Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.37
Liaison Alan Brew
Submission Date Feb. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

Northland College
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Alan Brew
Dean
Academic Affairs
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Local advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the municipal/local level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the municipal/local level:
Starting in 2018, the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation has engaged with the City of Ashland to address the city's illegal sewer overflows. Center staff met with the mayor, city staff, and officials at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to call out the issue, and to help identify possible solutions to protect the water quality of the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior.

Regional advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the state/provincial/regional level:
Northland College’s Timber Wolf Alliance, a program under the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute that is committed to using science-based information to promote human co-existence with wolves and an ecologically-functional wolf population in areas of suitable habitat, responded to a Wisconsin state bill 602/AB712. This bill proposed to discontinue funding for wolf management and to make it illegal for state law enforcement officers to enforce laws related to the management or killing of wolves, for as long as gray wolves in Wisconsin remain listed as a federally threatened or endangered species.

The Timber Wolf Alliance has the following concerns about this bill: discontinuation of population data gathering, the relationship between the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the disregarding of tribal concerns, and the abdication of responsibility for managing wolves and other wildlife species to the federal government.
https://www.northland.edu/news/twa-news/twa-responds-state-bill-602ab712/

National advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the national level?:
Yes

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the national level:
Northland College is a signatory of the We Are Still In initiative.

International advocacy

Does the institution advocate for public policies that support campus sustainability or that otherwise advance sustainability at the international level?:
No

A brief description of how the institution engages in public policy advocacy for sustainability at the international level:
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Optional Fields 

A brief description of other political positions the institution has taken during the previous three years (if applicable):
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None
A brief description of political donations the institution made during the previous three years (if applicable):
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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability advocacy efforts is available:
https://www.northland.edu/news/northland-college-says-still-paris-climate-agreement/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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