Kaul sues to eject DNR board chairman
Prehn refuses to leave position, citing little-used law
MADISON - Attorney General Josh Kaul went to court Tuesday to remove the Department of Natural Resources Board chairman whose term expired three months ago and has refused to relinquish his seat to his successor.
Kaul is asking a Dane County Circuit Court judge to rule Frederick Prehn has been occupying his seat on the board unlawfully.
Prehn’s six-year term expired on May 1, but he has stayed on the board under a little-used law that allows board members to continue serving if the state Senate has not confirmed a new member to that seat.
The Republican-controlled state Senate has not set a date to confirm Sandra Dee Naas, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to replace Prehn.
The strategy could keep Prehn, an appointee of former Gov. Scott Walker, on the board for years. The state Senate has refused to confirm a number of Evers’ appointees, in some cases allowing them to serve since 2019 without a confirmation vote.
“Dr. Prehn’s term is over. His attempt to remain on the Natural Resources Board indefinitely, in defiance of the will of the voters, is fundamentally undemocratic,” Kaul said in a statement. “We’re asking for a clear ruling that Dr. Prehn is no longer a member of the Natural Resources Board.”
Prehn said Wednesday he learned about the lawsuit while watching television. He said Kaul’s suit is political given legal precedence and that he will vacate the seat once his replacement is confirmed by the Senate.
“This lawsuit is more about the Legislature’s authority and responsibility to approve a governor’s nominee than it is about Frederick Prehn or even Sandra Naas, who I believe is a good person,” he said.
The lawsuit seeks an expedited hearing from the court.
Natural Resources advocacy groups applauded Kaul’s decision.
Laura Lane, the Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter chair, said that what Prehn has done in retaining his seat is undemocratic and wrong.
“The people elected Governor Evers and Evers had the right to fill the seat when Prehn’s six-year term expired,” she said. “And Prehn, in a very undemocratic move, played political games and held on to his seat. He has tainted the Natural Resources Board decision making process, because he has wrongfully stayed on as chair.”
Fred Clark, of the nonpartisan environmental group Wisconsin’s Green Fire, said the board has influence over so many facets of life in the state, it’s important to have legitimate leadership.
Prehn has refused to step down citing a 1964 state Supreme Court decision that says board members can stay on until a replacement is confirmed. Kaul in his lawsuit argues that decision no longer holds because state law has been changed since then.
He is asking the court to remove Prehn or issue a ruling that says Evers can remove him.
The statute Prehn is using to retain his seat has only been used two other times by board members in the 2000s.
Senator Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, criticized Republican leadership Wednesday, calling via a petition for Senate President Chris Kapenga of Delafield and Sen. Rob Cowles of Green Bay, who chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, to hold confirmation hearings for the appointees.
“The peaceful transition of power is a founding principle of our nation, and inaction on this appointment has allowed Fred Prehn, whose appointment to the Natural Board of Resources has expired, to arrogantly trample all over that tradition,” the petition says. “Your continued inaction that is delaying this appointment will show a dangerous complacency in Mr. Prehn’s power grab.”
Kapenga did not return multiple requests for an interview.
Prehn, a Wausau dentist and cranberry farmer, was appointed to the board in May 2015 by Walker.
Naas, appointed by Evers on April 30 , has more than 30 years of experience with conservation, owns an environmental consulting firm and serves as an agriculture and natural resources instructor and FAA adviser at Ashland High School.
Evers appointed Nass along with Sharon Adams of Milwaukee. Adams was able to take a place on the board for the June meeting after former member Julie Anderson stepped down at the end of her term.
“The people elected Governor Evers and Evers had the right to fill the seat when Prehn’s six-year term expired. And Prehn, in a very undemocratic move, played political games and held on to his seat. He has tainted the Natural Resources Board decision making process, because he has wrongfully stayed on as chair.” Laura Lane Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter chair
Calls start for re-vote on wolves without Prehn
At the center of concerns are votes that Prehn has taken at the last several board meetings, after the end of his term in May.
One of the most notable votes was last week’s vote on the quota for the fall wolf hunt.
Department scientists recommended a quota of 130 wolves, but the board charged ahead with its decision, setting a quota of 300 wolves. The second hunt of the year comes after the February season in which 218 wolves were killed, a total that exceeded the state-licensed quota by 83%.
The vote was decided by a 5-2 vote in favor of the 300-wolf-quota, but newly appointed member Adams said that she did not mean to vote yes for the number, and was confused when she did so, according to a release.
If Adams had voted against the quota, the decision would have come down to Prehn’s yes vote, something that Lane said her organization is concerned about.
“We feel the decision-making process at the board was tainted,” Lane said. “We would like Prehn removed immediately, or as soon as possible, and for that wolf vote to be re-held again in September.”
Noting that the Sierra Club does support hunting, she said she sees the increased quota, and the fact that Prehn presided over the hearing, as an attempt to silence those who oppose an increased quota, which scientists said could potentially harm the wolf population of the state.
“Prehn is one very outrageous example of how one person grabbed power and decided to hold on indefinitely while silencing the governor’s rightful appointee,” Lane said. “This is very dangerous, and we cannot allow this behavior to stand.”
Clean water is another issue, Clark said, as several decisions setting limits for “forever chemicals” in Wisconsin ground, surface and drinking water will soon come before the board.
“Mr. Prehn is both occupying a seat on the board and continuing his role as chair, which has tremendous influence over the board,” he said. “Whether the issue is wolves or addressing PFAS, or contaminated runoff or parks. The Natural Resources Board is a tremendous influence on almost everyone in Wisconsin.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Patrick Marley contributed to this report.