By Beckie Gaskill July 3, 2025- Don’t Let Knowles-Nelson Slip Away: Why Wisconsin’s Outdoors Needs You Now. Photo Credit Nettie Lewis 

If you’ve ever hiked a wooded trail, dropped a line into a clear Northwoods lake, or hunted in the hush of a state natural area, chances are you’ve already benefited from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Even if you’ve never heard the name.

Named after two conservation-minded Wisconsin governors — Warren Knowles (a Republican) and Gaylord Nelson (a Democrat and the founder of Earth Day) — the program has, for more than three decades, quietly safeguarded the wild, open, and fishable spaces that make Wisconsin what it is. It’s been the backbone of funding for public land acquisitions, easements, and conservation projects across the state. You know, the kind of things that keep the “wild” in wilderness.

But here’s the rub: the Knowles-Nelson program is at risk. Again.

Despite bipartisan roots and overwhelming public support, it’s been tied up in legislative gridlock for years — hamstrung by red tape, political games, and repeated attempts to raid or restrict its funding. Now, in 2025, there’s a glimmer of hope in the form of new stand-alone legislation aimed at protecting and fully funding the program. But it won’t get far without a serious show of support from the people who use and love the land.

That means us.

Whether you’re a hunter waiting for November’s quiet stillness in the woods, a paddler chasing solitude on the Wisconsin River, a forager filling your basket with chanterelles, or just someone who believes in leaving a legacy for the next generation — this is your moment to stand up.

And here’s why it matters:

• Access: Knowles-Nelson has opened up tens of thousands of acres of land for hunting, fishing, hiking, and paddling. Without it, those opportunities could dry up faster than a trout stream in August.
• Stewardship: It helps private landowners partner with the state to manage forests, restore habitat, and protect shorelines. This isn’t government overreach — it’s government getting it right.
• Tradition: Conservation is part of Wisconsin’s identity. Aldo Leopold would probably have something to say if we let this slip through the cracks.
• 
  

The new stand-alone bill would allow the Knowles-Nelson program to operate on its own merits — with fewer delays and less interference. It’s a chance to return to a time when conservation wasn’t political, it was just the right thing to do.

Representative Tony Kurtz and Senator Pat Testin, Vice-Chairs of the Joint Finance Committee and co-authors of standalone legislation to renew Knowles-Nelson, issued the following statement:

"Today, the Joint Finance Committee will be taking action on the budget for the Department of Natural Resources, but we will not be including the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in those actions. After discussions with our caucuses and several stakeholder groups, we feel it is best to focus on the reauthorization of Knowles-Nelson separately from the budget. We are committed to getting something done and not taking action today gives us the best opportunity to ensure the bill for the program has the time and attention it needs for future success. We look forward to continuing the conversations throughout the next several weeks."

What You Can Do (Because Complaining Around the Campfire Isn’t Enough)

1. Contact your legislators. Let them know this issue matters to you — not as a partisan fight, but as a Wisconsinite who values land, water, and wildlife.
2. Talk about it. Mention it at the bait shop. Bring it up at deer camp. Slip it into conversation with your hiking buddies. Awareness spreads one conversation at a time.
3. Sign and share petitions. Conservation organizations around the state are organizing support — find them, sign on, and share with your networks.

Because here’s the truth: the outdoors can’t speak for itself. But we can.

Let’s make sure the places we love — the backwoods deer stand, the spring-fed lake, the tucked-away trout stream — are still here for the next generation of sportsmen, women, and wild-hearted wanderers.

Knowles-Nelson is worth fighting for. And the fight is now.

Midwest Conservation by Beckie Gaskill is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Upgrade to paid 

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

Take Action – Knowles Nelson Stewardship