after, of course, Bill McCoshen Scot Ross. Thank
you. >> Thanks for having us.
>> A long standing state conservation program
expired this week for more than 35 years, Wisconsin
outdoor recreation and land projects have been created
and maintained by a program called the Knowles Nelson
Stewardship Fund. Created in 1989 by then Governor
Tommy Thompson and the state legislature. It has
been a successful bipartisan fixture for
protecting natural areas. However, recent changes to
who can veto new projects led to the Republican
decision to not renew its funding in the last budget.
Charles Carlin of Gathering Waters Wisconsin Alliance
for Land Trusts is hoping the next legislature can
still make it happen. >> The Wisconsin landscape
and the outdoor recreation infrastructure that we have
in Wisconsin simply wouldn't be here today
without the successes of the Knowles Nelson
Stewardship Program. The program has been operating
for over 35 years, has helped us permanently
protect more than 650,000 acres of land, most of
which is open for public recreation. Getting out
there, bird watching, going hunting, going for a hike
with your family, and every single neighborhood in the
state has been touched by Knowles Nelson. It's not an
exaggeration. You know, are within a mile of a
Knowles Nelson investment. So these are the trails
that we walk and bike on, the beach fronts where we
go swimming, the wheat harvesters that help keep
our lakes clean, the playground equipment that
our kids play on at local parks. All of this is made
possible by the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program,
land that has been protected with Knowles
Nelson is permanently protected. Nothing is going
to undo that. What it means, however, moving forward is
if we need a new segment of the Ice Age trail or the
North Country Trail, there's no state money to
make that happen. And then all of that stuff that we
need to get out and enjoy the places that make
Wisconsin special. So a trailhead to park your car
at, a kiosk that shows you the map of where you're
going to go walk the boat launched, put your kayak or
your fishing boat in the water as that stuff ages
and needs to be repaired. We have now shot ourselves
in the foot and taken away. Really our only significant
source of funding to to do that, to take care of that
infrastructure. This doesn't have to be Knowles
Nelson is done forever. So what's happened is the
money has run out, but the program stays on the books.
So all of the laws that guide it are there. The DNR
staff who administer the program are still there.
What we need is for the legislature to come back
and invest money in the program so that it can get
moving again. Knowles Nelson costs each Wisconsin
resident about $11. So I took my kid to fish fry at
Culver's the other week, and I think it was about
$15 each. This is a value we can afford. Our November
elections are going to have really real consequences
for what kind of latitude for what kind of latitude