151 Indigenous communities would lack presence in the hypothetical fight. Finally, while the Fox River is an important component to many, it is not vital in the context of human quality of life. In the hypothetical event that the Fox River is granted personhood though, the impact would benefit wildlife and the river’s ecosystem. Take the PCB clean up and clean water act directed at paper mills. Despite the cost of that effort, “the environment for fish in the bay appeared to be getting worse.” Specialists and residents discovered “the fish had literally been suffocating” due to the oxygen levels plummeting. The cause was not the paper mill or sewage industry as it had once been, “The Clean Water Act did what it was supposed to do,” instead it is because of 45,000 lbs. a year of phosphorus waste draining into the River and irrevocably altering its ecosystem.20 Without personhood distinction, community members would have to pursue legal action through the avenue of detriment to humans. For example, the argument that it will be a minimum of forty years until fish from the Fox River are safe to consume may hold stronger than the rivers ecosystem becoming dangerously unsafe for its natural wildlife.21 Pursuing personhood would transform the River from the property of humans into a part of nature that’s been here long before humans, and if we manage not to destroy it, will be here long after humans. Furthermore, in much of the reporting surrounding the effect of pollutants on the river, reporters, government officials, and citizens talk about the need for protective measures often in the sole context of ensuring human access to the Fox River for recreational purposes as opposed to the inherent right the Fox River has to remain safe and healthy. In Stone’s original criteria, being a holder of rights is “to have a legally recognized worth and dignity in its own right, and not merely to serve as a means to benefit ‘us.’”22 Recognizing the Fox River’s dignity seems the least necessary 20 Dan Egan, “Dead Zones Haunt Green Bay as Manure Fuels Algae Blooms,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee and Wisconsin breaking news and investigations (Journal Sentinel, September 2, 2021), https://www.jsonline.com/indepth/archives/2021/09/02/dead-zones-haunt-green-bay-manure-fuels-algae-blooms/8100840002/. 21 Rebecca Renner, “Massive PCB Dredging Proposed for Fox River,” Environmental News (Environmental News, December 1, 2001), https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es012568t. 22 Supra. Note 1.
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