Supervisors Support ‘Rights of Nature’ Policy

Milwaukee River and North Avenue Bridge. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

A Milwaukee County Board Committee agreed Monday that natural areas and systems should be viewed as having a right to exist.

The Committee on Community, Environment and Economic Development recommended for adoption of a resolution that would make it the board’s policy to support the “Rights of Nature” movement.

The resolution already had seven sponsors by the time it was first heard by supervisors. The lead sponsor, Sup. Liz Sumner, said the resolution would be one piece in a larger movement that was initiated in Wisconsin by the Menomonee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

“I guess what I feel like we are doing with this resolution today is continue our commitment to protect our environment and its inhabitants while working towards making Milwaukee County the healthiest county in Wisconsin,” Sumner said.

David Liners, state director for the faith-based social justice organization WISDOM, supported the resolution and explained the “Rights of Nature” movement “really just amounts to recognizing that the natural world, the waterways, the animals, the landscape actually has an inherent right to exist, and to thrive, and that it’s not just dependent on our economic benefits or whatever.”

If the full Milwaukee County Board passes the resolution it will make Milwaukee County the first in the state to endorse the movement, Liners said.

Another Milwaukee County resident, Mike Howden, spoke in support and noted that it is a global movement largely being led by indigenous peoples around the world.

The resolution notes that the county has committed itself to carbon neutrality by 2050 and that, “Milwaukee County’s vision for protection of its natural environment and inhabitants residing in the County for generations, including Native and Indigenous Communities, aligns with the County’s aim to be the healthiest County in the State of Wisconsin.”

The committee’s chair is conservative Sup. Steve Taylor, who joined his three colleagues (Felesia Martin, Peter Burgelis and Caroline Gómez-Tom) in unanimously recommending the resolution for adoption. It will go to the full board later this month for final approval.