Lizotte Updates League on Winnebago Pool Lakes

Lizotte Updates League on Winnebago Pool Lakes

Michael Lizotte, (pictured right) President of the Winnebago Lakes Council, brought us up to date on the recent survey conducted on behalf of the Winnebago Pool Lakes. The Council, established in 2005,seeks through collaborative management with surrounding county, village, town and city governments and non-profit organizations to improve the quality of the system.

His presentation provided an overview of the lakes’ competing interests: aesthetics, tourism, drinking water, recreation, habitat interests, local businesses and downtown revitalization. His second point illustrated the ecological and settlement history. The waters for the lakes come from the Wolf and Fox Rivers and flows east and then north until the Fox River empties into Green Bay. The first dam at Menasha was built in the 1870s and raised higher in 1930. Originally most of the surrounding land was farmed. That meant 150 years of farm runoff. There have been 100 years of marsh loss because of the dam and the heavy rains of the 1960s. The lakes have endured 60 years of urban pollution from factories. Thirty years ago regulations such as the Clean Water Act started “kicking in” to end the dumping of industrial waste into the lakes and rivers. Presently there is only one factory left on the river and it is in Oshkosh.

The Winnebago Pool Lakes have the largest lake sturgeon fishing in the world. A lot of effort has gone into saving these fish. In addition to the sturgeon and other native fish, Lizotte said there are a dozen “things that don’t belong.” Among these invasive species are zebra mussels.

Currently the Council is developing a new lakes plan. The last plan was done by the Department of Natural Resources in 1989 and it focused on fishery and water quality.

The 2012-2013 lake plan has several features.

I. First it looks at the economic value: Fishing brings in 300 million dollars per year with its 60+ fishing tournaments, it is the largest lake sturgeon fishery in the world, it is number one in inland boating in Wisconsin. There are two million people within a 75-mile radius of the lakes.

II. Second: Real estate: there are 200 miles of shoreline mostly in private hands

III. Drinking water—250,000 people get their drinking water from these lakes.

IV. Public areas

The new surveys look at problems and opportunities:

Safe navigation

Public health and safety

Economic development

Ordinance oversight / recommendation

Citizen Action Activities

The Winnebago Lakes Pool is managed by three government units: The DNR of Wisconsin, the Federal Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geology Survey, and local governments through their boat launches, navigational systems, police and sheriff departments.

Lastly Lizotte spoke about the actual plan for the Winnebago Waterways Lakes. Phase I was a grant obtained by Calumet County to analyze inventories, get public input. The result of this phase is online at Survey results named three top issues: algae bloom, polluted runoff and invasive species. Here are two recommendations from the survey: define cooperative management, develop communication and outreach strategy. Phase II of the survey will be conducted in 2013-2014 and Phase III will occur in 2014-2015. (An article in the Oct. 30 issue of The Northwestern announced that the Winnebago Lakes Council has received a $50,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources to begin Phase II of a large-scale issue prioritization and response program.)

Lace Up Your Hiking Boots: LWV Learns about Winnebago Trails

The topic of the October LWV Lunch at Primo’s was “The Benefits of Healthy Park and Recreation Systems.” The speakers were Eileen McCoy, Director of Parks, City of Neenah, and Mike Kading, Parks Director of the Town of Menasha. (pictured below left) Their presentation centered on the pedestrian and bike trails that link Menasha and Neenah and surrounding trails.

The two took turns outlining the four key benefits of parks and recreation trails: public health benefits, social benefits, environmental benefits and economical benefits.

The second part of their program centered on the pedestrian and bike trails. Their many slides showed the trails in Neenah and Menasha particularly the Fox Cities Trestle - Friendship Trail. Officially opened on August 27, 2005, the trail has proven to be extremely popular with local residents and visitors to the Fox Cities. The trail is open year round and is a valuable transportation and recreational trail link between the City and Town of Menasha. It features a unique lift bridge over the Menasha Lock (sponsored and built by Miron Construction, Inc.). The 1,600-foot long, lighted pedestrian bridge is the longest in Wisconsin and includes a center pavilion area with seating, and several fishing platforms along the way.

They cited a few problems with trails, particularly how to design a trail to safely cross Highways 441 and 41 and how to establish connectivity between Oshkosh and the Fox Cities. They also mentioned the Tribal Heritage Trail that opened on October 12. The crossing is a separate paved trail along the east side of northbound US 41 over the recently completed Lake Buttes des Morts causeway. The trail connects with the Wiouwash trail on the north side of the bridge.

