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Bill named for fallen Marine signed into law by governor
By Eric Litke
Sheboygan Press staff
A hunting bill named after a Plymouth Marine corporal killed in Iraq was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jim Doyle.
The law, proposed as Assembly Bill 384 or the Brian Prening Bill, allows Wisconsin hunters who meet an untimely death to transfer accumulated preference points to a minor chosen by their family. It was named for Brian Prening, 24, an avid hunter who was killed by enemy fire Nov. 12, 2004, in the city of Yusufiyah, Iraq.
"It was exciting. It was something that we were hoping for, and it's an honor to my son because of it," said Prening's father, Bill Prening, 49, of Plymouth. "We didn't want Brian's points to go to waste."
Hunters get a preference point from the Department of Natural Resources each year they apply for a hard-to-get license, a bear license in Brian Prening's case. Prening had accumulated eight of the nine points he would likely need to get a permit, his father said.
Under the new law, those points will be given to a terminally ill child with a wish was to go bear hunting, Bill Prening said. He, with the United Special Sportsman Alliance, will select a child to receive the points and therefore the permit. Prening has also found a group of hunters willing to help the child find and shoot a bear.
Prening died while helping another Marine with a jammed weapon during a firefight. Brian Prening served with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of the Marine Corps Reserve in Milwaukee.
By helping young hunters, Prening said the law will be a tribute to the son he taught to hunt.
"I was there when he shot his first deer, his first turkey, his duck, his goose. And I was right there when he shot his first bear, so it's kind of special having this happen," Prening said. "It's just something that we wanted to do to give a youth the opportunity to enjoy what he did."
Brian Prening and his twin brother both killed bears on a 1998 hunting trip, the last time they accumulated the points needed to get licenses.
Sen. Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan, and Reps. Steve Kestell, R-Elkhart Lake, and Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, co-authored the bill. The Prenings were in Madison on Wednesday for the signing ceremony.
"They're a super family that have been through an awful lot, obviously. They lost their son in Iraq on our behalf," Kestell said. "Anything I could do to help them, I'd sure give it a shot. But their suggestions just makes so much sense."
The bill allows an individual seeking a license to hunt bear, Canada geese, wild turkey and elk, along with otter and fisher trapping and bonus deer permits, to designate another person to select a minor to "inherit" the applicant's preference points. Other unused licenses can also be transferred.
Kestell said the bill passed unanimously in Assembly and Senate committees and was approved by a unanimous voice vote in both houses. It was initially designed for those killed while serving in the Armed Forces, but was amended to include to all hunters.
Doug Rubey, vice president of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters' Association, was one of the people who helped Prening get in touch with lawmakers.
"There was never any way you could have done this before," Rubey said. "(Passing the law) gives the Prenings a sense of accomplishment that they can be able to use their son's tag for a youth to go bear hunting."
Reach Eric Litke at 453-5119 and [email protected].
I knew this Marine personally, we served overseas together. He was actually the first Marine to really welcome me into the platoon. He was a really great guy and will be missed.
Bill named for fallen Marine signed into law by governor
By Eric Litke
Sheboygan Press staff
A hunting bill named after a Plymouth Marine corporal killed in Iraq was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jim Doyle.
The law, proposed as Assembly Bill 384 or the Brian Prening Bill, allows Wisconsin hunters who meet an untimely death to transfer accumulated preference points to a minor chosen by their family. It was named for Brian Prening, 24, an avid hunter who was killed by enemy fire Nov. 12, 2004, in the city of Yusufiyah, Iraq.
"It was exciting. It was something that we were hoping for, and it's an honor to my son because of it," said Prening's father, Bill Prening, 49, of Plymouth. "We didn't want Brian's points to go to waste."
Hunters get a preference point from the Department of Natural Resources each year they apply for a hard-to-get license, a bear license in Brian Prening's case. Prening had accumulated eight of the nine points he would likely need to get a permit, his father said.
Under the new law, those points will be given to a terminally ill child with a wish was to go bear hunting, Bill Prening said. He, with the United Special Sportsman Alliance, will select a child to receive the points and therefore the permit. Prening has also found a group of hunters willing to help the child find and shoot a bear.
Prening died while helping another Marine with a jammed weapon during a firefight. Brian Prening served with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of the Marine Corps Reserve in Milwaukee.
By helping young hunters, Prening said the law will be a tribute to the son he taught to hunt.
"I was there when he shot his first deer, his first turkey, his duck, his goose. And I was right there when he shot his first bear, so it's kind of special having this happen," Prening said. "It's just something that we wanted to do to give a youth the opportunity to enjoy what he did."
Brian Prening and his twin brother both killed bears on a 1998 hunting trip, the last time they accumulated the points needed to get licenses.
Sen. Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan, and Reps. Steve Kestell, R-Elkhart Lake, and Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, co-authored the bill. The Prenings were in Madison on Wednesday for the signing ceremony.
"They're a super family that have been through an awful lot, obviously. They lost their son in Iraq on our behalf," Kestell said. "Anything I could do to help them, I'd sure give it a shot. But their suggestions just makes so much sense."
The bill allows an individual seeking a license to hunt bear, Canada geese, wild turkey and elk, along with otter and fisher trapping and bonus deer permits, to designate another person to select a minor to "inherit" the applicant's preference points. Other unused licenses can also be transferred.
Kestell said the bill passed unanimously in Assembly and Senate committees and was approved by a unanimous voice vote in both houses. It was initially designed for those killed while serving in the Armed Forces, but was amended to include to all hunters.
Doug Rubey, vice president of the Wisconsin Bear Hunters' Association, was one of the people who helped Prening get in touch with lawmakers.
"There was never any way you could have done this before," Rubey said. "(Passing the law) gives the Prenings a sense of accomplishment that they can be able to use their son's tag for a youth to go bear hunting."
Reach Eric Litke at 453-5119 and [email protected].
I knew this Marine personally, we served overseas together. He was actually the first Marine to really welcome me into the platoon. He was a really great guy and will be missed.
