Newly introduced bill aims to save Knowles-Nelson Stewardship fund

For more than three decades, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has played a vital role in protecting wildlife habitat, ensuring preservation of public lands, improving Wisconsin’s state parks, and promoting Wisconsin’s tourism economy in all 72 counties.

Last week, State Sen. Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay), State Rep. Vinnie Miresse (D-Stevens Point), and legislative democrats introduced a bill to reauthorize the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship Program.

This legislation includes provisions which would reauthorize the program at $72 million a year for six years and would establish a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Board to oversee pending land acquisitions and ensure the continuity and integrity of the program.

A Republican-sponsored bill was presented in early June by Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point) that would keep the program alive with $28 million in annual funding. That version also would require the DNR’s land acquisitions that cost more than $1 million to be approved by the full legislature, among other stipulations.

The program, named after two former Wisconsin governors — Republican Warren Knowles and Democrat Gaylord Nelson — has received bipartisan support since its inception in 1989. Recent polls have shown nine out of 10 Wisconsinites support the program, but funding for the program was not included in the 2025-27 biennial state budget signed in July.

Knowles-Nelson is currently funded through June of 2026.

Rep. Miresse stated that conservation is at the core of what makes Wisconsin, Wisconsin.

“Our state’s conservation ethic runs deep, stretches back generations, and has always been a bipartisan priority. For over 35 years, Knowles-Nelson has protected the places we hunt, fish, hike, canoe, and camp. That’s why nine out of 10 Wisconsinites support the work it does,” he said.

“The proposal we introduced continues Wisconsin’s bipartisan conservation legacy by incorporating key ideas that Republicans themselves put forward earlier this June. We hope our colleagues across the aisle will recognize this goodwill and join us in ensuring the future of this vital program, so we can continue to preserve Wisconsin’s outdoor and conservation traditions for generations to come.”

Sinykin said she is proud to introduce a bill that outlines the funding and oversight provisions needed to reauthorize Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in a way that works to uphold the integrity and continuity of this vastly popular bipartisan success story.

“This program has proven invaluable to the protection, accessibility, and preservation of public lands throughout the state, ensuring Wisconsinites everywhere can enjoy our state’s beautiful forests, lakes, trails, and wildlife,” Sinykin said. “Wisconsinites have demonstrated that we can find common ground on issues that are important to all of us, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep this vital conservation program going strong.”