The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, reported on September 13, 2003, that Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is urging federal elected officials to designate the Apostle Islands as wilderness and name the area for former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. Senator Nelson led the fight to designate the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore during his 18-year tenure in the Senate.
"Without this designation, we have no guarantee that the wilderness on the Apostle Islands will be protected for our children and grandchildren," Doyle said.
Senator Nelson joined the Governor for the press event and said, "I've been a pretty good politician, but I'm not a poet so I can't describe the islands adequately." He continues, "They're a rare, unique collection of islands, and they ought to be preserved in their natural state."
Background
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, established in 1970, is located in the northwestern corner of Wisconsin and includes 21 forested islands and 12 miles of pristine shoreline. The 69,372-acre area (approximately 42,000 of which is above water) is home to diverse wildlife including black bear, bald eagles and deer. The islands feature sea caves and dramatic vistas of Lake Superior, a literal inland sea and the world's largest body of fresh water.
The Park Service has been managing approximately 80 percent of the Lakeshore's acreage as if it were federally designated wilderness since 1989. At that time, the need for a formal wilderness study for the Lakeshore was identified but it was not until 2000 when Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) was successful in securing appropriations in the Interior Department spending bill for the completion of a wilderness suitability study for the Apostle Islands that the Park Service undertook this task.
The Park Service released its draft of its Wilderness Study and Environmental Impact Statement for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in July and is accepting public comment on the draft plan until October 17, 2003. The Park Service preferred alternative recommends approximately 80 percent of the Lakeshore be permanently protected as Wilderness.
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