Clean Water Updates

Posted February 12, 2026- Legislators all of a sudden in a hurry to push through Wakeboating  Assembly Bill 1033 ("Bad Bill"). Provided below is Last Wilderness Alliance's report on the latest shenanigans in Madison. 

Public Hearing Update - What’s Next?

Yesterday, the State Committee on Government Affairs held a public hearing on AB 1033, the “Bad Bill” that threatens the very future of Wisconsin’s lakes.

Six LWA board members made the trip to Madison and were present throughout the hearing, including providing testimony against the bill. Thanks also to our many supporters and fellow Coalition partners for doing the same!

The good news: The turnout was massive.  Over 87% of speakers stood up to oppose this bill, sharing heartbreaking stories of property damage, personal injury, and ecological destruction.

The bad news:  The industry’s money is talking louder than your voice. Only nine people spoke in favor of the bill—all of them boat dealers, the Marine Manufacturers Association, WISA, and surfers —protecting their income streams or investments.

Despite this overwhelming public opposition, the committee voted 7-3 along party lines to approve the bill. This likely clears the way for the full Assembly to take up the bill as early as today (2/12) if they choose to do so.

This bill is dishonest and shouldn’t move forward.  

Despite previous reassurances to the contrary, a “stealth” provision in Assembly Bill 1033 (details shared in yesterday’s message from us) threatens to strip local control away from your community and put it exclusively into the hands of big government.

Here’s what Rob Brooks - Assembly (R- Saukville), the bill’s Lead Sponsor, said yesterday-

• "This bill is about providing a uniform standard across Wisconsin. We cannot have a patchwork of 72 different sets of rules for every county a boater visits. AB 1033 ensures that wakesurfing remains a viable part of our outdoor economy while establishing a clear 200-foot safety buffer that is enforceable for our DNR and local law enforcement."  Cite: Testimony before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs, February 11, 2026.
• 
  

• "Statewide consistency is the only way to protect the boating industry from unreasonable and unscientific local bans. AB 1033 provides a predictable regulatory environment for manufacturers, dealers, and families alike, replacing the uncertainty of town-by-town ordinances." Cite: WSIA Press Release, "Supporting Uniform Standards for Wisconsin Boat Owners," February 11, 2026.

We must continue urging legislators to oppose this bill. It does not protect our lakes from the impacts of enhanced wakes, and it will strangle local towns with the threat of lawsuits if they enact more restrictive ordinances.

What You Can Do: The Vote is HAPPENING NOW

• Call your Representative NOW: Tell them to “Kill this Bill.”
• Expose the Industry’s Influence. Ask why they are choosing campaign contributions over the safety of the constituents and the health of their lakes.
• Demand Local Control.
• Forward this message to five people.

Our legislators will be held accountable at election time should they support a bill such as AB 1033, which is clearly aimed at protecting the industry's interests over their own constituents.

Find Your Representative: https://legis.wisconsin.gov

The Future of Our Lakes is at Risk. The industry wants to turn our glacial lakes into high-impact "surf parks."

Our lakes cannot protect themselves. We must be their voice.

Visit Last Wilderness Website at: https://lastwildernessalliance.org/

Posted January 27, 2026- Wisconsin Conservation Voters (WCV) travels north to produce storytelling video of Stella PFAS contamination. 

If you visit our PFAS Contamination tab, you will find a July 17th article about an independent statewide PFAS coalition that OCCWA participates in. The coalition is comprised of communities affected by PFAS and environmental non-profits both large and small. While OCCWA falls under the small non-profit category, larger non-profits such as Wisconsin Conservation Voters fall under the large category. These larger non-profits are also known as non-governmental organizations (NGO). An excerpt from our July article names some of these NGOs and their value to the PFAS coalition.

"The most prominent NGOs involved in this PFAS coalition are Wisconsin Conservation Voters, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Wisconsin's Greenfire, River Alliance of Wisconsin, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. These groups provide so much to organizations such as us at OCCWA, but also to affected communities like Stella, Marinette, French Island, Madison and Milwaukee.

These NGOs with financial resources from donors provide environmental studies and help organize and educate citizens and lesser funded local groups. They employ lawyers to help understand legal issues including state legislation. They also lobby in Madison emphasizing environmental issues. Remember, Industries spend millions lobbying on their behalf, but who's there for the little guy? Though many expect our elected officials to represent our concerns in Madison, too often poor public canvasing and partisan politics get in the way. NGOs provide expertise on specific issues and are another path to educate and influence decisionmakers in the state. This kind of work is not financially possible for small groups such as OCCWA"

As stated, larger non-profits can do more things that smaller non-profits can't. To that point Wisconsin Conservation Voters showed up in the town of Stella to produce a storytelling video about the towns plight. The 6-minute video can be viewed at Stella, Wisconsin | PFAS contamination in a small town's drinking water - YouTube .

