MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on a bill that would require the state Department of Natural Resources to sell insect repellent in all state parks and forests (all times local):
12:35 p.m.
A group of lawmakers is trying to persuade their colleagues to approve a bill that would require the state Department of Natural Resources to sell insect repellent in state parks and forests.
Reps. Jeff Mursau, Nick Milroy and Sen. Robert Cowles told the Assembly Committee on Environment during a hearing Thursday that the bill would help alleviate outdoor lovers' fears of contracting Lyme disease. They say the disease isn't going away.
The bill is part of a package of legislation Mursau and Cowles introduced this summer to prevent Lyme disease. According to state health officials, the average number of Lyme disease cases in Wisconsin has more than doubled over the last decade.
Other bills in the package would require the DNR to post signs warning of Lyme disease in every state park, state trail and state forest; create a committee to study tick-borne diseases; and require the DNR to include information on Lyme disease in state park brochures as well as launch a public awareness campaign annually.
