Tom Tiffany's bill to make Wisconsin's Apostle Islands a National Park should be rejected

When U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wausau) announced his bill to redesignate the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore as a national park, it came as a complete surprise (“ National Park upgrade for Apostle Islands would not impact treaties with Indian nations, ” Aug. 25).

The correspondence his office sent to local governments touted only its potential economic effects. However, many of the folks who actually live and work here do so in large part because we believe that some things can and should transcend economic value, and the beauty and health of our nature is one of those things.

Rep. Tom Tiffany: National Park upgrade for Apostle Islands would not impact treaties with Indian nations

That said, housing prices in our area are already beyond the reach of many because of short-term rental speculation. Many who would like to start or support the “Main Street” businesses Tiffany lionizes already can’t afford the cost of entry. What’s worse, our infrastructure — most notably roads and wastewater management, including within the National Lakeshore itself — have been starved by austerity for so long that they don’t meet current needs, much less any future growth.

If you love our land and nature, that’s great, but you can’t also hate on the actual people who live and work to make and keep it safe and sustainable for you, or you risk loving it all to death. Tiffany’s bill should be rejected.

John Anderson, Cornucopia

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tom Tiffany's bill to make Wisconsin's Apostle Islands a National Park should be rejected