WI pinches DNR

[400brian]

I thought this was interesting. Borrowed this from the Vintage Sledders site.
The NY gang knows all about getting pinched by the DNR, right Rainville?



DNR chief suspends mobile snowmobile patrol in northern Wisconsin
DNR wardens racked up thousands in overtime patrolling trails
Richard Moore
Investigative Reporter

After receiving an outpouring of concerns and complaints about a roving Department of Natural Resources snowmobile patrol squad, DNR secretary Cathy Stepp announced last week that she and her management team had suspended the program in northern Wisconsin and will review it in its entirety.

Stepp acted just in time to spare last weekend's Cruiserfest in Minocqua, which the patrol, also known as SART (Snowmobile Accident Reduction Team), planned to attend. Stepp pulled the plug on the expedition.

In the past, the DNR has said SART's only purpose is to reduce speed- and alcohol-related accidents by creating a high profile presence in specific locations during various winter weekends.

That's not how visitors at the 2010 Cruiserfest saw it, however. They complained of heavy-handedness and harassment, while local officeholders and businesspeople said the agency was destroying the festival.

Before it was over, the task force had issued 34 citations, 75 verbal warnings and made five arrests for operating while intoxicated, as The Lakeland Times reported then. By contrast, the Minocqua police department reported only seven public contacts.

$250,000 in overtime, travel costs

In announcing the suspension of the program in the northern region, Stepp said she was shocked to find out the wardens were being paid overtime for their weekend outings.

The SART program indeed received $125,400 in each year of the 2009-11 biennium, paid from the snowmobile account of the Conservation Fund. The monies provided $80,000 in overtime for local wardens and wardens on the traveling team for 10 weekends over the season. The additional $45,400 was for warden supplies and travel costs.

At last year's Cruiserfest, according to DNR documents obtained by The Times and reported by the newspaper, the agency paid for three double rooms for six staff members at The Pointe Hotel at a cost of $759. The total cost for expenses - not including overtime - from that weekend totaled $1,371, The Times reported.

Stepp said last week the entire program would be re-evaluated.

"I was surprised to see that that's how the money was being spent," she said. "We're going to be looking at the program and how we're using those dollars, and there needs to be a very thoughtful discussion about, in these tight economic times, is that the best way to be using monies?"

Accident reduction or ticket traps

Past DNR administrations have said the SART team represented an effort to make trails safer by maximizing existing personnel through the use of authorized overtime weekend patrols.

"Currently, the Bureau of Law Enforcement is allocated 9.0 FTE positions, or 16,200 hours, of dedicated enforcement and educational outreach work in the snowmobile enforcement program," the agency stated in its budget submission to then Gov. Jim Doyle. "Nine positions to address a growing program are insufficient. Certain pressing tasks must immediately be addressed, such as: investigation of accidents, conduct safety education courses, and investigation of violations in progress. To handle some of these tasks, Law Enforcement has created SART to perform high visibility patrols focused on speed and alcohol violation.

"Building on the successes of the previous SART patrols and increasing enforcement overtime hours will allow for greater future SART visibility," the explanation continued. "This should result in improved compliance with the law and safer snowmobiling for all."

But to many snowmobilers, northern Wisconsin residents, local leaders and businesspeople, the program had nothing to do with safety but with the creation of an intimidating force making volumes of unnecessary stops that threatened to scare people from attending winter festivals and events.

Stepp, who has promised a new day at the DNR, said she heard a cascade of concern coming out of the northern portion of the state as Cruiserfest approached, and she responded.

"The biggest changes we made were of course listening to the concerns from the people in the North, and I've been overwhelmed recently by contacts from law enforcement officers and local elected officials up there, as well as members of the Chamber of Commerce," Stepp said. "The last thing we want to do is create more negative perception about our agency, so we are calling off the force in that part of the region."

Among those voicing their concerns were Scott Cisney, the president of the Cross Country Cruisers Snowmobile Club, and Minocqua town chairman Mark Hartzheim.

In an email to Stepp, Cisney said his club's Cruiserfest was not only the club's largest fundraiser but the area's largest winter event, boosting the winter economy and attracting hundreds of snowmobilers and their families.

Cisney said his club's review of last year's events indicated that four different law enforcement units converged on Minocqua, including local DNR wardens, the Northern Highland State Forest Rangers Enforcement, SART, and the State Park Rangers covering the Bearskin Trail, apparently without coordinating with each other.

"It quickly became apparent that the four 'agencies' didn't seem to know each other were coming and had also not coordinated with the local police and sheriff's departments," Cisney wrote. "The end result was a perceived attack on the event and local economy by local businesses, residents and attendees."

To cite one example, Cisney said he and his wife and children rode a 40-mile loop to the event and were stopped three different times by the DNR, only finding out later they each represented three different arms of the agency.

Not anti-enforcement

Cisney said the Cross Country Cruisers were not anti-enforcement and supported numerous efforts to increase safety on the trails, and he acknowledged that SART was not entirely responsible for last year's incidents, but he said it was evident from the lack of coordination, the narrow focus on local events, and stories of entrapment that the effort was detrimental to the sport and local area while not keeping anybody safer.

