ACTION ALERT: Stewardship Fund at “Critical Risk”
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund Will End If It’s Not in the State Budget. As of Right Now, It’s Not
By Wisconsin Lakes staff
Gathering Waters, Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts, recently sent out a call for urgent action, as the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund is at “critical risk” of seeing its funding lapse.
So how did we get here?
Gathering Waters describes Knowles-Nelson as “the program that makes it possible for DNR and conservation organizations to purchase land, to build trails, to maintain our parks and boating facilities, and to take care of our shorelines.” It’s been around since 1989 and if you’ve been on public or conserved land in the state, there’s a good chance you’ve been on land preserved with Stewardship Fund help. And we cannot ignore the benefit of some of those lands to the water quality of our lakes and streams. It’s a big deal for Wisconsin’s lakes. You can read more about Knowles-Nelson and Gathering Waters’ work to support it, here.
Recently, legislators introduced Assembly Bill 315 (AB315) and its identical companion in the Senate, SB316 , which would be the first step in reauthorizing the program. Funding through the state budget process would then follow. The bill received widespread, bipartisan support from legislators and citizens alike, but has faltered in the Senate, with nary a public hearing in sight and the clock running short. And, according to Gathering Waters, if the policy bill doesn’t advance, then legislators likely won’t include funding in the budget.
So what can be done to save Knowles-Nelson?
Nothing is preventing the Joint Finance Committee from providing funding in the state budget for the program. Even if it only extended such funding for a short time, Gathering Wates points out that it would create some space for policy discussions to continue in the summer and fall.
But none of that is likely to happen unless legislators hear from you.
Wisconsin Lakes firmly supports reauthorizing and funding the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, and we encourage you to contact your legislators and members of the Joint Finance Committee and ask lawmakers to renew funding for Knowles-Nelson in the state budget.
You can do that in a couple of ways.
First, Gathering Waters’ own call to action provides a quick way to do so in just a few clicks.
Or, you can craft your own, letter, email, or place a phone call yourself. Contact info is available at the links below.
Either way, your support of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund is crucial to keeping the impactful program going in Wisconsin.