Earth Day Anniversary -- 40 years, 40 milestones

Timeline created by esdj09

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Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
04/22/1970	Gaylord Nelson starts Earth Day	Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin launches the idea of Earth Day in a speech in Seattle to an environmental group. He envisions the event as the nation's largest town hall meeting and encourages citizens to mark the date as they want. Discover more about the making of Earth Day and the environmental movement it launche.
12/02/1970	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opens its doors	The federal agency was created in the wake of heightened concern about environmental pollution and with a mission of protecting human health and safeguarding the environment.
12/31/1970	Clean Air Act signed	Federal legislation limits air pollution from cars and other mobile sources and from stationary sources such as utilities. It remains the basis for curbing air pollution.
03/10/1971	WI among first states to ban DDT	The chemical DDT was the primary cause that eagle populations declined, resulting in our national symbol being placed on the federal and state endangered species list in the 1970s.
03/24/1971	WI creates Ice Age Nat'l Scientific Reserve	First of its kind in the nation, the reserve spans more than 1,000 miles and 30 counties, winding through unique landscapes shaped by receding glaciers more than 10,000 years ago. The DNR and National Park Service administer the trail. Learn how citizens blazed the trail to create the reserve, and how to enjoy it now.
03/10/1972	Federal Clean Water Act passed	Landmark law has dramatically cleaned Wisconsin lakes of visible and chemical pollution
04/28/1972	WI passes first Endangered Species Act in nation	State law takes effect on this date and precedes federal law by a year.
03/10/1974	Safe Drinking Water Act passes, assures safety of drinking water	Law signed authorizing EPA to establish nationwide health-based standards that public drinking water must meet, and delegates responsibility to the states to enforce the standards. Year-in, year-old, more than 96 percent of WI public water suppliers serve water that meets all health-based standards.
01/12/1976	DNR reintroduces wild turkeys to WI	The DNR renewed efforts to establish wild turkeys in Wisconsin in the early 1970s, taking advantage of other states’ experience and a better understanding of turkey ecology. The first turkeys came from Missouri and were were released in Vernon County; wild turkeys are now found through southern two-thirds of the state.
03/10/1977	WI starts fight to reduce runoff pollution	Program created to protect Wisconsin waters from runoff pollution by offering to share costs with landowners and communities that take steps to keep soil, fertilizer, street debris and construction site diret from washing into streams and lakes.
03/24/1980	Federal Superfund program created	Creates a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries to help pay for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled waste sites. Eventually, more than 40 sites in Wisconsin are placed on the list.
03/12/1983	Wisconsin first state to reach Clean Water Act interim goal	All facilities have their permits that set limits on visible pollution.
03/11/1984	WI passes nation's toughest groundwater protections
04/08/1985	Law passed to keep forests from getting split up	This law created a landowner incentive program that encourages sustainable forestry on private lands by reducing and deferring property taxes. It's played an important role in keeping forest land forested: Today, over 2.5 million acres of Wisconsin forestland are managed under forest tax law. Learn more about Forest Tax Law.
03/11/1986	WI passes acid rain law	This law, one of the first and strongest in the nation, launched Wisconsin into a leadership role on acid rain regulation. It required electric utilities to cut sulfur dioxide emissions, which produced acid rain that damaged animals, plants and even stone structures. Learn about the law's success in "Passing the Acid Test."
03/24/1988	Peregrine falcons restored to WI	DNR releases six peregrine flacons on UW-Madison campus, marking the return to Wisconsin of a bird that was nearly extinct by the 1970s because of pesticides.
04/04/1988	Wisconsin sets limits on hazardous air pollutants	This unprecedented state rule set limits on emissions of 438 hazardous air pollutants to mitigate toxic exposures. In 1990, Amendments to the Clean Air Act led to controls of toxic pollutants across the U.S.
03/24/1989	State land acquisition program started	The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program was established and authorized to issue up to $250 million in state bonds to buy and develop land for recreation, wildlife habitat, fisheries and natural areas. Program was reathorized in 1999 and 2009. Learn more as "The Stewardship Program Enters a New Era."
