Audubon Society pushes lawmakers to protect stewardship funds

Yahoo

16-04-2025

Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) speaks about how advocates can convince Republicans to fund the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program at the Great Lakes Audubon Society's 2025 advocacy day. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)
Wisconsin Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) said Wednesday the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program is 'on life support,' adding that some of his Republican colleagues give it a 20% chance of being extended in this year's budget debate before its expiration next year.
Kurtz, Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Karen Hyun spoke Wednesday to a gathering of members of local Audubon Society chapters and staff of Audubon Great Lakes ahead of the organization's advocacy day to lobby legislators to support conservation funding.
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program was established in 1989 to help preserve local natural environments. Throughout its history, the program has enjoyed mostly bipartisan support as it has provided grants through the DNR to help local governments and nonprofits fund the acquisition, restoration and maintenance of public land, parks and wildlife habitats.
In recent years, the program has become a flashpoint in the fight over the boundary between the executive and legislative branches of state government. Until a decision by the state Supreme Court last year, any member of the Legislature's powerful Joint Committee on Finance had the authority to hold up a project funded through the stewardship program by placing an anonymous hold on that spending.
The Court's decision entirely removed the Legislature's oversight of the program, a change that further turned Republicans against its continued existence.
'We could make that process better, where it was not just one individual not liking something and being able to kill a project. I agree with that,' Kurtz said. 'When the court case came in and basically took that entire process away, that was not good either, because there was no oversight. And I understand some of you believe whatever the DNR does is fine. That's great. Some of my colleagues don't believe that.'
Especially in the northern part of the state, Republicans have objected to stewardship funds being used to conserve land that then gets taken off of local property tax rolls — taking money away from already struggling small local governments. In other cases, Republicans have complained that proposals for projects under the grants rely too heavily on the state funds without the local governments providing enough of their own money.
In his proposed 2025-26 budget, Gov. Tony Evers has requested the stewardship program be increased from its current funding of $33 million per year to $100 million per year for 10 years.
Kurtz said he's working on a bill that would return some oversight authority over the program to the Legislature without the anonymous objection provision. He added, though, that if the Audubon members went to Republicans Wednesday saying, ''It's the governor's budget or nothing,' you already lost.'
'I don't need you to do that, because, I'm being very sincere, I'm trying to keep this alive, and if you go over there [saying that], there's a good chance it'll die,' he said. 'So don't do that. Let them, especially when you're meeting with my colleagues, ask them what [their] concerns are. 'Why don't you like this? What is it about the program that we can do better so we can have another day to make sure we protect all our wonderful birds and animals.''
Habush Sinykin noted that 93% of Wisconsinites support the program and said that in her purple district covering Milwaukee's northwest suburbs, the stewardship program is hugely popular. She said the anonymous hold of a project in the district drew the ire of community members of both parties.
'There's a lot of understanding at the legislative level that in these uncertain times, with these newer maps, that our state representatives and senators, including those on the Joint Finance Committee, have to be wary and strategic about issues like this that are bipartisan,' she said. 'They're actually non-partisan. They are successful community building issues. So I think that's a little bit where your leverage is to lean in hard. How popular these are.'
Aside from the stewardship program, the society members lobbying in the Capitol Wednesday were pushing for the state to increase protections for wetlands and grasslands, advance sustainable practices in the state's agriculture and forestry industries and grow renewable energy production.
On Wednesday morning, the administration of President Donald Trump announced a proposed rule that would rescind habitat protections for endangered species across the country.
Marnie Urso, Audubon Great Lakes' senior director of policy, said that with the federal government retreating from conservation efforts, state level efforts have become more important.
'With that uncertainty, this kind of work is even more important, for state lawmakers to be on the path to conserving our natural resources,' Urso said. 'The Knowles Nelson project program is bipartisan. It always has been a permanent foundation. So we know it has wide, widespread bipartisan support.'
Urso said leaning into that popularity could help advance the group's priorities.
'Even Trump voters like the Knowles Nelson Conservation Fund,' she said. 'So we're confident that by coming and talking, telling our story and getting to understand what's important to our lawmakers, we can inform those decisions. And now it's more important than ever to have state conservation programs continue.'
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