DNR board hit with open meetings complaint

Citizens who unsuccessfully fought construction of a snowmobile trail through Blue Mounds State Park filed a complaint this week in Dane County claiming the Natural Resources Board violated the state Open Meetings Law before the board approved a new master plan for the park in January.

In the complaint, attorney Christa Westerberg alleged that staff members of the Department of Natural Resources briefed board members in advance of a Jan. 27 board meeting when the trail was approved over the objections of those who wanted to keep snowmobiles out of the park.

The briefings, however, evolved into “full-scale lobbying and polling of each board member, resulting in a legal walking quorum,” Westerberg said in her complaint filed Wednesday.

A walking quorum is a series of meetings – by phone or another form of communications – with people who constitute  less than a voting majority but arrive at a consensus on business that should be conducted in public, according to the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

Westerberg further alleged that board members were “briefed and lobbied” at dinner the night before the meeting. The dinner was not publicly noticed and generally such dinners the night before board meetings are not noticed unless board members meet with other groups.

The board voted, 7-0, to approve changes in the park's master plan during its monthly meeting in Madison. Blue Mounds lies 25 miles west of Madison and is the highest point in southern Wisconsin.

DNR staff had recommended construction of a 1.4-mile trail within the park and selected a site that would mostly parallel town roads, thus allowing snowmobiling in the park for the first time in 20 years.

The staff told the board the route of the snowmobile trail was an attempt to strike a middle ground between the two sets of users. Opponents, such as cross country skiers, wanted to keep snowmobiles out, and argued that their presence would change the winter character of the park.

DNR spokesman Jim Dick said the events were not a violation of the Open Meetings Law, but out of an “abundance of caution,” the DNR will provide public notice of such dinners in the future. He said the complaint should not affect the board’s decision on planning for Blue Mounds.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said he had not yet read the complaint and could provide no comment on it.