04/22/1990	Gov't/citizen partnership formed to protect WI 15,081 lakes	The Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, comprised of DNR, the Wisconsin Association of Lakes and UW-Extension, becomes a national model for enlisting citizen stewardship of lakes and tapping government and academic technical and educational expertise.
04/22/1990	Comprehensive recycling law passed in WI	Law banned a list of recyclable materials from landfills in 1995 and paid for municipal recycling programs with a broad-based tax on business. Within the decade, 97 percent of Wisconsin households said they recycled. Learn more in "Wisconsin's War on Waste."
04/03/1994	Land recycling law passed "Brownfields" program starts	Law limits liability of prospective buyers of contaminated property. Wisconsin sets up "brownfields" program to help communities clean up and return to productive use abandoned sites and old factories. Learn more how this program helps put land "Back in Business."
03/24/1999	Karner Blue Butterfly habitat conservation plan signed
04/03/2000	Two new state parks established	Wisconsin celebrates the 100th anniversary of its park system by establishing two new parks, the Centennial Springs State Park and Recreation Area in Dane County and the Gov.Thompson State Park near Crivitz. Learn more about these gems in "100 Years Young"
03/11/2001	WI first state to restore protection to isolated wetlands
03/11/2001	Last of 4 dams on Baraboo River removed	Baraboo River now boasts a 120-mile stretch of free-flowing river, the largest in the country restored through dam removals. Read L what researchers are learning about how the river recovers.
03/11/2002	WI passes nation's most complete rules to cut polluted runoff
04/03/2003	WI rebuilds world's largest lake sturgeon population	Wisconsin's program to manage lake sturgeon, a fish that can grow bigger than a man and live longer, turns 100. The effort mobilizes citizens to help protect and nurture this ancient species. Watch "Life, Legend, Legacy," to learn more about this amazing fish.
03/11/2004	WI passes law to protect groundwater quantity	Signed on Earth Day 2004, the law expands the state's authority to consider environmental impacts of high capacity wells and institutes a framework for addressing water quantity issues in rapidly growing areas of the state. Read more: http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/stories/2004/jun04/ground.htm
04/03/2004	Wisconsin forestry management marks 100 years
04/16/2004	Green Tier law signed	Wisconsin’s Green Tier program rewards regulated and un-regulated businesses, communities and trade associations aspiring to deliver superior environmental performance. The law provides tools that allow for a transition from just compliance minimums to performance recognition systems.
12/13/2005	Great Lakes water use agreement signed	Wisconsin and 7 other Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces sign a historic agreement governing water use
03/12/2006	WI regulates pesticide breakdown product in groundwater	DNR adopts what are believed to be the nation’s first groundwater standards for the pesticide Alachor ESA, which has been detected in 28 percent of private wells statewide, and more than 40 percent of wells in agricultural areas.
03/24/2006	Largest state land purchase made	Wild Rivers Legacy Forest purchase totals 69,000 acres at a cost of $83.7 million. Land has extensive forests, more than 48 ponds and lakes, 70 miles of flowing streams and rivers.
08/09/2007	Bald Eagle removed from Endangered Species list	Wisconsin played key rolein the eagle's recovery: it's home to 12% of the breeding population in the lower 48 and has sent 215 eaglets to 10 other states to help increase the national eagle population.
03/11/2008	Limits set on mercury pollution from utilities	Utilities required to reduce mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2015, or can opt for later deadline to meet requirement to reduce mercury and other pollutants. Mercury enters lakes and river systems, accumulating in fish and willife and eventually, n the people that eat them, potentially causing health problems.
03/24/2009	Trumpeter Swan removed from WI Endangered Species List	Watch "Trumpeter Swans...For Generations to Come"
03/24/2009	Comprehensive rule passed to stop invasive species
04/28/2009	Fox River cleanup begins	Multi-year project to clean up the Fox River officially starts.
05/04/2009	Gray wolf removed from U.S. Endangered Species list
03/24/2010	Shoreland development rules updated
Timespan Dates:	Timespan Title:	Timespan Description:
03/10/1972 to 04/10/1972	Clean Water Act passed	Made it illegal for factories and wastewater treatment plants to release pollution to lakes and rivers without a permit
03/10/2010 to 04/10/2010	Clean Water Act	Landmark federal law set limits on pollution released to lakes and rivers by factories and municipal treatment plants