April 14th, 2026

I'm reading 2 columns by outdoor journalist Patrick Durkin. These are from March 2026 and found on his website, patrickdurkinoutdoors.com; the first about important issues we can address at the Conservation Congress Spring hearings, especially how to continue funding our state natural resource agency, the Wisconsin DNR, which has been severely underfunded for years.  The WI DNR Conservation Congress Spring Hearings are right now, in fact the in person meeting  was Monday the 13th, but you can comment online until the end of Wednesday the 15th. Go to  https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc/springhearing A great idea is on the ballot;  to involve all citizens of Wisconsin in funding, rather than relying on declining hunting and fishing license fees, by instituting a 1/8 cent sales tax. We all benefit from an excellent, well funded natural resource state agency, we should all be part of funding it. https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org/our-blog The second column by Durkin is a cautionary tale about the Avoca River in Ireland, continuously polluted for 7.5 miles along its course to the ocean, by an 800 foot tall sulfide mining tailings pile from many years ago. He compares this with the current threat of sulfide mining in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota.  Its water flows north to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and on north towards Hudson Bay, its toxins potentially affecting a vast area.