Where Knowles-Nelson stands heading into 2026

2025 has been a rollercoaster year for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and for everyone working to keep Wisconsin investing in its land, water, and outdoor traditions. Let’s review the year and look ahead to real progress that can still be made in early 2026.

One bright spot has been how well Knowles-Nelson has worked on the ground when allowed to function as intended. After the Wisconsin Supreme Court ended obstruction of the program by unaccountable, anonymous legislators, the Department of Natural Resources has once again been able to award grants to land trusts and local governments for high-value conservation and outdoor recreation projects across the state. Communities are seeing tangible results — expanded public access & protected water quality, connected trails, and conserved habitat.

Governor Evers also recognized the importance of this moment. His 2025 executive budget proposed funding Knowles-Nelson at $100 million per year for ten years, an investment that would have helped Wisconsin recover much of the ground lost after more than a decade of cuts to conservation funding.

Unfortunately, legislative leaders refused to include any funding for Knowles-Nelson in the state budget. For the first time in the program’s 35-year history, Wisconsin enacted a budget that failed to renew the Stewardship Program.

Since then, attention has shifted to stand-alone legislation. Two proposals are on the table: one authored by Republican legislators and one by Democratic legislators. Because Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, they decide which bills receive hearings and votes. The Democratic proposal has not been granted a hearing in either the Assembly or the Senate, while the Republican proposal recently stalled in an Assembly committee.

What’s become clear is that a partisan approach to renewing Knowles-Nelson is unlikely to succeed. There could be a bipartisan path forward – one that makes the program better, and provides transparency and accountability. But rather than working across the aisle, Republican legislative leaders have thus far only attempted to appease opponents of conservation at the fringes of their own caucus — an approach that has failed to produce meaningful forward progress.

If anything, a partisan approach to conservation is creating a troubling race to the bottom. A recent example: Representative Shae Sortwell (R–Two Rivers) introduced a constitutional amendment that would require full legislative approval for nearly all individual conservation investments, a step that would stall conservation efforts across the state. Legislators already approve all conservation spending through the appropriations process. These kinds of partisan proposals merely focus on obstruction and finger-pointing rather than bipartisan problem solving.

As we head into the new year, legislative leaders face a choice: engage in bipartisan compromise or continue down a path that leaves Wisconsin with fewer conservation dollars and more restrictions on how they can be used.

We favor bipartisan compromise. Strategic land acquisitions can be the difference between someone having access to explore the outdoors or being left out. We’ve made progress, but there’s so much more work to be done.

We continue to meet with committed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who want to find a solution. Democratic legislators have repeatedly indicated their willingness to compromise — but compromise is not acquiescence. At this point, Democrats have little reason to support legislation that Republicans themselves cannot agree on and that weakens Knowles-Nelson in fundamental ways.

In early 2026, the Legislature will have one last opportunity to come together and fund Wisconsin’s greatest bipartisan conservation success story. With most legislative business expected to wrap up by late February, the days are numbered.

In the meantime, your voice matters. Please keep emailing and calling your legislators. Invite them out for coffee or to visit Knowles-Nelson sites in your community. Keep writing letters to the editor. We are deeply grateful for this community of dedicated supporters, and together we will keep fighting for the meaningful, stable, long-term investments Wisconsin needs in its land, water, wildlife, and outdoor traditions.