Gov. Evers releases a pro-conservation budget
The Wisconsin conservation community is giving high marks to Gov. Tony Evers for his proposed 2021-23 state budget, especially for its call to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and increase the price of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Stamp.
It also included state funding for deer carcass disposal sites to help combat the spread of chronic wasting disease.
Evers unveiled the $91 billion spending plan Tuesday.
Although the budget will likely change substantially in the coming months as it is taken up by the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee and Legislature, it sparked optimism among many who value the environment and outdoor recreation.
“We're encouraged to see the Governor propose initiatives at a scale needed to address longstanding issues – issues that we have simply been sweeping under the rug until now,” said Fred Clark, executive director of Wisconsin's Green Fire.
The budget would provide $70 million a year for the next 10 years for the KNSP, the state's program to protect public lands through acquisition of properties, purchase of easements, development of recreational facilities and restoration of wildlife habitat.
Stewardship, named for pro-conservation Wisconsin governors Warren Knowles and Gaylord Nelson, began in 1989 and has been renewed each decade.
But it was not reauthorized in the last state budget and is scheduled to end in July.
"The Stewardship Program is vitally needed, it has the overwhelming bipartisan support of voters and has been an incredible conservation, economic and outdoor recreation success," said Elizabeth Koehler, executive director of the Wisconsin chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
Polling in August 2020 by TNC reiterated the long-standing support for the program. According to the survey, 92% of state residents supported reauthorizing the program for another 10 years and more than 75% support restoring the $86 million in annual funding it once had.
The program currently is funded at $33 million a year.
Ducks Unlimited also supported the Stewardship reauthorization, calling it "one of the country's premier land conservation programs."
Evers budget would also "give the ducks a raise" by increasing the state waterfowl stamp to $12.
Conservation groups, including Ducks Unlimited, Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association have lobbied to get the legislature to hike the stamp price. Funds raised by sales of the stamp are used to purchase, lease and restore wetlands.
The stamp's $7 price has been unchanged for 24 years.
But a stand-alone bill to raise the price died in committee in the last legislative session, even though it was authored by Republicans. And previous efforts to include the stamp increase in broader license fee proposals also failed.
This year Evers has given the push new hope in his budget. The increase to $12 would generate an estimated $400,000 of additional funding for Wisconsin wetland conservation work as well as waterfowl breeding habitat conservation in Canada.
These hunter-contributed dollars help leverage additional private investments by nonprofit organizations as well as federal grant awards such as those secured through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.
“We are grateful that Governor Evers included this modest increase in his budget proposal,” said WWA executive director Bruce Ross.
For the upcoming budget biennium, 51 projects totaling $1.6 million will be competing for waterfowl stamp funding. However, there is only about $700,000 to distribute for new projects which means nearly $1 million in critical habitat restoration work cannot be funded.
Evers' budget also recommends providing $1 million in one-time funding for the DNR to issue grants for the purchase of deer carcass disposal sites.
The facilities are intended to help hunters properly dispose of deer remains and help prevent the spread of infectious prions that cause chronic wasting disease.