Curious to learn about how the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program works and what it’s impact has been around the state? You’ve come to the right place! We’ve spent months looking into the details of Knowles-Nelson and crunching the numbers in order to understand what Wisconsin has invested in land and water conservation, and what those conserved places give back to us.

Created by the Wisconsin State Legislature in 1989, the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship Program provides funding to acquire land for conservation, to improve facilities on public lands, to enhance outdoor recreational activities, and to protect ecologically important places. Through the program, the Department of Natural Resources acquires land and develops recreational amenities on state properties such as campsites, shelters, recreational trails, and boating facilities. The DNR also provides grants to local governments and community organizations to both acquire and develop properties. 

As of 2020, more than nine out of ten Wisconsin residents live within 1 mile of a property that has received a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship investment. Yet the program only costs $19.75 per person per year. That’s quite a value.

Since 1990, Wisconsin has invested nearly $1.3 billion in the Stewardship Program. In return, Wisconsin residents and visitors enjoy an enormous range of benefits: outdoor recreation; flood control; climate regulation; mental and physical health benefits; and biodiversity preservation. Those benefits are worth more than $2 billion every year.

Here, we present research into some of the most important benefits of Wisconsin’s public lands, exploring how they work and providing quantitative estimates of their impact. You’ll find summaries of the research that share our key findings and links to download the full papers.