Anonymous Legislator Undermining State Stewardship Fund

Love of our outdoors unites Wisconsinites across all our usual fault lines: urban, suburban and rural, Democrat, Republican and independent. Our forests, waterways, wildlife and scenic beauty are essential to our state’s economy and our quality of life. That’s why it is so surprising and disappointing that Republican legislators are undermining Wisconsin’s award-winning Stewardship Fund.

Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund has already protected more than 650,000 acres in our state by expanding state parks and forests, preserving unique natural areas and wildlife habitat, as well as providing facilities for the public to enjoy these resources.

More than 30 years ago, as chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, I helped create the Stewardship Fund to protect the best of what’s left of outdoor Wisconsin in the face of development pressure and potentially unwise land use decisions. I believe current and future generations deserve the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful places and recreational opportunities that make Wisconsin special.

Over the past few years, the Republican-controlled state Legislature has not only been stopping key protection efforts by the Stewardship Fund, but doing so in a secretive, underhanded and unaccountable way.

Here’s what’s going on:

The Legislature rewrote the Stewardship law to give themselves review power over major land protection efforts. They have repeatedly abused that law to allow a single legislator to anonymously object and indefinitely kill key stewardship projects. More than a dozen times, key initiatives to protect invaluable natural areas have been stopped. We don’t know who objected to these essential conservation efforts or why they have done so. There has been no public discussion or accountability.

Most recently, an anonymous member of the Joint Finance Committee, without any public explanation, has blocked the largest land conservation project in state history. The Pelican River Forest project would protect from inappropriate and piecemeal development more than 70,000 acres of forestland for public recreation and forestry. This project in northern Wisconsin is supported across the political spectrum. Most of the money for the project would come from the federal government, not the state. Nonetheless, one legislator, cowardly hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, is stopping this key effort to protect our Northwoods.

The Pelican River Forest will be used for sustainable forest management and will be open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking and cross-country skiing. Protection is essential to water quality because the forest area includes 68 miles of streams, 27,000 acres of forest wetlands, the headwaters of the Wolf River and numerous spring heads and tributaries of the Wisconsin River. Without protection, the area is threatened with sell-off and development of dispersed parcels, which would fragment the forest and limit job supporting forestry, public recreation, wildlife habitat and waterway quality.

When Republican legislators previously stopped key conservation efforts, Gov. Tony Evers wisely found a way to move ahead with five stalled projects using federal funds. One of those was Cedar Gorge, an amazing steep gorge along Lake Michigan in rapidly growing Ozaukee County. A developer wanted to build McMansions in this fragile and irreplaceable natural area. Despite overwhelming support from local residents for protection, an anonymous legislator was doing the developer’s bidding and blocking the conservation effort.

Evers should again step up and go ahead with protecting the Pelican River Forest. The law requires the Joint Finance Committee to schedule a public meeting for its objection to the purchase to be valid.

Embarrassed by their action, they have failed to meet this legal requirement for transparency and accountability. Therefore, Evers, who used his power to protect Cedar Gorge, now has the legal authority to conserve the Pelican River Forest for all of us.

This column was original published by the Cap Times.

Spencer Black served for 26 years in the state Assembly.