A bluff view of the Wisconsin River, mentioned in an article about renewing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund.

Stewardship program: Wisconsin’s fight for public lands

Bipartisan support needed to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

Freelance writer Patrick Durkin lays out the many benefits and long bipartisan history of supporting renewal of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, as published in the Watertown Daily Times.

Durkin writes that, “Since its 1989 launch, the Stewardship Program has protected over 600,000 acres, invested $1.3 billion in our lands and water, and provided over 1,000 grants to parks and natural areas within reach of our homes.”

He notes that Knowles-Nelson is named after a Republican and a Democratic governor, and that significant conservation projects have occurred under both parties. Durkin also cites a poll conducted in the fall that found overwhelming support across the political spectrum for renewal of Knowles-Nelson.

“Voters of both parties should remind lawmakers that Wisconsin accommodates a combined 2.9 million hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers annually, and they contribute $3.9 billion to the state’s economy,” Durkin writes. “Now is a good time to remind our state senators and Assembly representatives not to forsake such uniquely Wisconsin efforts.”

Featured image by Joshua Mayer, 2014.

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