Team Knowles Nelson, the grassroots coalition in support of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, experienced many ups and downs in 2025. The coalition has risen to meet increasingly difficult challenges — with over 2,000 active members who understand the importance of protecting Wisconsin’s land, water, and wildlife.
Coalition partners showed up in full force throughout 2025, and we could not be more grateful. Here are some stats that show the strength of Team Knowles Nelson this year.
- Lobby Day. More than 170 advocates traveled to Madison for Knowles-Nelson Lobby Day in March 2025 to speak directly with their representatives.
- Postcards. Over 900 people sent more than 2,350 postcards to state officials.
- Emails. Supporters sent more than 50,000 emails. When an action alert was sent out about the state budget in early July, Team Knowles Nelson rallied, sending over 4,700 emails to lawmakers in less than 24 hours!
- Phone calls. During the Wisconsin state budget debates, officials received over 3,800 phone calls about the importance of land protection in our state.
- News coverage. Even as the future of the program remained uncertain, Knowles-Nelson stayed front and center for many communities. Print stories, radio segments, and tv interviews across Wisconsin continued to cover Knowles-Nelson, resulting in more than 295 media hits, including 18 letters to the editor.
- Local government resolutions. Forty-two local governments passed resolutions backing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
In 2025, more than $6 million was awarded to land trusts to protect 3,700 acres of wildlife habitat, groundwater quality, and recreation projects. Clark, Juneau, and Bayfield counties expanded their county forests by 920 acres, and 32 grants went to Friends groups to support volunteer-led improvements at Wisconsin’s state parks.
All of this reflects a tremendous, collective effort by our coalition partners, engaged citizens, community leaders, and Team Knowles Nelson supporters across the state.
Read the full blog article about what’s next for Knowles-Nelson. Together, we’ve built a strong foundation heading into 2026, and we’re ready to keep pushing forward.
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