State Democrats propose Knowles-Nelson bill

MADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – For over three and a half decades, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund has been Wisconsin’s flagship conservation program.

It helps preserve Wisconsin’s natural areas and wildlife habitats, funding land acquisition and infrastructure for outdoor recreation.

The program allows conservation organizations and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to purchase land, build trails, care for the state’s shorelines, and more.

It’s scheduled to sunset next summer. Now, lawmakers have proposed competing proposals to keep it funded.

The program’s roots are bipartisan

The program is named after two former Governors: Warren Knowles, a Republican, and Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat. Both were conservationists. 

Knowles-Nelson was established in 1989. In the three and a half decades since then, the state Legislature has re-authorized it several times. 

In his budget proposal, Governor Tony Evers proposed re-authorizing the program for the next decade and giving it $100 million each year. The Legislature discussed funding the program as part of budget negotiations. But it’s not included in the two-year budget, signed into law last month.

Absent legislative intervention, the program is set to expire on June 30, 2026.

Republicans proposed their version in June

A Republican-backed renewal bill aims to provide $28.5 million per year for four years. It would also require Legislative oversight over large purchases.

The Republican bill was introduced in June, and it received a public hearing. It’s co-authored by state Representative Tony Kurtz, who also serves on the Legislature’s budget committee. In one of those budget sessions, Kurtz said he wanted to make sure re-authorization was done right. 

“We have until June 30, 2026 to work on this. It’s something [we’ve] been working on for the past six months, it’s something that is a bipartisan effort, we’ve met with so many different stakeholders, so many different groups, so many lawmakers to get it done right,” he told members of the Joint Finance Committee.

Democrats proposed their version on Tuesday

Under the Democratic bill announced yesterday, the program would be extended for six more years and provide $72 million in annual funding.

“Renewing this program is critical to ensuring that communities are able to appreciate Wisconsin’s greenspaces for generations to come,” said Sen. Dassler-Alfheim (D-Whitefish Bay) in a statement.

“Knowles-Nelson is an incredible example of a bipartisan success story, and I look forward to keeping it that way.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, state Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay) — also an environmental lawyer — expressed concerns over the additional legislative oversight in the Republican bill.

“While I sincerely appreciate the effort and good intentions put forth by Rep. Kurtz and Sen. Testin in crafting their Knowles-Nelson bill, I fear that the oversight process in their AB 315 simply unworkable. In that it would involve large land purchases to move through the entire Legislature,” she said. 

“Given the fast pace of land acquisitions in real time, AB 315’s reliance on the Legislative process — slow at best — would not prove workable in most instances, and would thus compromise the longstanding intent and value of the program.”

The Democratic bill would construct an oversight board that would meet quarterly, advise the DNR on projects, and have approval authority for large land acquisitions. The bill’s currently circulating for co-sponsorship.

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