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🌿 Action Alert — Spring 2026 🌿
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“That the situation often appears hopeless should not prevent us from doing our best.”
— Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold wrote those words in Wisconsin. We carry them into every hearing, every lawsuit, every call to Congress. Spring is not the season of despair — it is the season of return. The wolves are still here. So are we. So are you.
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Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife
Monday Night,
Your Voice Shapes
Wisconsin’s Wild Future.
WCC Spring Hearings · April 13 · 6 PM · Your County
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Once a year, Wisconsin holds open public hearings where your vote actually changes wildlife policy. Not a petition. Not a comment form. A real vote — counted by the state — on 44 questions covering wolves, deer, fish, trapping, land conservation, and more.
That’s the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Spring Hearing, and it’s happening this Monday, April 13 at 6 PM at your county seat. Doors open to the public. Everyone gets a ballot. Your presence is your power.
GLWA has done the homework. We’ve analyzed every question and prepared a plain-language guide with our recommended positions — so you can walk in informed and vote with confidence.
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What’s on the Ballot Monday
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This year’s hearing includes some of the most consequential questions we’ve seen in years. A few highlights:
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Q. 38 — Hounding Wolves. A thinly veiled attempt to pre-build regulatory infrastructure for hound hunting wolves the moment they’re delisted. This is the hound hunting industry rebranding harassment as livestock protection. GLWA strongly opposes.
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Q. 23 — Dedicated Conservation Funding. A permanent 1/8% sales tax for fish & wildlife conservation — the most transformative funding question on the ballot. The Missouri model works. GLWA strongly supports.
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Q. 37 — Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. 750,000+ acres of protected Wisconsin land — across all 72 counties — expires without reauthorization this year. Vote yes to keep it.
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Q. 24 — Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly as State Insect. The only federally endangered dragonfly in the U.S., with its most significant population right here in Wisconsin. Give it the recognition it deserves.
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Q. 35 — Wind Turbine Blade Painting. Science-backed bird mortality mitigation — up to 70% reduction in bird strikes by painting one blade black. Wind energy and wildlife protection are not mutually exclusive. GLWA strongly supports.
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Plus 39 more questions on deer, fish, trapping, and water quality. The full guide has all 44 with GLWA’s positions and plain-language explanations — no jargon, no guesswork.
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GLWA Has Resolutions on the Floor
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GLWA has submitted resolutions for consideration at this year’s Spring Hearings. These aren’t just symbolic — they’re formal proposals that move through the Wisconsin Conservation Congress process, presented in person and voted on by the public at county hearings statewide.
If you’re attending your county hearing Monday, your presence in the room matters — not just for the ballot questions, but for the resolutions on the floor. Show up. Speak up. Bring someone with you.
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And While We Have You — We Have News From Washington.
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✨ ESA Victory Update
You Pushed Back the Vote to Gut the Endangered Species Act.
The ESA Amendments Act was pulled from the House floor schedule. That happened because of you.
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The bill that would have stripped federal protections from wolves and hundreds of other species — dismantling the scientific and legal foundation of the Endangered Species Act — didn’t make it to a vote. The calls flooded in. The pressure worked. The vote was postponed.
We want to be straight with you: this bill isn’t dead. It will come back. These fights always do. When a vote is actually scheduled, you’ll hear from us immediately — with a script, a number, and everything you need. Right now, the best thing is to stay ready and stay engaged.
But for this moment? Sit with this win. You moved the needle on a federal bill targeting the most important wildlife protection law in American history. That is not nothing. That is everything.
Federal litigation. State hearings. Congressional calls. Resolutions. This is the work — unglamorous, relentless, and it is how wolves are still here. It is how we make the hopeless hopeful. You are why it works.
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Keep This Work Alive
Every dollar you give right now
is matched — dollar for dollar.
GLWA takes no corporate money. No conditional grants. No strings. We are funded entirely by people who refuse to give up on Wisconsin’s wildlife. If that’s you — this is the moment.
✨ Double Your Impact — Donate Now
Spring hope is not naive. It is earned — by people who keep showing up even when the odds are long. Thank you for being one of them.
speakforwildlife.org/donate
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For the wolves and the wild,
Melissa Smith
Executive Director, Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife
Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance
speakforwildlife.org | 608.234.8860
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Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife | Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance
PO Box 259891, Madison, WI 53715 | speakforwildlife.org
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