Wisconsin lawmakers push Department of Natural Resources chief to keep popular magazine

Republican and Democratic lawmakers say they are fielding an onslaught of complaints about plans by the Department of Natural Resources to pull the plug on its venerable natural resources magazine.

Legislators on the budget committee told DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp Thursday they believed the decision to cease publication of the magazine was shortsighted and takes away an important tool for the agency to communicate to the public.

Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, which is self-supporting with a circulation of more than 82,000, is expected to stop publishing next February. Since the announcement, the department has been flooded with new subscription requests. 

At a hearing Thursday on Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill, Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) told Stepp that he worried that the internet and social media alone might not reach all of the state's older residents — a key demographic among hunters and anglers.

“Most of the constituents that are talking about this don’t have a smartphone and they probably never will. That’s just not how they get their information," Born said. “There’s still that segment that wants that (printed) communication from the department.”

Stepp said the decision grew out of an analysis of the DNR's workload and the belief that the agency was able to communicate more effectively online and with use of social media like Facebook and Twitter.

“We are stewards of our resources and not magazine publishers,” Stepp said.

But like Born, Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) said that social media couldn't fully replace the magazine and other traditional DNR outreach efforts. Taylor pointed out that lawmakers — Stepp herself is a former state senator — use social media in their political campaigns but also knock on voters' doors and do events because those older forms of outreach also matter.

Citing concern from constituents, committee member Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah) suggested that legislators consider gradually phasing out the magazine rather than eliminating it immediately.

"Maybe there’s a balance," he said.

The magazine is funded by subscriptions. Stepp, however, pushed against the notion that it was funded by subscriptions alone because some DNR employees spend time away from their “core work” to produce articles.

Those articles range from descriptions of the DNR's environmental efforts to hunting and fishing tips and recipes for wild game. Stepp said the magazine could be picked up by a private publisher.

“I think there’s tremendous opportunity for someone in the private sector to take this over,” she said.

But Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), the co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee, suggested his budget panel may look for cuts in other areas that would save more money for taxpayers.

"Is the juice worth the squeeze?” Nygren said of dropping the magazine.

Stepp also defended her agency from criticism from Democrats for not doing more on water regulation and for removing passages from the DNR website that made references to climate change. The agency has said that it removed some mentions on climate change, in part, because the science is still being debated.

In separate testimony, University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross praised Walker's budget, which provides $100 million in new money to the university as well as $35 million in additional state tax dollars to fund a 5% tuition cut.

"This is the best budget that the UW System has seen in a decade," Cross said.

But the UW official didn't praise every aspect of the state financial plan. For instance, he said he would rather see the tuition cut converted into financial aid to be given to students based on need.

Cross also said it would be "legislative overreach" to allow five state technical colleges that offer liberal arts courses to boost from 30 to 60 the number of credits students could automatically transfer to four-year campuses, as Walker is proposing. Sixty credits is the equivalent of an associate's degree — the mission of the two-year UW campuses, Cross said.

If performance measures are attached to some of UW System's funding, campuses have unique missions, so they should be measured against recognized peers around the country, rather than compared to other UW campuses, Cross said. He said he doesn't want to penalize but reward performance and encourage improvement.

"It's important we take our time and do it right," he said.

Keegan Kyle of the USA Today Network-Wisconsin contributed to this report.