You may visit Wisconsin Conservation Voters at their website  conservationvoters.org | Your voice, your actions, your vote. 

Related Story- Rhinelander paper mill to provide free water to potentially 300 households within 3-mile radius of Stella Town Hall.

In a recent WXPR story Rhinelander paper mill owners launch bottled water program for Stella area | WXPR the Rhinelander paper mill is providing drinking water to Town of Stella households. The twist is that qualified residents regardless of whether they tested their wells or not are eligible. A quote from the article explains the details.

"Ahlstrom recently sent letters to roughly 300 households within a 3-mile radius of the Stella Town Hall.

It comes with an offer to provide 5-gallon water jugs through Culligan Water. No well testing is required.

Tricia Schwartz, communications manager, North America for Ahlstrom, provided this statement to WXPR regarding the program:

“Ahlstrom is announcing the launch of a bottled water program for eligible residents in the Town of Stella and surrounding communities, reinforcing our commitment to the region as a dependable partner. As a longtime employer in our local communities, we understand that concerns about drinking water have been raised by residents of the region, and we are working to be part of the solution.”"

Posted January 24, 2026- Republican Knowles Nelson bill just the latest environmental disappointment related to partisan bickering- While stripping away all land acquisition funding from the Knowles Nelson Program, Republicans moved forward with a bill to gut the program as we know it.. A Wisconsin Cap Times article Wisconsin conservation fund caught in political back-and-forth | Government | captimes.com highlights the latest disappointment. A quote from the article shares the Republican plans:

 "On Thursday, the Assembly passed two Republican-authored bills — AB315 and AB612 — that were amended during the floor session to extend the program through 2028. In those two years, land acquisitions would effectively be paused, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources would be required to conduct a study and inventory of all land acquired since the program’s inception, and any future projects in the works. Originally, the legislation renewed the program through 2032 with $28 million a year. 

The lead author of the bills, Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc, did not speak on the legislation or their amendments during Thursday’s floor session, and his office could not be immediately reached for further information." 

In response to the Republican Bills, Gathering Waters the statewide alliance for land trusts stated:

"What passed yesterday is Knowles-Nelson in name only.

Unfortunately, the bills passed yesterday would fundamentally weaken Knowles-Nelson's core purpose: preserving important natural communities, protecting water quality and fisheries, and expanding opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The bills—which were dramatically rewritten since the Assembly Committee on Forestry, Parks and Outdoor Recreation considered them late last year—include virtually no funding for land acquisition.

During yesterday’s session, Rep. Vinnie Miresse (D-Stevens Point) argued that “every time Republicans amend the Knowles-Nelson proposal, it seems to get worse,” saying:

“Without land acquisition, Republicans have neutered this program and rendered it Knowles-Nelson in name only.”

Land trusts and local governments would have no dedicated grants to acquire land for public access for outdoor recreation or to protect environmentally sensitive areas."

What You Can Do

Communicating with your Assembly Representative, your State Senator, and the Governor is more important than ever.

We have updated all messages at action.knowlesnelson.org for this urgent moment.

• To your Senator: urge a bipartisan compromise that includes land acquisition funding.
• To your Assembly Representative: reinforce the importance of land acquisition and ask for support if a compromise bill returns.
• To the Governor: thank him for maintaining a firm stance that any reauthorization must fully fund both acquisition and management.

TAKE ACTION 

While the legislative process is not complete, a chance remains the Senate may come to their senses and remember that Knowles Nelson has a long history of bipartisanship. 

Below we are reprising our June 20th post with Senator Felzkowski sharing her issues with the Knowles Nelson Program by Facebook video and Gathering Waters' response to her concerns.

Setting the Record Straight: A Response to Claims About the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program

June 20, 2025- Wisconsin's Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has been a cornerstone of our state's conservation efforts for over three decades, protecting precious natural resources while providing outdoor recreation opportunities for all Wisconsinites. If you hunt, fish, hike, ride bikes, or just enjoy a picnic outside, Knowles-Nelson has worked for you.  And that’s why more than nine out of ten voters support continuing the program. Recently, Senate President Mary Felzkowski, in a Facebook video, made several claims about the program that deserve a close look. Policy debates should always be grounded in accurate information.

Senator Felzkowski claims that Wisconsin spends "over 1.5 million per week" on the stewardship program, presenting this figure as cause for alarm. First, this exaggerates the actual cost by approximately 20%. The weekly debt service for Knowles-Nelson is actually about $1.23 million.

