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The Stewardship Advisory Council was established
by the Department of Natural Resources in 1994 to promote better
communication between the Department and its Stewardship partners
and to provide guidance on policy and administrative issues relating
to the program. The Council is made up of representatives from
land trusts, local governments, hunting and fishing organizations,
friends groups and other environmental and conservation organizations
who partner with the Department to conserve land and provide
recreational opportunities through the Stewardship program. 
The
Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund program has been an unqualified
success in protecting some of Wisconsin’s most outstanding
lands and waters and providing world class recreation opportunities
to the citizens of the state and visitors. The program will be
a key player in the coming decade as we balance population and
economic growth with the need to continue to protect our natural
heritage and meet the recreation needs of the state.
Summary of Recommendations Regarding a
Third
Phase Stewardship Program
1. Maintain
the land purchasing power of the program — With a rapidly
closing window of opportunity to conserve special places due
to increasing development and rising land prices, the purchasing
power of the Stewardship Fund has not kept up with the demand
for natural and recreation lands in recent years. The level of
investment in the new Stewardship program should be based on
the program’s
current level of funding adjusted to reflect present and anticipated
future land values.
2. Focus on protecting
lands and waters for conservation and recreation — The
purpose of the Stewardship Fund is to protect natural lands
and waters and provide recreation opportunities, and it has
been extremely successfully at accomplishing these goals. With
increasing development and escalating land prices, the window
of opportunity to meet the growing demand for natural and recreational
lands is diminishing. The Stewardship Fund should remain focused
on protecting lands and water for conservation and recreation.
Funding for farmland protection and other priorities should
come from other sources.
3. Focus
on capital investments in land and water resources and recreation
infrastructure — As our population grows, housing
development increases, and more people vacation in Wisconsin,
there are not always adequate recreational lands and facilities
to meet the demand. Because land is a finite resource and the
cost to acquire it will only continue to increase, the Stewardship
Fund should remain focused on acquiring land and water resources
and recreation infrastructure. Funding for operations and maintenance
should continue to come from other sources. 
4. Maximize partnerships
with land trusts and local units of government — Nonprofit
organizations and local units of government have been invaluable
partners in helping to meet the state’s conservation
and recreation goals by contributing matching grant funds,
involving local communities in land conservation, and assuming
management responsibility for land they protect. Grant monies
to nonprofits and local units of government should be increased
as part of the new Stewardship program.
5. Prioritize
both protection of natural and recreation lands near where
people live and large tracts of land up north — Easy
access to natural areas and recreational lands close to home
is important to Wisconsin citizens. As paper companies and
other landowners in northern Wisconsin continue to divest themselves
of large landholdings, it is also important to secure long-term
protection of these large, intact parcels for forestry, wildlife
habitat, and recreation activities that require larger landscapes.
The Stewardship Fund should prioritize acquisition of natural
and recreation lands close to where people live as well as
the purchase of large parcels of land in northern Wisconsin.
6. Continue to
employ a variety of innovative conservation tools to achieve
program’s objectives — With increasing demand
for natural and recreation lands and rising land prices, it
will not be possible for the state to buy all the lands and
waters necessary to meet Wisconsin’s conservation and
recreation goals. Innovative tools such as conservation easements
have been used successfully to accomplish the same goals at
a considerable savings to the program. Clear policies should
be adopted that indicate when conservation easements and other
types of innovative land conservation tools are appropriate
tools that qualify to receive Stewardship funding.
7. Coordinate efforts
with long-range conservation and land use plans that identify
natural resource land protection priorities — Extensive
natural resource and land use planning has been done by units
of government and nonprofit organizations in recent years.
These plans provide useful information to direct the use of
Stewardship funding in the most efficient and effective way.
Priority should be given to projects that conform to these
plans.
Click
here for a full report of SAC's recommendations » 
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