‘I had to speak up’: Two Northwoods friends push Wisconsin DNR to protect lakeshore forests

Wisconsin Watch's tanka dhakal profiles John Schwarzmann, a retired state forester, and Ardis Berghoff, a writer in Vilas County. The two tree-loving friends are closely scrutinizing lakeshore logging operations and accuse the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources of violating its own water quality standards by logging too close to the shorelines of at least nine lakes. The DNR denies the accusations in a dispute that has played out in a series of audits of agency practices, dhakal reports. Reporting by tanka dhakal. Originally published on August 18, 2022.