DNR smart to restore larger presence at State Fair
WEST ALLIS - The 2017 move by the Department of Natural Resources to drastically reduce its exhibit at the Wisconsin State Fair garnered headlines and turned heads.
But for all the wrong reasons. It was as popular as a swarm of yellow jackets at a picnic.
The agency, then led by former Secretary Cathy Stepp, slashed its footprint at the fair by 98%, according to DNR employees who worked at the event.
Gone were the super-sized aquariums of native Wisconsin fish, Smokey Bear's Schoolhouse and wildlife displays.
Only a smattering of state park and endangered resources material was offered.
The public was left shaking its collective head in disbelief.
"I'm very, very disappointed in the decreased DNR presence," Mary NoldKlett of Wauwatosa told me in 2017. "The DNR building is no longer DNR. And the fish are gone!"
Agency officials never explained their reasoning behind the change, but its effect on public relations was clearly negative: At one of Wisconsin's premier annual events, the DNR had quashed an opportunity to interact face-to-face with the people it
About 300,000 people visited the DNR state fair exhibition each year, according to pre-2017 agency estimates.
Among those who opposed the change was Preston Cole of Milwaukee, then a member of the Natural Resources Board.
What a difference two years can make.
Cole is now DNR Secretary-designee. And this year the agency is set to dramatically increase its footprint at the state fair.
"We are bringing back the shazam, the jazz, to the DNR pavilion," said Cole in a July 26 DNR podcast.
Over the last week DNR staff have been working to prepare its displays in the area known as Exploratory Park at the state fair.
Harkening back to the "good old days," this year the DNR's booths and exhibits fill the north building.
Several outdoor displays are in place, too.
Visitors will see exhibits on: fish and wildlife, including large aquariums with live fish; wetlands and waterways; state parks, trails and forests; groundwater and water quality; rare and endangered resources in the Natural Heritage Conservation Program; and Smokey Bear's Schoolhouse.
A water theme runs through most of the displays, a link to Gov. Tony Evers' declaration of 2019 as the "Year of Clean Water" in Wisconsin.
"Water is life-giving," Cole said. "It's upsetting that it got (degraded) in certain communities. We have to protect the public's interest."
Many of the displays are "hands on" and educational, said Joe Liebau, Jr., DNR director of the Southeast Region.
As an added bonus, Exploratory Park has the most trees on the 200-acre State Fair Park property.
State Fair Park CEO Kathleen O'Leary described the DNR area as an “oasis of solace and beauty” amid the hustleand-bustle.
Fans of Smokey have an extra reason this year to visit the site - on Aug. 9 it will host a 75th-birthday celebration for the bear.
But each day of the fair's 11-day run it will feature an amped-up cross-section of DNR programs and initiatives. Staff members will be present to answer questions or just to talk to visitors.
"We think we own and provide the best engagement activity at the fair," Cole said. "Come by, see how your tax dollars are being spent with some of the best scientists in the organization. Bend their ear."
Although the additional displays required more work, the opportunity for DNR staff to meet the public at the fair is priceless.
That goes especially for urban residents who don't participate in hunting and fishing, the so called "non-consumptive users."
"This provides us with an opportunity to talk to legions of Wisconsinites, as well as those who visit this state, and love this state for its outdoor recreation activities, about our approach to natuserves. ral resource management," Cole said. "And it doesn't cost a whole lot, but these face to face interactions pay big dividends to us, so the citizens of Wisconsin know they are in good hands."
The DNR has been through some tough times over the last decade, enduring budget and staff cuts from the Legislature and being molded by former Gov. Scott Walker and his appointees into an agency that marginalized its science staff and was more pro-business.
The record is only about six months old, but signs are emerging about the DNR's new path under Evers and Cole.
Reinvigorating the agency's presence at the fair is a smart move. Put one in the plus column for both the DNR and the public.