(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage is set to take up a pair of bills Tuesday that will determine the immediate future of the state’s Knowles-Nelson stewardship program that has paid for upkeep and buying of public lands in the state.
The Assembly recently passed a pair of amended bills that would fund the next two years of the program but Charles Carlin of Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts pointed out that the bills include “virtually no funding for land acquisition.”
Assembly Bills 315 and 612 have already seen various forms, but the amended version passed by the body on a party line vote set aside $1 million for land acquisition, down from $16 million, which can only be used for the Department of Natural Resources to acquire land for the Ice Age Trail.
Assembly Bill 315 also set aside $9.25 million for property development and local assistance, down from $14.25 million.
Assembly Bill 612, meanwhile, creates appropriations from the state forestry account of $7.75 million for property development and grants, of which $1 million must be set aside for friends groups and non-profit conservation organization activities on DNR property, along with $4 million for local assistance grants and $3 million for wildlife habitat restoration to non-profit conservation organizations.
Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewac, called the bill passage a step forward. But it is unclear if and what changes could occur as the bill reaches Senate committee.
“It’s not perfect, but I believe this is a good compromise that will protect all of the important aspects of the program, boost support for maintaining what we already own, ensure access for hunters, anglers and everyone who enjoys spending time in Wisconsin’s beautiful outdoors,” Kurtz said in a statement.
The bills come after the program was in jeopardy following a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling from July 2024 said the Legislature can’t block conservation requests from Gov. Tony Evers. Evers claimed that the Joint Committee on Finance was unconstitutionally and unlawfully blocking his requests through the program.
In a recent letter to lawmakers, Evers said he was disappointed the program wasn’t reauthorized during the budget process and instead it is relying on legislation and an appropriation afterward.
“I would be glad to sign any reauthorization proposal that appropriately supports both land acquisition and property management of Wisconsin’s valuable natural resources and public lands to secure the future of this program that is so fundamental to Wisconsin’s proud and cherished tradition of conservation,” Evers wrote.
