After receiving word of legislation that seemed to favor one developer Thursday, an outdoor sports and recreation company pulled out of discussions to build a store on protected wetlands.
Legislation introduced by Gov. Scott Walker would allow developer John Bergstrom, owner of Bergstrom Automotive, to bypass a petition by the Wisconsin Wetland Association opposing the construction of a Bass Pro Shops store on a wetland near Green Bay.
However, several Assembly Democrats wrote the founders of Bass Pro Shops after a committee heard the bill and asked the project be reconsidered so the wetlands remain protected.
“After hearing more than three hours of Assembly Natural Resources Committee testimony on this matter, we believe your company and the developer, Mr. Bergstrom, can reach a compromise that meets your needs but also protects our state’s wetland law and its fish population,” said representatives Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, Louis Molepske, D-Stevens Point, Chris Danou, D-Trempealeau and Nick Milroy, D-South Ridge, in a letter.
Bass Pro Shop decided to cancel store construction after receiving the letter, Milroy said in a statement.
Republicans view the loss of a Bass Pro Shops as a loss of jobs for Wisconsin.
“As an outdoorsman, I am a strong supporter of protecting Wisconsin’s natural resources, but we need to also display the flexibility to find solutions that both protect our resources and attract new businesses and jobs to our state,” Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, said in a statement.
The Bass Pro Shops store would have employed 300 full-time employees and hundreds of construction jobs would be required to build the facility, according to a statement from Majority Leader Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford.
The Department of Natural Resources Head of Water Division Bruce Baker originally approved the process two years ago, but the Wisconsin Wetlands Association filed a petition opposing the ruling.
Walker’s bill would effectively silence WWA’s petition and allow Bergstrom to go ahead with development without hearing WWA’s case, a deal that sets bad precedent and encourages other influential citizens to change the law instead of working within it, Shahla Werner, director of Sierra Club-John Muir Chapter, said.
