DNR Can Disregard Own Rules

This is not comforting. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals declares the Wisconsin DNR does not need to abide by their own rules. This is very discomforting actually.

Milwaukee Federalists: Section 227.57(8) plainly states that an agency action that is contrary to its own rules, that it has promulgated itself, is invalid. But apparently, the rules don't apply to the DNR.

The decision comes from a Vilas County lawsuit where DNR agents “commenced an enforcement action” over two piers on private property in the absence of any complaint.

DNR’s Duty Trumps Agency’s Own Rules: The DNR can enforce actions against oversized piers, even if no one complains about them. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Oct. 10 held that, notwithstanding agency rules to the contrary, the DNR’s obligation to protect the public trumps the rule.

The “obligation” to protect the “public” is justification to ignore the rules. This is a prescription for abuse of power and Democrats want to exponentially expand the power of government over private holdings. The National Center for Public Policy Research sounds a warning which should be heeded.

Beware of 'Invasive Species' Regulations: In 1999 President Bill Clinton signed an Executive Order that created the "National Invasive Species Council" which broadly defines "alien species" as "any species ... that is not native to that ecosystem." Since Clinton's Order, numerous regulatory measures have surfaced in Congress that seek to control so-called non-native species in ways that would likely harm private property rights and Americans' access to public lands.

The essential question is how long does it take a resident to become a native? In the real world, plants and animals constantly spread across the planet, dying out in unsuitable areas and thriving in the right conditions. The environmentalists would have everyone believe an ecosystem is a fragile creation of fixed components in exact balance, like a museum display.

Invasive Species: Animal, Vegetable or Political? More than 50 bills are pending in the U.S. Congress to address so called "invasive species." Most bills would expand federal authority to further control land use and authorize billions of tax dollars to eradicate non-native flora and fauna.

The key problem with government's handling of the issue of non-natives is that it takes a simplistic view, bundling all the species together and exaggerating their effects on ecosystems and commercialism; if they come from outside our borders, we must assume they are harmful until we have evidence to prove otherwise. Resulting legislation such as those referenced above grant government sweeping authority, threaten property rights and authorize billions of taxpayer dollars when the actual problem is a small number of non-native species that impact the economic interests of some commercial industries.

When Democrats control the government their environmentalist membership will demand the right of access to all lands, public and private, for the purpose of purifying nature back to the arbitrary point in time they wish to recreate. They will want more power to police and new powers to dictate acceptable flora and fauna.