We’ve been talking a lot about the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, so we want to make sure you understand what the program is and does, and why it’s so vital for land conservation in Wisconsin.
1. What is the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program?
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is Wisconsin’s best way to protect land and care for our water, wildlife, and way of life.
Knowles-Nelson provides funds for land purchases, but it does so much more:
- Stewardship grants pay for shelters, restrooms, and boat docks at parks and natural areas across the state.
- The Stewardship Program funds hiking, biking, snowmobile, and ATV trail development.
- It helps cities revitalize their waterfronts, helping us connect to nature close to home.
- “Up North,” stewardship grants keep Wisconsin foresters working on the land and ensures those forests stay open for hunting, camping, and hiking.
- Knowles-Nelson funds also help private landowners protect their lands forever through conservation easements.
If a project cares for Wisconsin’s land, water, wildlife — or helps Wisconsinites get out and enjoy natural areas, trails, or parks — chances are the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program helped make it possible.
2. Why do I need to know about Knowles-Nelson now?
After 30 years of bipartisan support, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is at risk.
If the state legislature and the governor don’t approve new funding for Stewardship in the 2019 state budget, Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program will end.
We need your voice to be heard so that our legislators know how much we value caring for the land and water that make Wisconsin such a special place to live, work, and play. Together, we can ensure that the Stewardship Program is renewed and strengthened.
Join Team Knowles-Nelson today and we’ll make it easy for you to contact your legislators at the right time, with the right messages to ensure Knowles-Nelson keeps working for Wisconsin.
3. How does Knowles-Nelson work?
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program allows the State of Wisconsin to issue “matching grants” to local governments, private conservation organizations, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and citizen-led “friends” groups that support parks and natural areas across the state.
Every dollar the state invests through Knowles-Nelson is matched by another dollar raised elsewhere, so our investments in conservation are always doubled.
Citizen-led conservation groups raise money from private donors to match grants. Towns effectively double their conservation budgets through Knowles-Nelson grants. Investment of Stewardship monies by the State of Wisconsin opens up millions of dollars in federal funding.
For example, a $1.8 million stewardship grant allowed the state to access $3.75 million dollars in federal funds to protect land in northwestern Wisconsin.
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program at least doubles every dollar it spends.
4. Where are Knowles-Nelson Stewardship dollars spent?
Knowles-Nelson grants have benefited every single county in Wisconsin.
From urban waterways in Milwaukee to working forests in the north, and from the Driftless area to Green Bay, Stewardship dollars help us care for nature right outside our back door, and preserve the beautiful places we head to when we need to get away.
Stewardship grants help maintain the best fishing spots, develop the Ice Age Trail, aid rebuilding efforts after floods, and provide funds that help us enjoy waterfronts in some of our favorite cities.
Keep an eye on our blog in upcoming weeks for stories about our Stewardship dollars at work all around the state.
5. What is the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program so important?
If the Governor and legislature do not renew and strengthen the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in the next state budget, we’ll lose this vital source of funding for land and water protection.
Our parks, forests, wetlands, trails, and waterfronts need our care, attention, and investment to continue to thrive.
- Campgrounds need shelters, restrooms, and trails.
- Boat launches need to be maintained.
- Investments need to be made to support forestry, hunting, and wildlife habitat.
- Because climate change causes intense rains and floods, we need to make sure Wisconsin’s waterways and landscapes stay resilient and help us adapt to our changing climate.
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program helps us address all these issues.
The program is a success story of bipartisan cooperation. We need your help to keep it that way.
If we all speak up with the right messages, at the right time, we’ll make sure that the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is renewed and strengthened.
