A bill in the Assembly to fund the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program passed on Thursday, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
The program had been left out of the state budget last summer, but bill AB 315 reauthorized funding of the conservation program through 2028.
But there is a caveat: annual funding was cut in half. The bill also emphasizes improving current lands rather than purchasing new property.
The Department of Natural Resources will be limited to spending $1 million annually on land acquisitions and $9.2 million for land maintenance. The DNR can also spend $1 million to purchase land for the state’s Ice Age Trail.
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The conservation program receives $33 million annually through June 2026.
