Russ was a volunteer ranger at Devil's Island on Wisconsin's beautiful Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Environment

CONSERVATION: A WISCONSIN TRADITION

Read more about Senator Feingold's work in promoting energy independence

"Wisconsin has a long tradition of conservation. Former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson was the original founder of Earth Day in 1969 and a tireless advocate for environmental protection. Our conservation efforts are indebted to the work of another Wisconsin environmentalist, Aldo Leopold, founder of the Wilderness Society.

Wisconsin was also the home state of the legendary John Muir, the first President of the Sierra Club, whose ideas about conservation and the essential role of wilderness in nature inspire environmentalists to this day.

I will continue to work hard to protect our public lands, ensure safe drinking water and breathable air, end environmentally harmful subsidies, and preserve the quality of Wisconsin's environment."

ACHIEVEMENTS

Recognition of Senate Voting Record: The League of Conservation Voters recognizes Senator Feingold as having one of the highest lifetime voting records of any seated U.S. Senator.

Recipient of the 2004 Conservation Service Citation: The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, which consists of 84 hunting and trapping organizations in the state, and the National Wildlife Federation presented Senator Feingold this award for his efforts to protect water quality and fight for wetlands protections.

Friends of the National Parks Award (2000, 2002): The National Parks and Conservation Association has recognized Senator Feingold’s perfect 100% voting record for supporting legislation to protect and conserve our national parks.

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" Award (2000): Taxpayers for Commonsense recognized Senator Feingold for his work with Congressman Thomas Petri -WI) for reducing the deficit through environmental protection. They led the fight in Congress to scale back the proposed Animas-LaPlata water project in Southwestern Colorado, and saved the taxpayers $450 million.

Keeping Our Water Clean: Senator Feingold believes that when you turn on the faucet you shouldn't have to wonder whether the water is safe to drink. He has opposed numerous efforts to roll back the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act and cosponsored legislation requiring the establishment of a national primary drinking water standard and treatment techniques for the harmful bacteria cryptosporidium, which caused almost 100 deaths in the Milwaukee area in 1993. He has pushed for research, development, and funding for critical drinking water infrastructure systems to help local communities comply with environmental regulations.

Preserving Wetlands: Senator Feingold realizes the important role wetlands play in alleviating water pollution and preventing flooding. Wetlands absorb runoff from rainwater before it reaches rivers and streams, helping to prevent flooding and filter pollutants out of the water before they reach our drinking water. That is why Senator Feingold fought provisions in the 1996 Clean Water Act that threatened the classification and protection of over 60% of Wisconsin wetlands, and authored a clean water bill that would clarify that streams, ponds, and lakes are subject to Clean Water Act protections.

Cleaning Up the Great Lakes: Senator Feingold cosponsored the Great Lakes Amendment, passed by the Senate in July of 2001, which will prevent both onshore and offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Great Lakes until Congress has clear information about the specific dangers that drilling could pose to the Lakes. In 2004, he urged the Senate to extend this moratorium. Senator Feingold has also cosponsored several pieces of legislation to clean up Great Lake harbors, prevent non-native species like the Asian carp, zebra mussels, and sea lampreys from wreaking havoc on the Great Lakes, and has worked on efforts to clean up the Fox River and prevent tons of PCBs from flowing into Lake Michigan.

Cleaning Up the Air We Breathe: Senator Feingold understands that clean air is not just an environmental issue, it’s a health issue, too. From increased rates of asthma to mercury fish consumption advisories on almost all of Wisconsin’s lakes, clean air affects everyone. Senator Feingold has fought back efforts to undermine federal enforcement of Clean Air Act protections. He was the first Mid-Western Senator to cosponsor the Clean Power Act, which would make mercury and carbon dioxide subject to the Clean Air Act. In April 2004, Senator Feingold joined a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues to ask the Administration to re-evaluate its proposed federal mercury emissions plan to ensure that it will not create hot spots of concentrated mercury contamination.

Preserving the Apostle Islands: Senator Feingold introduced and helped pass the Gaylord Nelson Apostle Islands Stewardship Act of 1999. This bill protects the coastline of Wisconsin's cherished Apostle Islands by securing $2.2 million in federal funding to repair erosion and conduct wildlife studies. The Apostle Islands are a popular vacation area for many Wisconsin families, as well as home to wildlife such as black bear, deer, and bald eagles.

Defending Wilderness: Senator Feingold is the founder of the Senate Wilderness and Public Land Caucus. This bipartisan caucus, which now has 10 members in the Senate, defends existing wilderness areas and provides a forum for members seeking to designate new areas. One such beautiful but endangered part of the country that Senator Feingold has defended in Congress is a 9 million acre area of redrock wilderness in Utah.

Opposing Drilling in ANWR: Senator Feingold consistently opposed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil drilling, which would endanger precious habitats and do little to address serious energy concerns.

Protecting Wisconsin's Cropland: Senator Feingold has continually pushed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve Wisconsin's application for the Conservative Reserve Enhancement Program. The application, supported by both the agriculture and conservation communities in Wisconsin, would allocate $200 million of federal funds to reduce surface water sediment on 100,000 acres of Wisconsin's most sensitive cropland.

Cleaning Up Toxic Waste Sites: Since Senator Feingold took office in 1993, he has worked with the EPA to complete toxic waste cleanups in 16 Wisconsin communities, including Wausau, Onalaska, Harrison, Algoma, Cleveland Township, Excesior, Stoughton, Whitelaw, Ashipun, Ripon, Tomah, Franklin Township, Appleton, and Caledonia. This is five times as many sites as were cleaned up in the previous 12 years combined.

Protecting Biodiversity: Senator Feingold has worked hard to protect biodiversity, including Wisconsin’s bird population, which brings considerable tourism dollars into the state every year. Senator Feingold introduced legislation to support domestic and international crane species conservation efforts, including the whooping crane and sandhill crane. Senator Feingold has also consistently supported international wildlife conservation efforts through the Multinational Species Fund, which works to protect neotropical birds, the great ape, rhino, tiger, and Asian and African elephants.

Saving Taxpayers Money by Saving the Environment: Senator Feingold believes that fiscal responsibility and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive. He has introduced legislation to reform the Corps of Engineers, which would get rid of the $54 billion backlog of proposed projects. This bill would also make sure that multi-million water projects are subject to sound economic analysis and require that the government meet the same environmental standards as private developers when a project impacts wetlands. He has also worked to reform federal western water pricing policy to require that large agribusiness interests payback taxpayers for costly irrigation subsidies. Senator Feingold has also introduced legislation to eliminate a tax break for mining companies who mine on public lands, which would save the taxpayers $478 million over five years.

READ MORE

Feingold: The Bad News About the Energy Bill, (Counterpunch.org, July 29, 2005)

League of Conservation Voters: Names Senator Russ Feingold as Environmental Champion, (Wispolitics.com, July 15, 2004)