MADISON — The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will meet this month in Madison to address a variety of topics, including nitrate pollution in groundwater, phosphorous water quality criteria for surface waters and the approval 2020-2030 Ruffed Grouse Management Plan, among others.

The board will meet beginning at 2 p.m. Dec. 10 at the State Natural Resources Building (GEF 2), 101 S. Webster St. The board will reconvene at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 11 at the same location.

The Natural Resources Board will offer remote participation from the Department of Natural Resources Service Center at 2984 Shawano Ave. in Green Bay. Remote participation will be for an open forum with the board at about 10:15 a.m. Dec. 11 following a break.

The open forum is an opportunity for residents to provide in-person testimony in Madison or remotely from Green Bay. Comments should address broad general policy rather than the day-to-day operations of the DNR. Opportunities for remote testimony are noted on the meeting agenda. Pre-registration by the posted deadline of 11 a.m. Dec. 6 is required.

Agenda highlights include:

  • Request to consider approval of the statement of scope and conditionally approve the public hearing notice and notice of submittal related to NR 151 and 243 targeted performance standards and prohibitions to abate nitrate pollution in groundwater in sensitive areas (remote testimony from the Green Bay DNR Service Center will be allowed for those that pre-register);
  • Request to consider adoption of proposed rules related to NR 102 establishing a process for developing site-specific numeric phosphorus water quality criteria for surface waters;
  • Request to consider adoption of proposed rules related to NR 10 ruffed grouse management;
  • Request to consider proposed rules related to black bear management;
  • Request to consider proposed rules related to off-highway motorcycles;
  • Request to consider proposed rules affecting related to harvest management regulations in the Lake Superior fishery;
  • Request to consider proposed rules related to commercial fisheries of lake whitefish in Lake Michigan; and
  • Request to approve the Winnebago Walleye Management Plan.

The complete December board agenda is available on the DNR website here.

The public must pre-register with Laurie Ross, board liaison, to testify at the board meeting as well as during open forum (remotely or at the meeting). The deadline for board liaison receipt of requests to testify or written comment is 11 a.m. Dec. 6. Registration information is available on the NRB pages of the DNR website. No late requests or comments will be accepted.

Board meetings are webcast live. People can watch the meeting over the internet by going to the NRB agenda page of the DNR website and clicking on webcasts in the Related Links column on the right. Then click on this month’s meeting. After each meeting, the webcast will be permanently available on demand.