Madison lawyer - an avid hunter and fisher - to lead DNR
10:39 PM 12/23/02
Ron Seely Environment reporter

A Madison lawyer who loves to fish for musky and hunt deer will be the next secretary of the state Department of Natural Resources, Gov.-elect Jim Doyle announced Monday.

Scott Hassett, 52, a partner and attorney for 22 years at Lawton & Cates in Madison, was described by Doyle as a "truly passionate champion of natural resources."

Along with Hassett, Doyle also named Frank Busalacchi, 58, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 200, to head the state Department of Transportation and Burnie Bridge, 54, a deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice, as chairwoman of the Public Service Commission.

Although Hassett has not held a major public office, he comes from a political family. His father, Paul Hassett, is the retired head of Wisconsin, Manufacturers and Commerce and was top aide to former Gov. Warren Knowles. In accepting Doyle's nomination, Hassett cited his father as a major influence and a mentor who taught him about the importance of conservation and the natural world.

"I traveled with him all over Wisconsin," Hassett said, "fishing in scores if not hundreds of lakes."

Hassett also mentioned Knowles as an influence, especially on natural resource policy, as well as the late John Lawton, a founding partner of Lawton & Cates and a former member of the state Natural Resources Board. Hassett said he "hopes to share and pass on the knowledge and wisdom of these three great men."

With the announcement Monday, Doyle ended weeks of speculation over who would head the DNR, an agency that has seen its share of turmoil in recent years.

The agency has undergone a major reorganization that saw many longtime employees reassigned to new jobs and, most recently, has mobilized to fight chronic wasting disease, a fatal and contagious deer disease that threatens to undermine Wisconsin's cherished tradition of deer hunting.

Many agency employees as well as several of the state's environmental leaders hoped Doyle would retain Darrell Bazzell as secretary. Bazzell took over the job two years ago after his predecessor, George Meyer, was ousted by Gov. Scott McCallum. During a difficult period at the agency, Bazzell received high marks for his steady, forthright leadership.

Both Doyle and Hassett praised Bazzell, who was named Monday as vice chancellor for administration at UW-Madison.

"I want to salute my predecessor for his wonderful service," said Hassett. "He is a class act."

In an e-mail message to the DNR staff Monday, Bazzell said he'll work with Hassett to ensure a smooth transition.

"I ask that you support him and give him the chance to succeed that you so generously gave to me," Bazzell wrote to employees. "The DNR is strongest and at its best when we pull together. As I have told you before, at the end of the day, what really matters is our important work and the accomplishments we make in achieving the DNR's mission."

In his 22 years of legal practice in Madison, Hassett has handled civil, criminal and employment litigation. He has also taken on environmental cases, including suits involving pollution and toxic waste.

Hassett is also a former chairman and a current member of the board of directors of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. The foundation awards grants for environmental and educational projects and has been a major contributor to the effort to restore the endangered whooping crane to the state.

Caryl Terrell, state legislative director for the Sierra Club, said that, although Hassett is largely an unknown when it comes to natural resource policy, his work with the foundation is encouraging.

"You wouldn't sit on the Natural Resources Foundation board if you weren't interested in natural resources," Terrell said.

Hassett said he relishes taking a job that will allow him to focus on conservation issues.

"You wouldn't believe how much I'm going to enjoy going into the office every day and dealing with issues that I have a passion for," Hassett said.

In addition to his work with the foundation, Hassett is a member of several outdoor sporting organizations and served as the political adviser and lawyer for Muskies Inc.

Hassett spoke briefly after Monday's press conference about taking on the task of running an agency that is fighting a major disease in the state's deer herd, battling a budget crisis and staffed by employees who are extremely nervous about even more change.

"I want to reassure them," Hassett said. "I guess the first thing I'll want to do is to meet with as many of them as I can and put them at ease."

Hassett had little to say about specific issues and policies at the agency. The fight against chronic wasting disease will remain a priority, he added. But Hassett refused to comment on whether the current plan to kill all the deer in the area where the disease appeared is the appropriate approach.

This year, Hassett said, he hunted as he had done for years in an area near Cross Plains. The area is in the so-called eradication zone where chronic wasting disease has been found in more than 40 deer.

"I didn't get a deer yet," Hassett said. "But I'm not done yet."