More importantly, this figure lacks context. When we break down the true cost, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program costs each Wisconsin resident less than $11 per year—just 21 cents per person per week. This modest investment has yielded extraordinary returns in protected lands, clean water, and outdoor recreation opportunities.

Knowles-Nelson costs pale in comparison to other debts the state carries. For example, Wisconsin's debt service for transportation infrastructure costs $1.21 million per day—nearly six times more than our weekly investment in conservation. 

Bonding is how governments finance long-term purchases, just like when one of us buys a house. If an investment has a high upfront cost but provides benefits for a long time (think paving roads, building schools, or purchasing land), then it makes sense to spread the cost out over the life of the investment. That’s what bonding does.

Most importantly, Wisconsin is in excellent financial condition, carrying less debt than at any time in the past 25 years. There are no legitimate concerns about our state's debt load that would justify scaling back this successful program.

Senator Felzkowski suggests that Wisconsin already has plenty of public land, claiming that "approximately 20% of all land in Wisconsin is publicly owned." This figure is inflated. The actual percentage of public land in Wisconsin is just under 17% and includes federal land as well as conservation lands owned by the state, local governments, and nonprofits. The difference between 17 and 20 percent is bigger than it may seem at first. Three percent of Wisconsin’s land is more than one million acres. Less than that has been conserved in the entire 35 years of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

Far from having "enough" public land, Wisconsin actually trails behind both the national average of 25% and our neighbors Michigan and Minnesota. Wisconsin's conservation efforts have been comparatively modest, making continued investment in the Knowles-Nelson program all the more important.

Restoring, Not Eroding, Checks and Balances

Perhaps most concerning is Senator Felzkowski's characterization of the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in the case Evers v. Marklein. She claims that Governor Evers' lawsuit "seriously damaged the relationship between the legislature and the stewardship program" and resulted in "an erosion of checks and balances."

This turns the court's ruling on its head. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision that crossed ideological lines, ruled that the legislature had grossly overstepped its constitutional authority. The court found that anonymous objections by individual legislators violated the separation of powers enshrined in our state constitution. 

The court recognized that once the full legislature appropriates funds through the budget process, individual legislators cannot anonymously block those expenditures. This decision restored constitutional governance, not damaged it.

Senator Felzkowski's claim that stewardship funds now constitute "a blank check for Governor Evers" is simply false. The Department of Natural Resources operates under extensive statutes and administrative rules that govern Knowles-Nelson. Rigorous applications, appraisals, and strict limits on the kinds of projects that can be funded all direct the DNR’s work. And the legislature retains full authority to modify these rules at any time through the normal legislative process.

Senator Pat Testin and Representative Tony Kurtz, recently introduced a bill to update the Knowles-Nelson statutes and provide new guidance for the program. The bill has not received a committee hearing in the senate. As Senate President, Senator Felzkowski is uniquely empowered to advance such legislation and restructure the program.

The claim that "120,000 acres of stewardship land has literally vanished from the DNR records" is misleading. No land nor records have vanished. What happened was a significant, but correctable, administrative error on the part of the Department of Natural Resources.

The Department of Natural Resources discovered that it had incorrectly attributed some land acquisitions to the Knowles-Nelson program when those purchases were actually funded through other sources. All public lands remain protected. The issue is how those purchases are coded in the DNR database. 

It's worth noting that years of legislative budget cuts have forced the DNR to operate with antiquated computer systems, contributing to such record-keeping challenges. This doesn't excuse the error, but it highlights the importance of adequate funding for basic administrative functions.

Senator Felzkowski states that she is "focused on maintaining the public land Wisconsin currently has." However, her actions suggest otherwise. During her tenure, the legislature has consistently underfunded state parks and land management accounts, creating an enormous backlog of maintenance needs. The very Knowles-Nelson program she criticizes would provide crucial funding for maintaining and improving our existing public lands under the bill introduced by Rep. Kurtz and Sen. Testin.

Legislators who prioritize maintaining our public lands should support robust funding for the programs that make such maintenance possible.

Moving Forward Together

Wisconsin's natural resources are indeed a critical asset, as Senator Felzkowski correctly notes. Our forests, lakes, trails, and parks support a thriving outdoor recreation economy worth more than $11 billion annually.. They provide hunting, fishing, hiking, and countless other opportunities that enrich the lives of Wisconsin families.

The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has been remarkably successful for over 30 years, enjoying broad bipartisan support throughout its history. Rather than mischaracterizing its costs and operations, we should be working together to ensure this vital program continues to serve Wisconsin's conservation needs.

Charlie Carlin

Director of Strategic Initiatives

Gathering Waters: Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts