I have resided between Steuben, Wisconsin and Chicago for most of my life. As a woman of 65, a college professor and professional sculptor, I have finally begun to realize my lifelong dream: to restore and convert our family’s centenary barn into my art studio.
I was devastated when the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conditionally approved plans for Roth Feeder Pig to expand into a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). Nine million gallons of manure generated each year would endanger the region and the health and safety of my family and neighbors. The Kickapoo River that I swim in and its pristine environs would become septic. The Driftless Area is a Wisconsin national treasure. Aquifers that run throughout and below its porous karst geology would become contaminated. Everything we hold dear: our health, wildlife, air and water would be destroyed for one man’s gain. This ecological damage cannot be undone.
The DNR exists to protect Wisconsin’s natural resources, not to squander them, not to sell them to the highest bidder with the most political clout.
The DNR can prevent this wreckage. We challenge them to conduct an environmental impact statement for this specific area. If the Roth CAFO would not cause irreparable harm to Wisconsin’s precious land and water, let them prove it.
Do the right thing, DNR. Reverse the Roth CAFO aberration.
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