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FRBF Mission Statement
"To oppose the construction of a golf course within the Black River Forest and to promote the preservation of the integrity of that river, its wetlands, the forest and the adjoining Lake Michigan shore as an ecological whole." For five years we have:
Unfortunately today, the only recourse the public has in this state to protect our land, air and water, is the court of law. |
Tell the DNR you are opposed to the both the destruction of the beautiful, rare, open and forested Great Lakes sand dune ecosystem and the give away of publicly owned state park lands for the exclusive use and destruction by Kohler, a for-profit, private company.
Tell the DNR that you are opposed to an easement over State Park lands as this violates LAWCON. The Kohler Company was denied an easement in 1984 because the DNR chose to follow the rules. The issue is no different today and their request to use any State Park land should be denied. Tell the DNR Natural Resources Board to refuse to facilitate an amendment which ultimately will create precedent to give away state park land to a company for its private profit. What Water, Wetland Protection is All About, according to the Wisconsin Supreme Court,1960 "A little fill here and there may seem to be nothing to become excited about. But one fill, though comparatively inconsequential, may lead to another, and another, and before long a great body may be eaten away until it may no longer exist. Our navigable waters are a precious natural heritage, once gone, they disappear forever," wrote the Wisconsin Supreme Court in its 1960 opinion resolving Hixon v. PSC and buttressing The Public Trust Doctrine, Article IX of the Wisconsin State Constitution. |
More about FRBF:
Over five years ago, a small group of people sat around a dining room table speaking of their concerns about a proposed Kohler Company championship golf course planned on the shores of Lake Michigan adjacent to Kohler Andrae Park within the Town of Wilson. Descriptions of teeming wildlife, rolling dunes, wetlands overflowing with aquatic life, the migratory flyover route, the site of prehistoric peoples and thousands of artifacts and burial mounds, were just a few concerns. Kohler intended to clear-cut 160 of their 247 acres of forest and needed acreage from Kohler Andrae State Park to complete the course.
If approved, 30,000- 45,000 mature trees would be cut down, our wells would be threatened, pesticides would leach into our groundwater and drift onto our properties and into Lake Michigan, globally significant dunes and wetlands would be razed and filled, environmental corridors would be destroyed, the topography of the area would be changed forever, currently polluted air would spike from tournament traffic, and state land not needed by Kohler would be given to the company for the company's profit. In other words, this rare ecosystem would be stripped of all its defining characteristics.
Furthermore, a number of holes would be built out into Lake Michigan as the shoreline has receded a few hundred feet which would cause major erosion affecting the shoreline of the state park to the south and homeowners to the north. The homes along the north end of the proposed golf course will most likely see their property values decrease as their wooded backyard views become a sterile berm, much like Whistling Straits where the Kohler Co. reportedly paid a million dollars to a homeowner to move his brand new home because it could be seen from the course.
Five years ago, our goal became the preservation of our rare Lake Michigan coastal ecosystem and the Kohler State Park land that belongs to all of us. We decided to make sure the processes leading up to permitting were carried out scientifically devoid of environmental passes being given to a developer. We believed the Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Board would not approve such devastation to this coastal ecosystem.
This is what we have learned:
- The Kohler Co. was allowed environmental infractions by the DNR that no homeowner would be allowed.
- Our quiet, rural town was physically divided by a secret, hostile annexation by Kohler to move their land to the City of Sheboygan to avoid an independent environmental impact study required by our Town of Wilson.
- The DNR wrote incomplete, misleading, unscientific environmental statements based on Kohler-provided information
- The DNR under Scott Walker worked for five years trying to justify the destruction Kohler asked for, and when the agency couldn't, they circumvented the law and approved a wetland fill permit anyway as well was giving away our important state park land.
- The voices of hundreds of people and petitions from 22,000 people had no import with the DNR or the Natural Resources Board.
NOW WE SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
FRIENDS OF THE BLACK RIVER FOREST RECEIVED A $50,0000 GRANT FROM THE BRICO FUND TO LAUNCH THE FIRST LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST THE ISSUANCE OF A WETLAND FILL PERMIT TO THE KOHLER COMPANY BY THE DNR. WE HAVE TWO MORE ROUNDS TO GO, CHALLENGING THE DNR AND ITS ILLEGAL SWAP OF OUR PRIME STATE PARK LAND FOR INSIGNIFICANT KOHLER COMPANY LAND.
