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Column: Stewardship too good of a deal to pass up
On Friday, the legislature's Joint Finance Committee will take up Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to reauthorize the Knowles/Nelson Stewardship Program from 2011 to 2020.
Stewardship, the state's fund for buying land for conservation purposes, will end in 2010 if it is not renewed. The governor included the program in the proposed 2007-09 state budget.
In the past, Stewardship had support from both sides of the political aisle, as it provides $60 million per year for land purchases. But the governor's new proposal would not only renew the program, but increase funding to $105 million anually due to increasing land prices. Stewardship is funded through sales of general obligation bonds.
"We'll commit $105 million more to secure our hunting and fishing heritage -- and all of the jobs that depend on it -- by reauthorizing and expanding the Stewardship program," Doyle told the legislature earlier this year.
His proposal would include $14.5 million annually for grants to non-profit conservation organizations for land acquisition, and $14 million for grants to local units of government.
Up until the 1960s, land purchases were largely funded by hunters and fishermen. Their license fees and excise taxes on sporting arms and ammunition, and fishing equipment was used to buy land. But then bonding programs were passed, recognizing that all citizens should pay for the land.
In 1961, Gov. Gaylord Nelson started the penny-a-pack cigarette tax for the original Outdoor Recreation Aids Program (ORAP). That was followed by ORAP-200 under Gov. Warren Knowles, and both programs had bi-partisan support.
Harold "Bud" Jordahl, emeritus professor of Urban and Regional Planning at UW-Madison, was an advisor to Nelson and is an outspoken proponent of the need for public land.
"Habitat is decreasing rapidly as our land use practices have changed dramatically," he said. "Look at how there are no more fence rows, no waste grains, and no more little potholes left by our mechanized technologically-advanced agriculture.
"But most important, when I came to Wisconsin in the 1950s the state's population was 2.5 million -- and now we have 5.5 million people. In the 1950s we had about 200,000 deer hunters in the woods and now we have 650,000 deer hunters, all the while large pieces of forest are being fractionalized and no trespassing signs continue to go up."
Herb Behnke, a past Natural Resources Board member from Shawano, agrees that land is vital for outdoorsmen.
"The current rate of development in northern Wisconsin, not only on lakes, but on scattered parcels, is privatizing what was vast acreage of forest and land available for hunting, fishing and many other outdoor uses by the public," Behnke said. "It is a prime example of the foresight of Governors Nelson, Knowles, (Tommy) Thompson and Doyle, and the board in their support and utilization of the Stewardship Program to preserve pristine areas for the public for all time."
Dick Steffes, director of the Department of Natural Resources' Real Estate Section, explains that through the sale of long-term bonds, the state purchases land from willing sellers.
"My feeling is that although land costs money, you have something to show for it," Steffes said. "The state is investing in an asset that is going up in value, citizens can still use it, and the state makes payments in lieu of taxes."
Steve Miller, DNR director of Facilities and Land, said part of the reason the state buys land is that it reflects the conservation ethic of the state, an ethic unique to Wisconsin that inspired people such as Aldo Leopold and John Muir.
"It reflects the interest of people to get outside and enjoy nature and outdoor recreation," Miller said.
Wisconsinites were concerned over a loss of resources going back to the cutover of the northern forest in the 1800s and the dust bowl days of the 1930s.
"This is a hunting and fishing state, and people have realized that habitat and land needs to be protected," Miller said. "And now, as the population increases, the public's demand for recreation is increasing and not everyone can own their own land. If it weren't for public lands providing places to hunt and fish, hunting and fishing would be much more constrained from what it is now."
Some who oppose Stewardship reauthorization do so believing it adds too much to the state's debt and not all lands, especially those purchased by local units of government, are open for hunting. In addition, legislators would like more oversight over the purchases.
Still, Stewardship is too good of a deal to pass up.
FINDING PUBLIC LAND
The Department of Natural Resources owns 1.5 million acres of land which is available for public recreation, but the challenge for many people is knowing where it is located.
A bill in the legislature, AB 304, would require the DNR to make it easier to find public land. This past year the DNR upgraded its Web site to make it easier for people to find state land through the Internet.
"All of the DNR lands are on the Web site, which we use as the primary promotional tool to let people know where public lands are," said Steve Miller, DNR director of facilities and land.
By going to the DNR's Web site, it's easy to access the "DNR Managed Lands Interactive Web Mapping" page. When on the DNR's homepage, look under the "Favorites" heading and click on "Maps." That brings up a page of "Web Mapping Applications." Next, scroll down to "DNR Managed Lands," and click.
"People have the ability to look at a map through several different ways," said Jeff Walters, DNR real estate section specialist. "One is just a regular map, but others show recreational opportunities (such as parks, fisheries, trout streams, and wildlife areas), acquisition history of lands, and lands bought with Stewardship grants."
Tim Eisele is a full-time freelance outdoor writer and photographer. He is a founding member and past president of the Wisconsin Outdoor Communicators Association and active member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
