Alert: Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund & Wisconsin's Working Land Initiative

[Glacial Lakes Conservancy]

February 14, 2011

Dear Friends of Glacial Lakes Conservancy,

We wanted to let you know of two conservation issues that have emerged
in recent weeks in Wisconsin that could impact the Knowles-Nelson
Stewardship Program and Wisconsin’s Working Land Initiative.

1. First, news on the state's Stewardship Program.

FEBRUARY 7TH: THE NEW DNR LEADERSHIP HAS PLACED A TEMPORARY HOLD IN
PROCESSING KNOWLES-NELSON STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATIONS.

Named after two of Wisconsin’s most respected former governors and
land conservation champions – Republican Warren Knowles and Democrat
Gaylord Nelson, the Stewardship Program has helped land trusts, local
municipalities, and the state protect over 600,000 acres of the
state’s special places like Point Creek Natural Area in Manitowoc
County, the Kettle Moraine State Forest, and the C.D. (Buzz) Besdany
Fish and Wildlife Area.

The Stewardship Program creates public-private partnerships and those
partners, like land trusts, have raised over $188,000,000 to match the
state's investment in protecting recreational lands and critical
habitat that benefits us all.

Glacial Lakes Conservancy plans to participate in this program in the
future, so we could use your help talking to legislators about how
important it is preserve the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for
your community and your local land trust.

2. Next, news on the Working Lands Initiative from Bill Berry,
American Farmland Trust/Protecting Wisconsin’s Farm and Forest Lands.

BILL WOULD KILL PACE, CONVERSION FEES

Those are stark words, but they’re true. A bill (LRB-1135/2) being
circulated for co-sponsors by state Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland
Center, and state Rep. Andre Jacque, R-Bellevue, seeks to eliminate
both the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement program and
the conversion fee for having land rezoned out of a farmland
preservation zoning district.

Both are key sections of the Working Lands Initiative passed by the
Legislature in 2009. They were championed by the late Rod Nilsestuen,
who was secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection. We are monitoring this bill and plan to mount robust
opposition. What can you do right now?

- Contact your legislators and tell them NOT to sign on as sponsors to
LRB-1135/2.

- Inform them that a broad coalition of rural interests plans to fight
this effort to dismantle farmland protection in Wisconsin.

A few facts:

PACE is a voluntary program and a key tool in efforts to protect
strategically targeted Wisconsin farmland. It is currently funded by
state bonding.

Conversion fees are intended to help fund the program in the future.
Most of the opposition to the conversion fee comes from developers and
Realtors, not farmers or farm groups. Conversion fees are not new.
There has always been a fee associated with rezoning land out of
exclusive ag zoning.

Conversion to other uses has taken a huge toll on Wisconsin’s best
farmland. The state ranks 10th in the nation in prime farmland
converted to other uses between 1982-2007 (288,000 acres) and 4th in
the nation from the years 2002-2007. In the years 1982-2007, Wisconsin
lost 520,500 acres of agricultural land converted to other uses. (USDA
NRCS Natural Resources Inventory)

PACE programs are effective tools to help protect prime farmland, and
studies show that they in no way inhibit development in states where
they are in place. (American Farmland Trust)

For more information about farmland protection, please visit
www.wisconsinfarmland.org or contact Bill Berry at
bill...@charter.net.