While we wait for the Joint Finance Committee’s vote on Knowles-Nelson, Gathering Waters is happy to share a different conservation win to celebrate!
Paul A. Smith reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “the conservation community’s push to increase the price of the Wisconsin waterfowl stamp is closer to reality than at any point in the last decade” after a vote of approval by the Joint Finance Committee.
Commonly known as the Duck Stamp, this permit to hunt waterfowl in Wisconsin is a hugely important source of funding for habitat conservation and restoration around the state. Since 1997, the cost of the stamp has been $7, and “the stagnant price has eroded the stamp’s buying power and reduced its effectiveness in an era of rising land values and operational expenses.”
Over the past ten years, efforts to increase the price have been unsuccessful. Now, though, a major hurdle has been cleared with the Joint Finance Committee. If the proposal is also approved by the legislature and the governor, the cost of the Duck Stamp will rise to $12.
We congratulate our partners at Wisconsin Ducks Unlimited, the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, and so many others who worked tirelessly for years to get this fee increase approved!
We hope that there will be similar positive results for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, which will be taken up by the Joint Finance Committee on Thursday, June 10th. To send a last-minute message urging your legislators to support Knowles-Nelson, visit our Take Action page.
Featured image by Bruce Hallman of USFWS Midwest Region, 2014.
