On March 5, leaders from across Wisconsin’s political spectrum gathered in Muscoda to remember Dave Martin. Martin was a state legislator whose legacy includes authoring Wisconsin’s Wild Rivers Law. The law was unanimously passed by both chambers of the state legislature and signed by Republican Governor Warren P. Knowles in 1965.

While we believe conservation of our priceless natural resources shouldn’t be subject to divisive partisanship, we can look to Martin’s leadership and Wisconsin’s Wild Rivers Law as an example of when our state united around protecting the wild and scenic beauty of our rivers 60 years ago.

River Alliance of Wisconsin Executive Director Allison Werner was invited to give some remarks about Martin’s impact. She chose to share Dave’s own words about a particularly memorable trip down the Pine River to see one of Wisconsin’s truly wild places.

On behalf of River Alliance of Wisconsin, it’s my honor to be able to share a little about Dave Martin and his amazing legacy. I’m going to share excerpts from articles my colleagues, and Dave himself, wrote in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Wisconsin’s Wild Rivers Law in 2006.

While Dave will best be remembered for his wild rivers leadership, there is an earlier act of legislation that he’s equally proud to have played a part in. As he said,  “Now let me tell you about the Wolf River Protection Bill of 1963 – this is a dandy.”

In 1963, he received a call from another northern river protection pioneer, the late Herb Buettner. Herb relayed to Dave that a dam had been proposed on the Wolf River near Pearson. The idea was to create a “lake” and sell lots along its shoreline. Wildlife and sportsmen’s groups shared Dave and Herb’s concerns that “During low water time the dam would have reduced the Wolf River to a trickle downstream and would have drastically changed the character of that beautiful river.”

So he got to work drafting the bill. Time was of the essence in moving this legislation forward. Dave reflected that, “There were a lot of attempts to block it … In fact, Langlade County had already built concrete abutments on both sides of the river at the dam site.” After lots of negotiations, the bill passed, and the dam was never built. In 1968, the 24-mile segment from the Langlade-Menominee County line downstream to Keshena Falls was designated as a Federal Wild and Scenic River.

His work to protect the Wolf River was only one of the inspirations for Dave’s effort to create the Wild Rivers Act. We are also fortunate to have in his own words his reflection of his adventures on the Pine River.

“The most memorable time I’ve ever spent on a northern river was on the south branch of the Pine River. In 1966, right about at the time when the Pine was being designated as a Wisconsin ‘wild river,’ a friend and I put in at Jones Dam and floated downstream in a duck skiff to the cabin that my dad and brother had built on the banks of the Pine in 1960. Along the way, we stopped to camp at what was referred to as Wildcat Rapids. 

The trip made such an impression on me because it was a trip of ‘firsts’ for me… the first time I was introduced to what would be characterized as a truly wild area, the first time I saw a woodcock and heard its distinctive whistle, and my first introduction to the boldness of ravens and the ‘camp robber’ tactics of the Canada jay. It was also the first time I was introduced to what became for us ‘those bothersome chubs.’ 

I’d never had an experience like this before, and to this day I don’t believe most people ever have this sort of experience. I remember so well that there was little noise other than the natural sounds of our surroundings. There were no telephones, or other unnatural sound-makers. It was quiet. 

I’ve learned a lot about myself and about the natural environment through spending time on the Pine River. One of the tougher lessons I learned was that in a wilderness setting you should never travel without a compass! One time I didn’t take one with me and I got lost. But luckily, I was able to find my way out before darkness by following the river. There was a lot of anxiety involved, but the old river didn’t let me down. 

There’s no doubt that all of the experiences I’ve had on the Pine over the past 40 or more years certainly gave me the motivation, energy and drive to work hard on protective environmental legislation while I was in the Assembly. Those experiences on the Pine gave meaning to my work, and still do.”

Thanks to the protections of the Wild Rivers Law that Dave spearheaded, not only Dave but generations of paddlers, anglers, hikers and others can still savor an experience like the 1966 trip he described.

Those protections are being tested right now in Marinette County. There is an effort to terminate the 1991 cooperative agreement between the DNR and the County to manage the land along the Pike River and amend the Marinette County Forest 15-year plan to reflect changes the County wants to make to the forest management activities adjacent to the Pike River. It will take Marinette County residents and leaders to speak with a clear voice about the priceless scenic beauty and ecological value of our wild rivers.

We are so fortunate to have had a man like Dave in Wisconsin, as we look towards the next 60 years of river protections. River Alliance believes Wisconsin’s Wild Rivers Law will continue to protect the Pike River and its truly wild visual horizon for future generations. We will continue to work as hard as Dave did to protect all of the waters of Wisconsin.

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