To the Department of Natural Resources of Wisconsin: I am writing in strong opposition to the implementation of Act 168 to open our state parks to hunting. I am also dismayed that such a drastic change to the basic composition of our state parks has been enacted with little information offered to the public. If such a change is to benefit all residents of the state (plants and animals included) then why hasn’t the idea been offered openly? The first I heard of it, well after it was approved by the legislature, was on a day-time radio program, something that most people who work during the day would not have heard. The state parks were created to be a refuge -- for plants, animals and people alike. If the proposed changes prevail, the parks will become yet another natural area that I feel unsafe to take my young children to for exploring. The “closed” areas of hunting are adjacent to the areas open. How can I hike safely knowing that hunters are within feet of my children and me? We do not own a cabin in the woods or land to which we can escape. We live in a large city, surrounded by adequate parks, but we need the long trails of the state parks to truly experience the natural world. We visit the parks in the early spring, when trees are just beginning to show signs of life (and when the hunting period will be in effect). We long for snowy winters when we can ski on the many groomed trails and snowshoe on others (also when the hunting period will be in effect). And during the fall, when the most dramatic changes take place, when we love to camp, and when many other outdoors-minded families go to their land to hunt and explore, we seek out the state parks (during which time there will now be hunters with guns on the trails). All it takes is one mistake by even the most outstanding hunter to make this law the precursor to an unnecessary tragedy. My family and I seek out the state parks regularly, year-round, because they are the one place where we can go and freely explore the natural world without fear of being mistaken for deer or other animals being hunted. We moved to Wisconsin from another state in part because of the respect this state has shown for its natural resources. I will not visit the parks during the open hunting season, and will seriously consider moving our family to another state where the rights of hunters and hikers are equally respected. Please reconsider the implementation of Act 168 to allow hunting in our great state parks. Sincerely, Amy Grunewald-Mattison