What can I do to make sure that effective invasive species laws and local ordinances are being past?

A Guide for Citizen Action

Below is a step-by-step guide that should send you in the right direction.  Keep in mind that every community in Wisconsin is different and the information listed below may vary.  This section includes ‘how-tos’ on:

            •  Passing local rules and ordinances in your community

            •  Influencing your state legislators

If you would like more advice or have questions about getting involved in the political process, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters is available as a resource.  The League is the political leg of the conservation community in Wisconsin.

            http://www.conservationvoters.org/

            Jessica Garrels, Green Bay, 920-429-9008, jessica@conservationvoters.org

            Brook Waalen, Luck, 715-472-2922, brook@conservationvoters.org

            Laurie Longtine, Waukesha, 262-894-8443, laurie@conservationvoters.org

            Emily Miota, Racine, 262-898-7354, emily@conservationvoters.org

            Kerry Schumann, Madison, 608-661-0845, kerry@conservationvoters.org

Please keep in mind that the League cannot run a campaign for you, but they are more than willing to assist you in starting up and organizing your own coalition.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

A solid background on the issue will help you be more effective in your efforts. The Wisconsin Council on Invasive Species has developed a PowerPoint presentation that can help you understand the issue better and can be used as an educational tool by you.

Invasive Species PowerPoint Presentation

LOCAL ORDINANCES

“I don’t think my city is doing enough to stop invasive species.  What can I do?”

1)     Do your homework!

Here’s a checklist of important information to gather before taking any action:

·       Current Ordinances

Contact your city/village/town/county clerk and ask for a copy of the ordinances relating to invasive species. Many government units now offer these on the online, although finding the right ordinance can be might be confusing. You may want to pick up actual copies at the city/county clerk’s office.  These are all public records and they must be made available to you (possible copying fee).

•  What ordinances SHOULD be in place in order to effectively control and prevent invasive species

This can be the tricky part.  The best place to start is by contacting the local staff that implements these rules on a day to day basis.  They will be typically happy to help you out.  At least for weed rules, it could be anyone from zoning to public works to a local farmer who is the responsible staff.  The best place to start is the person in the parks program who is responsible for your local parks.  At the very least, they can point you in the right direction.  You can also compare your local rules to other Wisconsin municipalities by searching on the Municode.com website at http://www.municode.com/resources/code_list.asp?stateID=49. This site has ordinances for many Wisconsin municipalities, but not all of them.

•  Lay of the land

This includes all the non-technical information necessary for passing stronger rules.  The ‘lay of the land’ refers to the political and social climate and overall tone in your municipality that may work with or against you while you’re trying to create change.  This includes the:

-Political makeup of the city council/village or town board (Are the members generally open to this kind of change?  Who might vote for and against this?  Where do their concerns lie?)

- Organizations that may oppose/support your effort (Is there a taxpayers association that may oppose this?  Are neighborhood organizations active and would they get involved?); and the

- General climate of the people in your municipality (What’s the political makeup?  What are some of the major concerns for families?  Who are the major employers and will that affect your cause?). 

The ‘lay of the land’ is more subjective, but is an important factor in figuring out if this effort is politically viable at the present time.  When you contact local staff about what ordinances should exist, it’s certainly worth asking them about the overall sentiments of the municipality.  For example, they can most likely tell you who on the city council/village or town board supported or opposed similar issues in the past.

2)     Go right to the source -- sometimes.

Sometimes the easiest way to create change is to ask!  Before creating a public campaign, talk to a few ‘friendly’ officials who will introduce the rule for a vote on the board.  However, it’s important to keep in mind that this rule applies sometimes.  If you sense that the council/board will not immediately be receptive to this idea while figuring out the ‘lay of the land’, it may be wise to proceed slowly.  For councils/boards that need a little convincing, it will probably take a strong public campaign and some pressure from their constituents before you present the idea to them in the form of a rule.   

3)     Rally the troops.

