The current, decade long Knowles – Nelson Stewardship program expires on June 30, 2000 and needs to be renewed in this year’s state budget.  Stewardship has protected nearly 200,000 acres of conservation land and local parks for hiking, hunting, camping, biking and many other outdoor activities all over the state.  The Governor has proposed renewing Stewardship for another ten years in his pending budget bill now before the Legislature.

There is still a pressing need for conservation land.  Despite Stewardship’s successes, pressure on state parks has grown tremendously: In 1960, there were 15 visitors for every acre of state park land; today there are more than 20 visitors per acre.  Last summer, more than 98% of our state park campsites were occupied on summer weekends.  Cross country skiing, sea kayaking and bike trail riding were unheard of 30 years ago; today they are some of the most popular forms of outdoor recreation at Stewardship properties.

"A recent Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert’s College public opinion poll showed that 76% of residents support state acquisition of conservation land."

Land inflation has crippled Stewardship over the last decade.  While Stewardship has been frozen at $25 million since 1990, land prices have more than doubled.  This means that the Stewardship Fund can buy less than half of what it could in 1990!  On top of that, the current proposal in the budget actually cuts Stewardship by more than half, putting the state even farther behind.  Vanishing wild lakes, Great Lakes bluffs and shorelines, the Middle Kettle Moraine, the Baraboo Hills forest and potential large tracts of northern forests and water frontage properties all call for a strengthened Stewardship program.

The Task Force recognized that land is getting more expensive and that the Stewardship Fund must be adjusted for inflation if we want to continue and strengthen a successful Stewardship program.  The new program should be funded starting at $60 million a year in order to recover from inflation and to meet new conservation opportunities.

Land acquisition is needed most when the economy is strong.  While demand for human service programs may go down when the economy is good, demand for land protection increases as development pressure on conservation land becomes greater.  The need for public recreation land is greatest in precisely those parts of the state that are growing fastest.

There is strong public support for protection of conservation land.  A recent Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert’s College public opinion poll showed that 76% of residents support state acquisition of conservation land.  At April’s Conservation Congress hearings in every county of the state, more than 98.5% of participants supported renewing the Stewardship Fund.  Last fall, more than 84% of ballot initiatives to fund land acquisition passed throughout the United States.  Conservationists, environmentalists and the public all support a strong Stewardship Fund.

The Stewardship Fund is a key part of Wisconsin’s bi-partisan tradition of land conservation.  Stewardship is  a bi-partisan conservation success story that was passed in 1990 by the then Democratically controlled state legislature and signed into law by Republican Governor Tommy Thompson.   The program has been named the Knowles  - Nelson Stewardship program to honor Warren Knowles and Gaylord Nelson, the  Republican and Democratic Governors of our state who pioneered public land acquisition.

"Stewardship works in all parts of the state. Stewardship funds have been used to protect natural or recreational lands in 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties."

Partnerships have helped stretch the state’s Stewardship investment.  The Stewardship Fund has used an innovative match grant program to double the state’s conservation dollar with funds from private conservation groups and local governments to protect important conservation lands.  This grant program has brought more than  $45 MILLION of private and local funds to match the state’s conservation investment.

The current proposal, however, will make it harder for local governments and private conservation groups to work with the state to protect key conservation and recreation lands.  The current proposal changes the formula for awarding grants and makes it much more difficult for groups to receive match grants for conservation properties.  The Governor’s Task Force, however, strongly recommended expanding and strengthening the Stewardship partnerships.  To continue the state  - private/local  partnership that has worked so well, we support keeping the current law provisions to award Stewardship grants.

Stewardship works in all parts of the state.  Stewardship funds have been used to protect natural or recreational lands in 71 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties (only Memoninee county has not had a stewardship project.)  State wildlife areas, trails, parks forests and other conservation lands have been protected in all regions.  Hundreds of local governments and dozens of non profit conservation groups have received grants from the Stewardship Fund to complete important projects.

Stewardship should prioritize protecting the vanishing natural lands before building facilities.  Stewardship has prioritized protection of conservation land over before facility development.  In the first 8 years of the program, 72% of Stewardship funds were used for land acquisition while 28% were used for facility development on DNR properties.  The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force recommended formalizing this traditional spilt at 75% - 25% to continue to prioritize conservation land acquisition.

Streamlining Stewardship will strengthen Stewardship.  The current Stewardship program can be improved by streamlining some categories and increasing the ability of the Department of Natural Resources Board to respond to unforeseen and pressing conservation land opportunities.  We support streamlining the current 12 categories to create six larger categories:

• General Conservation Land and Habitat Areas
• Trails, including the Ice Age Trail and the state trail program.
• Water Resources, including Streambanks, Lower Wisconsin River, Wild Lakes and Rivers and Great Lakes Shorelines
• Natural Areas
• Landscapes of Statewide Significance, starting with Great Lakes Bluffs, the Middle Moraine, and the Baraboo Hills.  This category should be expanded to meet newly identified priorities around the state.
• General Development And Local Assistance

We strongly support separate funding for Stewardship and the proposal for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.  The Governor’s Task Force recommended creating a separate ‘Federal Opportunities Fund’ to provide a state match for programs like CREP, Forest Legacy and Wetlands Reserve.  Stewardship has been successful because it has focused on permanent protection of conservation land.

Federal conservation programs, like the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) - while complementary to Stewardship -  have different goals and should have their own sources of funding.  This is especially true for programs that do not provide permanent conservation benefits to the people of Wisconsin.  The current proposal recommends taking $40 million from Stewardship to pay for 10 and 15 years contracts in the CREP program.  Bond supported Stewardship funds should NOT be used for these short term contracts.

The following organizations are part of the Alliance for the Stewardship Fund:

Aldo Leopold Foundation, Aldo Leopold Nature Center, Bayfield Regional Conservancy, Cable Natural History Museum, Citizens for a Better Environment, Citizens Natural Resources Association, The Clearing, Dane County Natural Heritage Foundation, Door County Land Trust, Drumlin Protection Alliance, Eau Claire Lakes Conservation Club, Inc., Florence Wild Rivers I.C., F.O.R.T. Inc., Fox Cities Greenways, Inc., Friends of Harrington Beach, Friends of Kohler – Andrae, Friends of Mead/McMillan Association, Friends of Pheasant Branch, Friends of Rib Mountain, Inc., Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, Gathering Waters, Inc., Geneva Lake Environmental Agency, Goose Pond Sanctuary, Green Lake Conservancy Foundation, Howards Grove Rod & Gun Club, Ice Age Park & Trail Foundation, Kenosha-Racine Land Trust, Kiap Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy, Lake Waubesa Conservation Association, Last Wilderness Conservation Association, Madeline Island Wilderness Preserve, Madison Audubon Society, Muskego Lakes Land Conservancy, Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, The Nature Conservancy, Newport Wilderness Society, Northland Bowhunters, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, 1000 Islands Environmental Center, Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, Pheasants Forever, Pine View Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Raptor Education Group, Inc., Red Cedar Pheasants Forever, Ridges Sanctuary, Inc., The River Alliance, Riveredge Bird Club, Riverside Hunting & Fishing Club, Riverside Urban Environmental Center, Inc., Sheboygan Area Land Conservancy, Sheboygan County Conservation Association, Soaring Eagle Wildlife Rehabilitation Ctr., Society of Tympanuchus cupidus pinnatus, Star Pairie Fish & Game Association, Trust for Public Land, Two Rivers Fish & Game Club, Urban Open Space Foundation, Inc., Waukesha Environmental Action League, Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, Wisconsin Wetlands Association
 

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