Mengeling and Propp Attend the LWV Lake Michigan League Meeting

The 2013 LWV Lake Michigan Annual Meeting was held October 15, 2013, at the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.LWV Winnebago County is one of several leagues in the Lake Michigan Watershed. The Ripon League presented the results of their groundwater study, which led to the first water quality monitoring of Silver Creek that runs through Ripon and into Green Lake.

The inaugural Art Palleon Advocacy Award was presented to Mary Lee Orrof the Traverse Area, Michigan League. Mary Lee was honored for her perseverance in achieving concurrence of the Great Lakes Ecosystem Position among the eight Great Lakes state Leagues. Art and his wife Marge Palleon have passionately advocated for years on behalf of Lake Michigan. (Photo of delegates Frankie, Mary Lee Orr, Marge Palleon, and Kathy)

(Ed. Note: As a Sheboygan native, I was pleased to show Kathy the lake. We even saw surfers off the north side beach.)

Workshop Prepares Candidates for Spring Election

(The following is a press release sent to the Northwestern announcing our Workshop for Candidates.)

Have you ever watched your town board or school board discuss a pertinent topic and wished to join in? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to serve on a city council or the county board? If so, you should plan to attend the Workshop for Candidates, their families, aides, and other people who are interested in learning the procedure for seeking nonpartisan offices in the spring elections. The workshop will be held on Thursday, November 7 from 7 to 9 PM in Room 60 of the Winnebago County Courthouse. Co-sponsors of this event are the Winnebago County League of Women Voters and the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce.

For many years the League has held candidate forums in spring for the February Primary Election and the April Election. These were held in Oshkosh, Neenah and Menasha. The League also holds forums for the fall elections for Wisconsin State Assembly and Wisconsin Senate. Oshkosh city officials suggested that the League also hold a workshop for would-be candidates to prepare them for running in the nonpartisan elections.

Four workshop speakers will represent one of the local offices to be decided in the 2014 spring nonpartisan election: city council and mayor, county board members, town board members, and school board members. Each of these current members will explain the opportunities and challenges of their particular office. The speakers are Burk Tower, Oshkosh Mayor; Steve Dedow, Oshkosh Area School Board Member; Frank Frassetto, Black Wolf Town Board; and Tom Snider, Winnebago County Board. Sue Ertmer, Winnebago County Clerk, will explain what steps candidates need to go through to get their names on the ballot and how to fill out the necessary forms required by the Government Accountability Board in Madison.

Frankie Mengeling, Vice President of the Winnebago County League of Women Voters, is chairing this committee. The league is a nonpartisan organization open to men and women that never supports or opposes any political party or candidate for office.

Registrations are suggested, but not required for the workshop. The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, a five-star accredited chamber of commerce, is the community's leading advocate and champion for business. Its primary objective is to create a climate of growth and success in our community. To register, go to or phone (920) 231-4770 (Kathy Propp) or (920) 303-2265, ext32 (Kathy Bermingham).

Highlights from LWV Wisconsin Issues Briefing Oct. 5

A New Proposal for Judicial Selection: Attorney Joseph Troy presented the State Bar Association Judicial Task Force recommendation that Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justices be limited to one term of 16 years. Currently justices are elected for 10 year terms and may be re-elected. The State Bar believes that this change would reduce the role of politics and the influence of campaign donations on the State Supreme Court. This change would require an amendment to the Wisconsin State Constitution.

The Climate Crisis and Public Health: Joel Charles, M.P.H. and M.D. candidate at UW Madison, shared a compelling outline of health impacts and opportunities of climate change. The complete outline will be sent via email attachment.

Voter ID Lawsuit Update: Andrea Kaminski outlined the status of four separate lawsuits challenging Wisconsin’s voter ID law that was passed in 2011 and has been blocked since March 2012. Find a summary on the LWV Wisconsin website at

Redistricting Reform: Carolyn Castore, LWV WI Redistricting Coordinator, outlined the issues around redistricting and the case for lobbying legislators now to make changes in the process prior to the next census in 2020. She is willing to take this presentation to groups around the state.

Task Force Brings Forth New Proposal For Selection of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices

In 2011, in light of the waning public confidence in the Supreme Court, the Wisconsin State Bar formed a task force to "Identify and Study Alternatives" to the current system of electing justices for a 10 year term. Joseph Troy, chair of the 4-member task force, spoke to the LWV representatives who attended the 2013 Issues Briefing.

Currently Justices are elected for a 10-year term with no limit on the number of terms that can be served - this means that Justices are required to be "political" candidates every 10 years.

