Attorney general asked to oust Prehm from board
The sad saga of Fred Prehn and the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has now stretched on for nearly three months.
The board term of Prehn, a dentist and cranberry marsh owner from Wausau, expired May 1. Gov. Tony Evers appointed a replacement, Sandra Dee Nass of Ashland, on April 30.
If things had proceeded normally – and a review of board history puts it at 95% of the time – Prehn would have graciously vacated his position and Nass would have begun serving at the May meeting.
That's how things went when Prehn joined the board in 1995. His predecessor, Jane Wiley of Wausau, left when her term expired and Prehn was able to participate as a full, voting member within days of being appointed and, as has been customary, served for months before he was confirmed by the Senate.
But Prehn has refused to step down, citing a 1964 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that in certain cases allowed members of some boards to "holdover" until their replacement had been confirmed by the Senate.
It's the same ruling used when the only other NRB members since the citizen board was formed more than five decades ago – James Tiefenthaler Jr. and Steve Willett – stayed on past the expiration of their terms.
So Nass has been forced to watch from the audience as Prehn continued as board chairman at the May and June meetings.
Prehn's move has never struck anyone as decent or respectful.
"Our government is at its best when its officials are guided by whether a thing is right," the Wisconsin chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers wrote in a July 3 letter opposing Prehn's move. "It is at its worst when they are guided only by whether they can."
It has only been described as legal. However, that is now being tested. On Tuesday Madison attorney Christa Westerberg of Pines Bach LLP, acting on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity and the Humane Society of the United States, requested Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul remove Prehn from the board because he is "unlawfully occupying and exercising the powers of a public office."
The complaint asks Kaul to remedy the situation through a quo warranto action, or a challenge to Prehn's right to remain on the board after his term expired.
The basis for the claim is the statute that created the NRB in 1967. The statute's language calls for fixed six-year terms on the board and does not include a provision for holdovers as statutes do for other boards created earlier, said HSUS attorney Nicholas Arrivo.
“Mr. Prehn's brazen refusal to leave office at the end of his term defies the law and tarnishes the integrity of the Natural Resources Board, which is entrusted with managing the state's wildlife in public trust for all Wisconsin citizens, present and future,” Arrivo said in a statement.
The NRB was created by the Kellet Reorganization Bill, which merged the Department of Conservation with the
Department of Resource Development to form the Department of Natural Resources. The NRB is the seven-member citizen board that sets policy for the DNR.
In keeping with tenets established in the 1930s in the Wisconsin Conservation Commission, the NRB was intended to insulate natural resources decisions from politics.
So it's significant that the Legislature chose not to include a holdover clause in the statute creating the NRB.
It also feels consistent with the intent and spirit of the board, doesn't it?
Six groups – Clean Wisconsin, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Midwest Environmental Advocates, River Alliance of Wisconsin, Sierra Club Wisconsin and Wisconsin's Green Fire – wrote a joint letter Thursday supporting the recent legal analysis and urging Prehn to step down or be removed.
The letter said the groups hold opposing views on many issues. However, they strongly agree Prehn should no longer serve on the board.
"Frederick Prehn's continued presence on the NRB undermines the sound, responsible, and accountable management of natural resources held in the public trust," the letter says. "The drafters of the Kellet Bill did not permit what Frederick Prehn continues to do because the NRB was created not as a body comprised of political actors seeking to maximize their power but as citizenrepresentatives who serve in the public interest for a set period of time."
In her correspondence last week, Westerberg respectfully requested Kaul take "prompt action" to remove Prehn.
As of Friday evening Kaul's office acknowledged it had received the request but had yet to provide any response.
The next NRB meeting is scheduled for Aug. 11 in the Milwaukee area. Details are expected to be available soon.
Will it, as occurred at the June meeting, include protesters and appearances by members of the public asking Prehn to vacate? Or will Nass be able to fulfill her appointment as nearly all her predecessors were allowed to do?
The coming days will likely provide answers.
CALENDAR
Sept. 1-15
Early Canada goose season.
Sept. 18
Bow deer, fall turkey and many small game seasons open.
Sept. 25
Woodcock and northern duck seasons open.
Oct. 2
Southern duck season opens.