As a native Wisconsinite, I always considered myself privileged to cut my outdoors teeth in one of the nation's richest patches of forests, fields and waters.

I was aware, too, that the waters weren't always as clean and the wildlife as abundant.

There was an agency, the Department of Natural Resources, that had worked to protect and restore the environment and developed many of the conservation programs I cherished.

Over the years I learned to respect and trust the department for its dedication to its mission. As a license buyer, I was proud to support the DNR and its staff, many of whom I came to know personally.

I never doubted the agency's top priority was protection of our state's natural resources.

I can't — none of us can — say the same today.

Over the last six years, under DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp and the administration of Gov. Scott Walker, the agency has become a defacto arm of the Department of Commerce.

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This pro-business focus, along with a reduced level of environmental citations and a weakened, smaller staff, are the primary legacies Stepp leaves as she departs the DNR.

On Tuesday, Stepp announced she accepted an offer to join the Environmental Protection Agency as deputy administrator in Region 7 in Kansas City.

In an email to staff, Stepp said the opportunity was one she "couldn't ignore" and that she leaves a DNR that now works to ensure the plans of businesses aren't "delayed by bureaucracy."

"More people see us now as an agency that makes decisions using sound science, the law and common sense," Stepp wrote.

The last statement may be true inside the Walker administration. But Stepp, who often displayed high levels of enthusiasm and salesmanship, would have difficulty proving it among the Wisconsin citizenry.

Under Stepp, the DNR suffered the dissolution of its once-vaunted science and research bureau and employed fewer wildlife and fisheries biologists.

Instead of acting primarily as an environmental watchdog and regulator, the DNR over the last six years increasingly aided resource extraction and economic development.

The number of notices of environmental violations dropped from an average of 488 in the final four years of Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s term to an average of 281 under Stepp during Walker’s first term, according to DNR records.

Whether the issue was high capacity wells, mining or removing environmental rules to ease the siting of the proposed FoxConn plant, the DNR under Stepp went silent or rolled over to assist business interests.

During Stepp's tenure the agency redesigned its website so "Business" is the first tab at the top of its home page.

And although the DNR fish and wildlife programs are running a deficit and state conservation groups banded together to support a license fee increase, Stepp and other political appointees at the agency have allowed the issue to languish for six years.

Stepp also instituted a policy under which DNR employees rarely if ever testified at Legislative hearings in Madison.

This change was among the most painful for me to witness. Fish, wildlife, water, air or law enforcement professionals with decades of experience were forced to remain silent while legislators pushed forward bills that often hurt the agency, the public and the resources.

A law passed earlier this year allowed deer baiting and feeding to resume in parts of the state where it had been banned due to concerns over chronic wasting disease. No current DNR wildlife biologist testified on the proposal, which they strongly opposed.

And this summer at a hearing on Assembly Bill 411, which would prevent DNR conservation wardens from entering private land to check licenses, no agency representative was present to speak.

I can only imagine the reaction of leaders of the Wisconsin State Patrol if legislation was proposed to reduce the force's highway authority by 80%.

Would they have stood silent? Not on your life.

Over the last six years under Stepp, the DNR has become a punching bag for conservative legislators.

During Stepp's tenure, retired DNR employees have become the public voice on many issues.

This is a sign of dysfunctional natural resources management, of course.

One group — called Wisconsin's Green Fire — formed this year to help fill a void they see in the DNR's science and communication efforts.

In June the agency announced it would drastically reduce its presence at the Wisconsin State Fair. The DNR had maintained a popular, prominent 2-acre exhibit at the fair since 1948. According to estimates by DNR and fair officials, 300,000 people visited the agency's space annually in West Allis.

The display was reduced by 98% this year, according to several longtime DNR staffers who worked the fair.

The paltry display could be seen as a metaphor for the agency's conservation and environmental efforts.

"It's like they just gave up," said Al Shook of Waukesha, a lifelong hunter and angler who also serves on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, after visiting the DNR space at the 2017 State Fair.

The decision to slash the fair exhibit didn't come from legislators, didn't get vetted during public hearings, wasn't presented to the Natural Resources Board for consideration.

It was brought by Stepp and the other political appointees at the top of the agency.

In another highly-publicized, anti-educational initiative, the 2017-'19 state budget sought to eliminate the DNR's Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine. A public outcry caused the Joint Finance Committee to keep the publication alive, but at a reduced schedule.

You get the idea. After six years, the DNR has been intentionally transformed to serve Walker's drive to improve the state's economy.

The state needs jobs and a sound economy, of course. But at what costs?

Kurt Thiede, a longtime DNR employee who served as Stepp's assistant, has been named interim DNR Secretary.

No matter who succeeds Stepp, expect the person to continue the pro-business path of the agency.

The Walker administration has been clear about its top priorities. To those ends, Stepp was a loyal lieutenant.

One current DNR employee told me last week that he could no longer attempt to defend the agency's actions. The FoxConn provisions were the last straw.

Indeed, as someone who grew up knowing the DNR for its environmental and conservation successes, it's been difficult to watch the decline of the once-proud and nationally-respected natural resources agency.

Stepp parlayed six years at the DNR into a federal job. Wisconsin voters will have to decide in future elections whether they approve of the pro-business changes at the agency or would prefer a candidate who would return the DNR to its roots.