshore’s edge.

“We did not know whether or not Whitney was an anomaly or not,” mentioned Schwarzmann.

The 2 got down to verify what they feared they have been seeing, measuring the depth of the zone the place timber have been harvested. Their findings indicated the Wisconsin Division of Pure Assets was violating its personal forestry requirements for safeguarding water high quality with the timber sale.

Every state is tasked with growing requirements for water high quality and monitoring forestry practices to make sure they adjust to the Clear Water Act to manage runoff from logging. The Wisconsin DNR has a handbook outlining greatest administration practices to guard water high quality. These requirements are necessary at timber gross sales on public lands, together with state forests.

The 2 reached out to the DNR, and company workers met with them to handle their findings.

Now, the dispute over compliance with these requirements has resulted in a number of audits by the DNR’s auditor SCS World Companies. The auditor evaluates the company annually to find out whether or not it is assembly necessities to retain its Forest Stewardship Council certification. The certification ensures merchandise come from forests that meet environmental, social and financial advantages.

“This certification helps the wooden merchandise from our state forests stay aggressive in international markets,” mentioned Shockley.

Berghoff mentioned that certification could also be threatened if the DNR doesn’t change its methods, however the company maintains it’s performed nothing improper. Neither residents nor the DNR is backing down as a brand new investigation is now being mounted by the auditor’s accreditation physique in Germany: Assurance Companies Worldwide.

ASI, which assures sustainability requirements are met, has agreed to research. Though, no on-site go to has but been scheduled to look at residents’ considerations.

Residents file criticism, search unbiased investigation

Berghoff and Schwarzmann first filed a criticism after a 2020 audit of the DNR’s practices by SCS World Companies. In response, the corporate performed a desk audit of the timber sale on Whitney Lake. That audit initially present in April final 12 months that the company wasn’t in compliance with its requirements.

At first, the DNR’s auditor discovered the Whitney Lake timber sale did not adjust to DNR requirements for water high quality as a result of timber have been lower lower than 100 ft. from the lakeshore and never evenly distributed.

The DNR appealed, and final 12 months, the auditor reversed these findings. SCS World Companies blamed it on a misunderstanding between how the DNR and residents considered the 100-ft. buffer zone that the company recommends for logging close to lakeshores.

Berghoff and Schwarzmann preserve a spot-painted pink line marked the sting of that zone. Nonetheless, the DNR claims the pink line designated an space the place logging tools isn’t allowed.

Primarily based on DNR’s clarification, SCS World Companies discovered the company hadn’t improperly shortened the buffer zone. On the identical time, the auditor famous a DNR forester had beforehand mentioned the pink line marked the riparian administration zone.

Berghoff and Schwarzmann questioned how the DNR can preserve high quality management with out marking the world the place reducing isn’t allowed.

“How are you alleged to successfully handle such an necessary delicate space, not just for defending water high quality, however for wildlife habitat, if rapidly you are saying you do not mark it,” mentioned Berghoff.

Shockley famous the DNR offers loggers with paper and digital maps, in order that they know the boundaries of a timber sale. He added the company’s handbook permits the DNR to alter its practices.

“We now have the pliability to make changes so long as water high quality is protected,” mentioned Shockley.

Water high quality monitoring at timber harvest websites

Since 1995, the Wisconsin DNR has been monitoring state lands in addition to different landowners in Wisconsin to gauge whether or not forestry actions have an effect on water high quality, together with at Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. 

“Our land administration on these websites has balanced each water high quality, in addition to the totally different administration goals. I’ve not seen any situations the place we have impacted water high quality,” mentioned Carmen Hardin, the DNR’s utilized forestry bureau director.

When wanted, Hardin mentioned the company is at present making use of its greatest administration practices accurately greater than 90 % of the time. Water high quality was impacted almost 70 % of the time when these requirements weren’t used the place they have been wanted.

Berghoff mentioned solely 11 of the websites monitored that 12 months bordered lakes, arguing the pattern measurement was too small to guage results on water high quality. She additionally highlighted the DNR’s monitoring is predicated on observations and never quantitative information, which the company notes can result in biased outcomes.

The DNR mentioned they attempt to restrict the results of bias on water high quality monitoring of websites “to the absolute best extent.” The company notes websites depend on observations to fee effectiveness of efforts to guard water high quality as a result of it limits time and prices, including that they attempt to cut back bias by offering constant coaching.

A newer abstract discovered requirements have been accurately utilized greater than 98 % of the time on state lands from 2018-2020 at timber harvests and buffer zones close to water, in response to the DNR.

Residents say violations prolong past one lake

Berghoff and Schwarzmann need the DNR to droop all logging inside 250 ft. of lakeshores within the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest.

The 2 independently evaluated timber gross sales on state lands throughout 15 lakes in northern Wisconsin. They declare the DNR violated their very own requirements on 9 out of 15 lakes by authorizing timber harvests too near the lakeshore, saying these lakes seemingly characterize the tip of the iceberg.

They imagine a change by lawmakers lately has led to extra aggressive harvesting. Republican lawmakers directed the company to categorise 75 % of northern state forests as forest manufacturing areas after they handed the two-year state funds in 2015.

However the DNR’s Shockley rejected that notion. He mentioned the change didn’t correlate to extra timber harvests on the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest.

“Our annual allowable timber harvests have been happening since about 2010, and there is numerous components that have an effect on that,” mentioned Shockley. “It is not all the time laws. It is our timber sorts. It is what’s rising and the place and the way shortly it is rising.”

Shockley added round 30,000 acres within the 230,000-acre state forest is being passively managed and can by no means be harvested.

As ASI launches its investigation, Berghoff and Schwarzmann have requested the accreditation physique to sanction the DNR’s auditor SCS World Companies, rent an unbiased auditor, and require the company to halt all discussions about revising the DNR’s greatest administration practices. SCS World Companies declined to remark.

The DNR’s Hardin mentioned the company remains to be implementing its requirements to make sure water high quality is protected at websites the place logging is performed close to lakeshores. She mentioned discussions are underway about revising these requirements, which have been final up to date in 2011. It’s unsure whether or not these revisions would happen this 12 months.

“The state does take it very severely, the accountability we’ve to handle these properties,” mentioned Hardin. “We acknowledge how necessary they’re.”

As for Berghoff, she hopes ASI workers will go to websites this summer time and draw their very own conclusions.

“The longer this goes on, the extra lakeshore habitat is being lower,” mentioned Berghoff.