Contact: Chris Schrimpf, 608-267-7303
Madison–Gov. Scott Walker today announced three appointees to the Natural Resources Board. These appointments will represent the farm, hunting and business communities. Wisconsin Farm Bureau President William Bruins, Wisconsin Hunters’ Rights Coalition co-founder Greg Kazmierski, and Shawano businessman Terry Hilgenberg have all been nominated for six year terms on the Board. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board sets policy for the Department of Natural Resources.
“Everyone in Wisconsin has a stake in our natural resources – for recreation, for quality of life or business. It’s critical that the state Natural Resources Board represent all our interests when it makes tough decisions about managing our environment. I’m confident these people will help make sure that happens,” said Governor Walker.
William Bruins, Waupun, owns and operates the Homeland Dairy family farm in rural Fond du Lac County. He served as president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest general farm organization with more than 22,000 members, since 2003. Since 2010 he has also served on the Waupun Area Board of Education. He has been a member of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (UW-Madison) Board of Visitors and has been involved in a number of agricultural stewardship committees.
Gregory Kazmierski, Mukwonago, is the owner and operator of Buck Rub Outfitters, Ltd., an archery range and retail store in Pewaukee. He grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm in Mukwonago and in the 1970s was a licensed well driller. He is a co-founder of the Wisconsin Hunters’ Rights Coalition, current president of the Safari Club International Dairyland Committee of the Wisconsin Chapters, and is a former Wisconsin Bowhunters Association board member and chapter president.
Terry Hilgenberg, president of the family-run Hilgenberg Realty with offices in Shawano and Green Bay, has had a 35-year career in real estate marketing, development, and investment. He is the past vice chairman of the Wisconsin state Real Estate Board, past regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors and past president of the Wisconsin Realtors Association. A native of Wisconsin, he has been active in Shawano local service groups including Rotary, Optimist and Chamber of Commerce, and contributed to rewriting the Shawano County Shoreland Zoning and Animal Waste and Disposal ordinances. He has held a sportsman’s license for years.
Bruins, Kazmierski, and Hilgenberg replace outgoing Board Chair Jonathan Ela, a conservationist and retired Sierra Club official; former Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary; and former Dean of the UW-River Falls College of Agriculture Gary Rhode and Eau Claire Attorney John Welter, all of whose terms expire May 1 of this year.
The new appointees are expected to attend the next Natural Resources Board meeting, which is set for May 24-25 in Madison.
Chapter 15 of the Wisconsin Statutes delineates the formal duties of the seven-member board. Board Members are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate. Three members each must be selected from the northern and southern portions of the state and one member serves at large. Terms expire on May 1.
Board meeting dates and locations are listed in the Natural Resources Board Calendar. Meeting agendas are posted two weeks prior to each meeting.
