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Stewardship Fund Reauthorization Campaign
Sample
letter to the JFC
West Wisconsin Land Trust »
Door
County Land Trust »
Sample JFC hearing testimony
Kathleen Falk »
Natural
Heritage Land Trust »
Ice
Age Park & Trail
Foundation »
Thomas
Thoresen, Dane County Parks Commission »
West
Wisconsin Land Trust »
Dale
Crisler, Ice Age Trail »
Jeanne
Behrend, Patrick Marsh Conservancy »
Please use the following as an outline for
your remarks and not as a script! We strongly encourage you to tailor
these remarks to your community and make them as personal and specific
as possible.
My name is and I represent .
I am here today on behalf of our ____________
members to urge you to support the Governor’s proposal to
extend the Stewardship Fund through 2020 and to increase funding
for the program to $105 million in 2011.
To date, our organization has permanently protected
over ____ acres for the benefit of current and future generations.
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund is of great
importance not only to our members, but to our entire community.
As you may know, private, non-profit organizations
like are eligible for 50% matching grants through the Stewardship
program. Since 1990, land trusts have received over $60 million
in Stewardship grants. We have matched these state funds dollar-for-dollar
with private gifts and grants.
Here in ___________ we have used Stewardship grants
to acquire the following properties, and have proudly matched these
grants with local contributions and private donations:
• [Insert descriptions of stewardship projects
from your land trust or in your community]
• [Explain how the public uses and benefits
from these lands (hunting, fishing, hiking, school field trips,
etc.).]
Under the Governor’s proposal, there would
be almost twice as much available - $14.5 million a year –
for grants to land trusts. We strongly support this proposal and
are prepared to match the state’s investment with $14.5 million
in our own funds.
We have a very small window of opportunity to
protect the special places in our community, and the Stewardship
Fund is absolutely critical to our success.
With land values skyrocketing, funding for the
Stewardship program needs to increase so that our conservation efforts
can keep pace with inflation.
I urge your support for this critical program.
Thank you.
(Be sure to include all your contact information)
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