State Lawmakers Reject Governor’s Proposed Elimination Of DNR Magazine

State lawmakers have rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to eliminate the state Department of Natural Resources magazine.

The governor called for eliminating the magazine in his 2017-2019 state budget proposal, but the Legislature’s budget committee voted Wednesday night to keep up the publication, instead cutting the its production from six to four issues per year.

“I think it does bring value,” state Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, said of the magazine. “How could it not bring the same value at four issues?”

Democrats pushed back on the change, saying the publication should maintain current production levels.

“I think that this is a larger trend, an administrative trend, and that concerns me deeply because the magazine is just one symbol — it’s a symbol of our conservation values,” said Rep. Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said they received many messages from constituents supporting continued publication of the magazine.