THANK YOU to everyone who wrote a letter, signed a petition, sent an email, or attended a public meeting to support the cleanup and conservation of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant lands.
Altogether, 53 organizations and 181 individuals co-signed our letter calling for cleanup and restoration consistent with the Badger Reuse Plan. More than 500 area residents signed our petition opposing a proposed 500-acre Special Use Zone for an ATV track and gun range. Scores of letters were published in local papers and dozens of concerned community members appeared before the Natural Resources Board supporting sustainable land use.
Formal resolutions and letters supporting conservation and only low impact recreation at Badger were signed by the Town of Sumpter, Town of Prairie du Sac, Village of Prairie du Sac, Village of Sauk City, City of Baraboo, Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance, Badger History Group, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, Ho-Chunk Nation, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center and the Badger Oversight Management Commission.
All were submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as public comment on the Master Planning process for the Badger lands. So what’s next?
With the close of public comment on August 30, WDNR staff are now reading through the thousands of comments that it received and will soon post a short summary of these comments as well as all of the comments received (without names or addresses) on their website.
Following their review of public comment, the WDNR will begin the process of developing a draft “preferred alternative”for land use. The Department’s goal is to complete this document sometime this fall at which point they will gather more public input. Following this, WDNR will write a Master Plan and Environmental Assessment, and again will invite public comment. Finally, the WDNR hopes to take the Master Plan to the Natural Resources Board for their consideration and approval in the summer of 2014.
CSWAB will keep you posted as we move through this important decision-making process, and we will continue our work to assure the best possible cleanup – the foundation of a sustainable and healthy future for the Badger lands and the generations that will follow.