Wisconsin TU Needs Your Help in Saving the Stewardship Program

The fate of Wisconsin's iconic public lands initiative, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program will be decided in the coming weeks.  Will you help us light up the phone lines and fill the inboxes?  Our legislators need to hear about our support for this popular program today.
Please take a moment right now to write and call your elected officials.

TAKE ACTION
Our message is simple:

Renew the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for ten years.

If we all speak up, together we'll ensure that our best conservation program keeps working to protect Wisconsin's land and water.  We've made it easy for you: just follow the link above, type in your address and a customizable email message will be generated to your legislators.  Then, consider making a phone call to their offices (legislators will place more value on a phone call from a constituent).  Just remember to keep it short and be polite.



What if I've already written and called my elected officials?




Please reach out again! We really appreciate the support that you've already given to the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, and it's so important that your elected officials continue to hear from you.


We'll have to say it again and again:




Renew the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for ten years because investing in public lands & public access to outdoor recreation are key to Wisconsin's economy and our way of life.






TAKE ACTION





What is the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program?




Stewardship provides grants for non-profit conservation groups, cities, and the state to purchase land for conservation. Knowles-Nelson also provides funds for the public fishing easements, boat launches, trails, and campgrounds that make it possible for us to get out and enjoy wild places in Wisconsin.


Since 1989, Knowles-Nelson has been a bipartisan success story. Stewardship has proven that clean water, habitat for wildlife, and the land to support Wisconsin's way of life are things we can all agree on.




What's the threat?




If the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is not renewed as part of the state budget being debated right now, then we'll lose Wisconsin's best source of funding for land and water conservation. Unfortunately, the Governor's proposed budget only calls for a two-year extension of the Stewardship Program, a far cry from the ten-year re-authorizations the legislature has approved in the past. To make matters worse, the legislature and the governor are at odds over nearly every item in the budget.


We need our senators, assembly representatives, and the governor to know that Wisconsinites care about protecting land and water.




Why should I write and call now?





Here at Wisconsin Trout Unlimited, we're hard at work visiting legislators, empowering our grassroots members around the state to speak up for Stewardship, and telling our stories about the importance of Knowles-Nelson.




Together, we'll ensure that the Stewardship Program continues to work for Wisconsin's water, outdoor economy, and our way of life.




Much Respect,




Mike Kuhr

Wisconsin Trout Unlimited

Council Chair