By Chris Conley

 

It's Day-Two of the federal government's partial shutdown, with no end in sight as the two parties stand their ground. For Wisconsin, it has meant more limited recreation opportunities with the closings of national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges -- a reduction of in-state troops with the furloughs of 840 National Guard members and 900 civilians at Fort McCoy -- and a warning of possible cuts to a popular federal nutrition program.

 

Milwaukee House Democrat Gwen Moore said the shutdown puts funding at risk for the Women, Infants, and Children food program. Sherri Tussler of Milwaukee's Hunger Task Force says the program for low-income people should have enough money for a few more weeks. If the shutdown keeps going and the funding lapses, Tussler says a lot more people will turn to food pantries -- and those facilities will be hard-pressed to keep up.

 

A separate federal program that provides food to 10,000 Wisconsin seniors could also be affected if the shutdown drags on.

 

As for the national forests, state D-N-R wardens are continuing routine patrols -- keeping people out, since the sites are closed. The federal conservation service is also closed, cutting off service for Wisconsin farmers that have 120-million dollars in conservation work.

 

 

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