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Dear Editor;
Recent devastating floods have shown us the power of nature and the folly of short-sighted policy. Kriss Marion understands the need to think forward, plan, and provide our communities more tools to mitigate intense rainfall. Wetlands are one of those important tools, as they act like sponges on the land. One acre of wetland can hold three feet of water, or about one million gallons. How might holding back a million more gallons, or ten or one hundred million gallons of water have lessened the devastation of recent floods?
We must also remember that wetlands remove chemicals, manure, and fertilizers, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, that pollute our streams and lakes. Some of the above are soaked up by the wetlands while others are destroyed by wetland microbes. Wetlands filter our runoff water before it enters more fragile streams and lakes.
Unfortunately, Senator Marklein and other short-sighted Republicans voted earlier this year to decrease wetland protection in Wisconsin, allowing businesses to profit by building on wetlands and leaving homeowners and local communities to pay the costs of increased floods. This legislation was inspired by the Foxconn rollbacks designed by Gov. Walker that removed protection for approximately one million acres of wetland. Tony Evers, Kriss Marion and Jeff Wright will get us heading in the right direction again by working toward policies that will safeguard the wetlands that protect our communities.
Submitted by
Bill Wisler, Dodgeville