The Door County Land Trust celebrated a banner year in 2024, completing 17 conservation projects through both land purchases and conservation easements. Executive Director Emily Wood discussed these achievements with Debra Fitzgerald on the Door County Pulse Podcast, highlighting how the projects were funded through donations and grants, with the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program providing the lion’s share of grant funding.
Wood noted that requests from land trusts for funding from the Stewardship Program were up because of the state Supreme Court’s ruling that the legislature could no longer indefinitely halt programs by not acting on spending requests. In fact, during the last cycle of grant requests, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program was oversubscribed, meaning that more land trusts requested funds than were available. This hasn’t happened in a long time. It shows that land trusts are no longer hesitating to apply for grants following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Wood noted that land acquisition is Door County Land Trust’s focus for the next five years, driven by increasing development pressure and transfer of generational wealth. Since land protection deals can take decades to complete, establishing early relationships with landowners is crucial – and the Stewardship Program’s grant funding is an essential tool in this process.
Featured image by Mark Kaletka, 2024