The charge to the task force was to "Develop a Proposal that would make a Positive Difference, be Politically Neutral and Feasible". A concern expressed by many is that the increased spending on judicial elections gives the impression that Justices are potentially influenced by the political donations. The campaign finance laws are federal and any reform is controlled by the U.S. Supreme Court 1st amendment decisions, so Wisconsin must abide by them.

The main provisions of the proposal brought forward by the Judicial Task Force are:

Justices shall be elected for 16-year terms of office
No person shall be elected to the office of justice more than once. (Some exception will be made for Justices in office when the provision takes effect.)

The primary advantages of the proposal are:

Once elected, Justices will not become political candidates seeking the financial and special interest support necessary for re-election.
Treating the role of a Justice differently than legislative and executive branch officials, consistent with the principles of separation of powers and rule of law.
Eliminates potential perception that court decisions are motivated by concern for re-election.
Structurally facilitates collegiality and functioning of the Court. (Submitted by Ann Marshall)

Winnebago LWV Poverty Forum Draws Large Crowd

After two years of study and research, the poverty committee of the League of Winnebago County held a forum at the Coughlin Center on October 21 to announce its findings. The forum featured three speakers from the area who addressed the issues of food, shelter and health care. An audience of 80 people attended.

In her introduction to the Forum, committee chairwoman and League co-president Ann Marshall gave a Power Point presentation that dealt with Who are the Poor? Where do they live? What are their circumstances? and, What resources are available to them. (Pictured: L to R Kneip, Marshall, van Houwelingen, Kriegel)

The second speaker, Chris Kniep, Family Living Educator Winnebago County UW Extension, addressed the difficulty the poor have in getting food. Particularly interesting was her talk about the food desert that exists within the downtown / university area of Oshkosh. In a food desert, residents must travel at least one mile to find a full service supermarket. She brought with her a box of groceries (milk, bread, Cheerios, a pizza, can of soup, peanut butter, a can of peas and a bunch of bananas). She compared the price of this box of food with three stores: Walmart, Pick & Save, and a convenience store on the edge of the “desert.” The convenience store price was noticeably higher and bananas were not available at it.

The next presenter Susan Van Houwelingen, deputy director of the Winnebago / Oshkosh Housing Authority, listed the properties the housing authority manages and explained how homeless people can find housing in the county. Presently, however, the “sequester” resulted in a cut to funds for the nation’s housing authorities; this plus earlier cuts in the budget have led to a long waiting list.

The last speaker was Ann Kriegel, Supervisor of Economic Support, Winnebago County Department of Human Services. She outlined the health services available to the poor in the county. She explained how the Affordable Care Act would help people who find themselves losing BadgerCare as the state legislature has ruled that only people at 100% of the poverty level are eligible.

(The forum was filmed by Empyre Pyctures and will be shown on OCM Channel 2 and YouTube.)

LWV Remembers Nancy Winkler

Nancy Winkler, age 70, passed away on Sept 4 from complications with rheumatoid arthritis. Nancy was a past president of the Oshkosh League of Women Voters and a long time League member, until her ill health in recent years. She was employed by CESA 6 in Oshkosh from 1985-1998. She worked to provide teacher training in human growth and development topics, gender equity, and health/wellness education.

Our league sincerely appreciates a donation in Nancy’s memory by Wendy Rodman, also a former League member. Donations in her honor have also gone to the Meg McLane Advocacy Fund at LWV Wisconsin Education Network (go to Thank you, Nancy, for your passionate interest in the health of young people, women, and League issues. We will miss you. (Submitted by Kathy Propp)

Neenah, Menasha LWV Members at Menasha Farm Market

In recognition of LWV US National Voters Registration Day, Neenah and Menasha LWV members braved the wind at the Menasha Farm Market on September 21 to encourage voting and give the League visibility.

2014 Oshkosh Community Media Cards

LWV is now selling 2014 Oshkosh Community Media Cards for $10 each. $6 supports public access television and $4 goes to League, certainly a win-win. Email Kathy or phone her to reserve your cards. Great stocking stuffers.

The card can be used all year at various restaurants (usually a 10% discount) and local businesses. Restaurants include Primo’s, Hardees, Mahoney’s, Cousins, Perkins, Jansen’s, Ground Round, Glass Nickel, Delta, Christianos, Niko’s Gyros, Rocky Rococo, Brooklyn Grill, South of the Border, Jeff’s on Rugby, Cranky Pat’s, Two Brother’s, Biggar’s, and Family Restaurant. Some restrictions apply.

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Senator Tammy BaldwinRep. Tom Petri

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