Senate must act to restore legitimacy to the Natural Resources Board

Fred Prehn is neither a lawyer nor is he a wildlife biologist.

What Prehn is quickly becoming is an embarrassment to the state of Wisconsin as he continues to pretend that the results of elections don’t apply to him.

Prehn is a dentist who sees patients in Wausau and owns a cranberry farm. In 2015 Prehn was appointed by then Gov. Scott Walker to serve on the state’s natural resources board for a six-year term and held the chairman position.

That term expired in May 2021.

Current Gov. Tony Evers, who defeated Walker in a hotly contested election for the state’s chief executive spot nearly three years ago, named a replacement. However, Prehn refuses to step away from the position, clinging to a legal interpretation of what his term in office is that is more in line with Sovietera Russia and South American banana republics than it does with a functioning democracy.

It is clear the intent of the law regarding the six-year term of office is to balance the power of governors to influence natural resources rules through the appointment process with the need for stability in natural resources management practices. Good management takes a conservative approach. Wildlife managers know that with the staggeringly complex systems involved, making politically-motivated knee-jerk decisions can have unintended longterm negative consequences.

It makes sense that with big issues like wolf management and agricultural wetland rules Prehn wants to keep his fingers in the proverbial pie — if for no other reason than to look out for his own agricultural interests. One interpretation of the state law seems to give some credence to Prehn’s lingering on the board. According to that reading of the state statutes, the expiration of his term on the board does not create a vacancy because the senate hasn’t voted to approve his replacement. Vacancies, it says, only exist if there is a death, resignation or formal removal from the board.

This begs the question of why bother having a set term of office if it is going to be routinely ignored by people who have overstayed their welcome. Do elections only mean something if the legislature and political appointees agree with who the voters selected? Has Wisconsin slid so far down into the sewer of political gamesmanship that politicians think they should have more say than the voters who put them in office?

Prehn’s continued morally questionable tenure on the natural resources board has raised unnecessary questions about the recent actions involving the establishment of wolf hunting quotas. With valid reasons, many in Wisconsin do not like wolves. This is especially true for those involved with animal agriculture and deer hunting. Their issues and concerns must be part of the discusson. The debate over management of the state’s wolf population needs to walk a tightrope of balancing wildlife biology with economics in the crosswinds of public debate.

Prehn’s politically-motived gamesmanship and scorched earth political tactics raise questions of the legitimacy of the board’s decisions, providing openings for costly and protracted legal battles which will prevent any effective management from taking place.

The clear solution is for the state senate to act on approving Evers’ appointment to fill Prehn’s expired term. Call on Sen. Jerry Petrowski to work with his colleagues to stop the games and bring legitimacy back to the Natural Resources Board. Wisconsin needs to set the games aside and return to a bipartisan approach in managing and protecting the state’s natural resources.