WILL YOU JOIN THIS GRASSROOTS EFFORT TO HOLD THE DNR TO WISCONSIN LAW?
WILL YOU HELP FBRF RAISE THE FUNDS TO SEE THIS BATTLE THROUGH TO VICTORY?
What is more important than protecting our fundamental rights to breathe clean air, drink clean water and protect our homes and community? Help us take a stand.
Although we have received letters and support from hundreds of people in the community and state park visitors, only a few dozen people have become involved in this fight. Anything you can do will help!
Over five years ago, a small group of people sat around a dining room table speaking of their concerns about a proposed Kohler Company championship golf course planned on the shores of Lake Michigan adjacent to Kohler Andrae Park within the Town of Wilson. Descriptions of teeming wildlife, rolling dunes, wetlands overflowing with aquatic life, the migratory flyover route, the site of prehistoric peoples and thousands of artifacts and burial mounds, were just a few concerns. Kohler intended to clear-cut 160 of their 247 acres of forest and needed acreage from Kohler Andrae State Park to complete the course.
If approved, 30,000- 45,000 mature trees would be cut down, our wells would be threatened, pesticides would leach into our groundwater and drift onto our properties and into Lake Michigan, globally significant dunes and wetlands would be razed and filled, environmental corridors would be destroyed, the topography of the area would be changed forever, currently polluted air would spike from tournament traffic, and state land not needed by Kohler would be given to the company for the company's profit. In other words, this rare ecosystem would be stripped of all its defining characteristics.
Furthermore, a number of holes would be built out into Lake Michigan as the shoreline has receded a few hundred feet which would cause major erosion affecting the shoreline of the state park to the south and homeowners to the north. The homes along the north end of the proposed golf course will most likely see their property values decrease as their wooded backyard views become a sterile berm, much like Whistling Straits where the Kohler Co. reportedly paid a million dollars to a homeowner to move his brand new home because it could be seen from the course.
Five years ago, our goal became the preservation of our rare Lake Michigan coastal ecosystem and the Kohler State Park land that belongs to all of us. We decided to make sure the processes leading up to permitting were carried out scientifically devoid of environmental passes being given to a developer. We believed the Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Resources Board would not approve such devastation to this coastal ecosystem.
This is what we have learned:
- The Kohler Co. was allowed environmental infractions by the DNR that no homeowner would be allowed.
- Our quiet, rural town was physically divided by a secret, hostile annexation by Kohler to move their land to the City of Sheboygan to avoid an independent environmental impact study required by our Town of Wilson.
- The DNR wrote incomplete, misleading, unscientific environmental statements based on Kohler-provided information
- The DNR under Scott Walker worked for five years trying to justify the destruction Kohler asked for, and when the agency couldn't, they circumvented the law and approved a wetland fill permit anyway as well was giving away our important state park land.
- The voices of hundreds of people and petitions from 22,000 people had no import with the DNR or the Natural Resources Board.
NOW WE SAY "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
FRIENDS OF THE BLACK RIVER FOREST RECEIVED A $50,0000 GRANT FROM THE BRICO FUND TO LAUNCH THE FIRST LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST THE ISSUANCE OF A WETLAND FILL PERMIT TO THE KOHLER COMPANY BY THE DNR. WE HAVE TWO MORE ROUNDS TO GO, CHALLENGING THE DNR AND ITS ILLEGAL SWAP OF OUR PRIME STATE PARK LAND FOR INSIGNIFICANT KOHLER COMPANY LAND.
WILL YOU JOIN THIS GRASSROOTS EFFORT TO HOLD THE DNR TO WISCONSIN LAW?
WILL YOU HELP FBRF RAISE THE FUNDS TO SEE THIS BATTLE THROUGH TO VICTORY?
What is more important than protecting our fundamental rights to breathe clean air, drink clean water and protect our homes and community? Help us take a stand.
Although we have received letters and support from hundreds of people in the community and state park visitors, only a few dozen people have become involved in this fight. Anything you can do will help!
