SAVE OUR LAKES—WISPIRG’s Jennifer Giegerich at a press conference on August 4th to highlight the over 6,000 citizen comments that WISPIRG collected calling on the Department of Natural Resources to strengthen protections for our Lakes.

At 11 hearings all around the state this summer, WISPIRG turned out our members, property owners and local officials to testify before the Department of Natural Resources for stronger regulations to protect our lakes from the impacts of excessive development.

Currently 80 percent of all lakes in Wisconsin have too much phosphorus pollution, which causes unsightly and smelly algae blooms. But developers have successfully delayed efforts in the last three years to reform the rules on lakeshore development, which have not been significantly changed since the 1960s.

“Wisconsin residents did their part by coming out to testify about the need to protect our lakes,” said Eliza Simon, WISPIRG clean water associate. “It is now time for the DNR and the Legislature to put the will of the people into law."

The Board of Natural Resources will now have to finalize the rule based on the public input they received and could send a final rule to the Legislature to be approved this fall.