"In fact they are simply driving people away from our area and local economy," he wrote. "Along with the complaints from attendees from last year's event, we have had past donor businesses refusing to donate because the event is just a 'law enforcement trap' and have had several former attendees state they are avoiding the area."

Cisney said his group had spent the last year successfully communicating with local DNR officials and law enforcement and had been assured SART would not attend the 2011 Cruiserfest.

Nonetheless, he wrote to Stepp, he had heard rumors to the contrary. That attendance would not be necessary, he emphasized, saying good local law enforcement was already available in the Northwoods.

"When additional enforcement and patrol is needed we can get it here from people that understand the dual importance of safety and our local economy and handle issues reasonably," Cisney wrote. "Please keep SART out of our area."

Hartzheim was just as adamant in a letter he wrote to Stepp. He said the community strives to give people a reason not only to visit but to return, while "the specter" of SART spoiled the impression.

"No one is opposed to encouraging safe snowmobiling and enforcing laws, but the truth is that SART only serves to agitate the community and negate much of the hard work of snowmobile clubs, event organizers and business owners," Hartzheim wrote. "There has neither been a rash of snowmobile accidents nor unsafe conditions to warrant SART's presence here."

The town chairman said the area already had an effective local snowmobile patrol presence along with voluntary club patrols, and he said no one had ever complained about a lack of local enforcement.

"This begs the question, why does SART need to make an appearance in our community at all?" he asked. "The fact is that citizen complaints increase exponentially when SART is present. When a special task force like SART is created and scheduled out for assignment, it has a tacit obligation to return with citations in-hand to justify the overtime, equipment and logistical expenses of such an operation."

And there was the rub, Hartzheim continued.

"The experience and the perception of the SART presence has been purely negative, tangibly harming our winter snowmobiling seasons," he wrote. "I cannot think of a single upside to its presence, but can think of numerous downsides, some of which I have already mentioned. I implore you to limit the assignment of SART to areas where its presence is requested by a locality to assist with specific issues, or, to abandon the program altogether."

While Stepp did say the suspension will only apply to northern Wisconsin "for now," she said a review of the entire program was in the works.

"We are going to be evaluating the program going forward and seeing if this is the best way to spend these resources, but for the immediate I just want to let you folks know that there is a change of direction on the program for that part of the state," Stepp said.

Other programs would be reviewed as well, she said, pointing to the Walker administration's moratorium on new Stewardship land purchases except for the most significant projects already in the pipeline.

"This (SART) is just one program that was brought to my attention by folks up there," she said. "As we get our bearings and we uncover more and more of these kinds of programs - where exactly are registration fees and fishing and hunting licenses, or how it's being spent - we're going to be evaluating lots of things. We have a very fundamental fiduciary responsibility to the men and women who pay registration fees and taxes to the state, and I take it very seriously."

The Stewardship program was a perfect example, Stepp said.

"Just because we have been given a credit card to use, it doesn't mean it makes sense to use it," she said "The governor has been very clear about frugality - only the highest priority properties that make the best sense and that we can leverage the most with other partners will be considered. There has got to be a change in mentality when it comes to how we spend money in this state."

[O'Deere]

Wisconsin has the most heavy handed rural law enforcement possible & our DNR is well known for their "guilty until proven innocent" jack booted tactics. Living & working in rural areas outside Black River Falls & in Juneau County I never fail to be amazed at how much I have to deal the vast quantity of cops & game wardens patroling the trees out here. I stopped deer hunting a few years back because I just didn't want to deal w/ the game wardens anymore than I already have too.
Ah don't get me started!

[JoeRainville]

Lindner,

That artical made think about 'what comes around..."

Thanks for posting it, LMAO!

-Rainville

[400brian]

We have been in the National news quite a bit as of late because of our new Republican Governor's efforts to balance the state budget. I do not want to get into a political debate here, but it seems to me that reining in of the DNR is a direct result of the State's money issues. A positive result of less government.

This situation didn't just start, the previous Democratic administration ignored the locals, and allowed the DNR to keep us all "safe". As was pointed out, local law enforcement had not requested the "aid", the DNR offices just took that upon themselves, and spread a little overtime pay to the boys.

The locals up north try to drum up a little economic activity in the winter time, and the state tax payers all get to help try to kill it. I have soooo much faith in government to do the right thing.

[Matt]

Please refrain from political party finger-pointing. The original topic is snowmobile-related, let's stick to that.

[sledder670]

I know i have donated over the years. The best was the verbal warning on my jetski then a month later getting a fine for $550.00 dollars.

[JDT]

How did you win a $550.oo fine on your PWC?

Was it used in the commission of a felony?

[monte44]

I've been riding in that area of WI and all I can say is it could not happen to anyone better!! What comes around goes around!

[sledder670]

to close to a swim area even though a boat was pulling skiers out the water, to close to another boat, to fast in a no wake zone idling and one more i cant remember