Report: DNR wardens beset by ‘toxic culture’

Perrot State Park in Trempealeau County. (Wisconsin DNR)

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation warden program is hampered by a “toxic” culture of discrimination and retaliation, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The report shows that women in the recruit academy for new wardens are singled out by trainers with regular comments that made both them and their male colleagues uncomfortable. Ben Gruber, the president of the Conservation Wardens Local 1215, was previously fired by the department in an act of what he calls retaliation for speaking out about the workplace culture.

“It was difficult for me to maintain a positive attitude in an environment where our Academy Director regularly made negative, bullying and sexist comments towards multiple people, but most commonly females,” he said.

Gruber was re-hired by the agency after reaching a settlement in a lawsuit, however he told the paper he has seen limited improvements since returning to work outside of the department hiring new leadership at the training academy.

DNR wardens are responsible for enforcing the state’s hunting, fishing and trapping regulations as well as investigating environmental spills, monitoring local ATV and snowmobile trails and overseeing safety in state parks. There are about 220 wardens across the state, but according to the paper, the department has struggled to recruit and retain wardens in recent years.

According to the Journal-Sentinel, dozens of other wardens have alleged a workplace culture that has been troubled for decades, with incidents of sexual harassment regularly occuring, management mistreating employees because of their sexual orientation and managers retaliating when challenged. At least four employees have filed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints in the last four years.

The Department of Administration has launched a climate assessment of the department.  Wardens were sent a 100-question survey about the workplace culture. A spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers said the administration wouldn’t comment on the assessment, citing a possible “chilling effect” if information about the survey was released before it was completed.

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