There's Still Hope for Knowles-Nelson. It's Up to All of Us More Than Ever.

Hello, Friends!

 I trust that your summer has been full of celebrations and accomplishing much at your respective parks, forests, and trails.

 This message is to provide an important update regarding the status of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. As a brief recap, the program was outed from the state biennial budget. While disheartening, it still has an opportunity to be approved through a standalone bill (“Assembly Bill 315”). If approved, the bill would give the program $28.25 million per year over the course of four years.

One of the most pressing issues regarding this standalone bill is the oversight of monies devoted towards Nonprofit Conservation Organizations (NCOs) and Friends groups. Traditionally, there has been a $500,000 matching grant supplied through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WiDNR) to help supply and accomplish many outstanding projects. This is a dire necessity for you and your efforts to support your state park, forest, and trail.

This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet with Rep. Tony Kurtz’s Chief of Staff at the State Capitol. It was crucial to emphasize that the standalone bill needs to earmark monies for our Friends. I was presented with the most recent amended bill that showed in print that $500,000 is devoted towards grants for Friends.

This is good news. But our voice needs to be more present than ever before to ensure its full approval.

The goal is to see the reauthorization of Knowles-Nelson in October. While there is considerable support, there are many legislators against it. Starting now (and often) we need to contact our state representatives to be in favor of Assembly Bill 315. We encourage you to utilize your resources, your friends and family, to relay the message: Support the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in Assembly Bill 315.

I am supplying items to aid you in your effort. Below you will find a letter template to email your representative. Don’t know who your elected officials are? That’s ok! Hit the link below to search for your representatives.

Links to Resources
Letter to Elected Officials Supporting AB 315

Find My Wisconsin Elected Official

Please reach out any time if you have any questions and discuss in more detail. If you have trouble accessing the letter template, let me know and I will get it to you in a different format.

This is the most crucial time for all of us, and we are going to make it happen. Let’s work in tandem to ensure Knowles-Nelson will see reauthorization once more.

That’s what Friends are for.

Regards,

Seth Taft
Executive Director
Friends of Wisconsin State Parks
P: (608) 294-0810
E: execdir@fwsp.org
www.fwsp.org