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Outdoor Wisconsin host Dan Small, also Editor of Wisconsin Outdoor News, keeps an eye on Wisconsin's great outdoors. Here's where you can find out what he really thinks.
Award Seeks Good Nomineesby Dan Small Is your non-profit
organization, local governmental agency or employer doing
more than its share to clean up Wisconsin's environment? If
so, how would you like to help it receive recognition for
those efforts? Municipalities, businesses and nonprofit
organizations that demonstrate their dedication and
commitment to protecting the environment may be eligible for
the Editor Department of Natural Resources' most prestigious
award, the John E. Brogan Environmental Achievement
Award. Never heard of it? You're
not alone. The award, named for John E. Brogan, a former
member and chairman of the Natural Resources Board who
established a trust fund to finance the award, was first
given in 1982. The winner that year was the state chapter of
Trout Unlimited, which was selected for its work in
water-resource improvement and stream-bank stabilization,
trout stocking, anti-litter activities, training sessions
for youth and other activities. Since that time, the cities
of Portage and DePere and Barron County have won the award,
as have a number of companies and nonprofits. Barron County
championed a variety of environmental firsts in the state,
including the Wisconsin Fund septic tank replacement and
Priority Watershed programs and enacted a zoning ordinance
requiring a sanitary permit for animal-waste storage
structures. In 1986, Portage opened what may have been the
only co-composting facility of its type in the US, which
turns municipal solid waste and wastewater into a viable
compost material. The DePere Wastewater Treatment Plant won
the award for improving plant efficiency, reducing costs and
treating effluents well below required limits. Big companies, like Green
Giant, duPont, Consolidated Paper and Northern States Power
have won the Brogan Award for major clean-up projects, and a
small auto salvage operation has won it, too, so the size of
the company is not as important as the impact of its
efforts. "Getting the Brogan Award
from the DNR is proof of environmental excellence," says DNR
Secretary George Meyer. "It's our way of saying thank you to
an organization or community that's made Wisconsin a
cleaner, healthier place." Nominated businesses must
be regulated by the DNR and conduct business in Wisconsin.
Nonprofit organizations or local governments should
demonstrate exceptional environmental accomplishments and/or
develop partnerships for protecting the environment.
Nominees should have a solid record of commitment and
success in protecting the environment. These efforts should
be long-term, although exceptions may be made for
outstanding short-term accomplishments. To nominate a candidate,
all you need to do is describe the nominee's environmental
accomplishments in three pages or less and send the
information to: Judy Reuter MB/5, Wisconsin DNR, P.O. Box
7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921. You can also call Reuter at
(608) 267-7439 for more information on the award. A separate
Brogan Award is also given each year to a DNR employee who
has demonstrated exceptional environmental achievement. The nomination period
runs until February 21, so you have time to think about it.
We all know we can call 1-800-TIP-WDNR to blow the whistle
on an individual or company that violates our natural
resource laws. Isn't it nice to know there's a way to give
someone who's doing the right thing a pat on the back? |
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