Bring in all interested community members to join your efforts, including local officials that are supportive.  Hold meetings to put together your strategy and plan of action for making it happen.  Keep in mind, if you do not have new actions or decisions to make, your group will most likely become disengaged.  If you are organizing a community effort, be sure that your group is able to tangibly see how the effort is moving forward. 

4)     Figure out the plan.

Spend the necessary time figuring out the plan of action.  If an official is going to introduce the ordinance:

•  Message is EVERYTHING

Do not let opponents shape the debate.  Make sure that your effort includes ONE strong message that will appeal to your audience, specifically residents in your community and council/board members whom could use a little convincing.  It is worth spending the time to sit down and write out a one paragraph message.  Then make sure that everyone uses that message when talking with community leaders, citizens, and the media.

•  Work around the timeline

Know when you need to show your support and how.

•  Spend your time putting political pressure on the officials that need it, but don’t forget the officials that don’t

Being strategic means focusing your efforts where they are necessary.  

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS

First, find out who your legislators are and what's going on in the legislature. Is there a specific bill you support, oppose, or want introduced?

Laws & Regulations

Here are some of the ways to make the biggest impact on your legislator:

1)     Visiting your legislators in person

Whenever anyone takes the time to meet face to face with their legislator and present them information directly, it’s naturally going to make the biggest impact.  These meetings typically take place at either the legislator’s in-district office, or at a local public place like the community library.  Meetings are typically easy to set up when you are constituents, of course it does depend on how receptive your legislators are to hearing about the issue.  In order to set up a meeting all you need to do is call your legislators’ office and ask if he/she will meet with a group of concerned citizens regarding the issue.

2)     Calling your legislator

Typically when you call legislators’ offices you will speak with their staff and they will probably take a message.  Therefore it’s important for you to be prepared before you call with a short paragraph that concisely expresses your viewpoint.

3)     Writing a personalized letter

Personalizing letters simply makes a bigger impact on legislators, especially when you take the time to articulate why this issue is important to you and your family.  Talk about places you enjoy to recreate and what you like to do there, for example.  

4)     Influencing them indirectly through the media

Legislators are most vulnerable when they think that an issue may hurt their re-election.  By publicly holding your legislators accountable through the media, whether it be asking them to vote for or against a bill or denouncing them for voting poorly, you are sending a very strong message to your legislators.  Most papers allow you to send in letters to the editor.  Check the opinion page in your paper for contact information.

5)     Invite elected officials and their staff to see the impacts of the invasives in the field.

Make it easy and enjoyable for them to be outside and to see the issues.  However, it is a good idea to link these sorts of outings with a few tangible legislative measures that officials can take.  Bringing sample legislation or talking about an upcoming vote will help your legislator know exactly what it is that you want them to do for you.

Tips for working with officials and creating political change:

• Invite elected officials and city staff to see the impacts of the invasives in the field. Be sure to invite folks from all parties and all key decision makers. Make it easy and enjoyable for them to be outside and to see the issues.

• Start where they’re at, NOT where you’re at.  Everyone holds certain values and beliefs that dictate how they make decisions.  For many of us, it’s protecting the land from destruction because it’s just the right thing to do for the environment.  Unfortunately not everyone sees things the same way.  If we continue to use the same language that moves us, others will never be able to relate.  Before contacting officials, it’s worth finding out from knowledgeable sources what their interests are and what they tend to care about.  For example, if they care about economic issues, show them the impact of invasive species on the local economy.  

• Stick with one message.  Whether you’re communicating with legislators or even the media, you must stick with one message.  People typically need to hear a message 7-8 times before it sticks, which means that if you switch up the message every time, there’s a good chance that your audience will not get what you’re trying to communicate.

• Never get hostile or angry, it’s just a waste of time.

• The more people involved the better, but sometimes it just takes the RIGHT person.  It’s always a good idea to get more concerned citizens involved in your efforts to try to persuade officials.  However, sometimes all it takes is finding out WHO influences that legislator the most.  If you can find out who those people are and have them talk with the official, you can save yourself quite a bit of time and effort.