The Brown County Board passes a resolution supporting the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program

Acknowledging its importance in creating and maintaining many county projects over the years, the Brown County Board passed a resolution supporting the renewal of the popular lands program for 10 years and at proper funding.

The county has used the program to help fund the Fox River Trail, East River Trail, Mountain Bay Trail, Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, Fonferek Glen Conservancy, and many other neighborhood parks and trails. The program provides grants to municipalities to purchase land for public use for recreation and for environmental protection. It’s led to 500,000 acres of public land being created in Wisconsin since its inception in 1989.

Northeast Organizer Casey Hicks worked with local activists and county supervisors to push for the passage of the resolution. Local public lands advocates attended county meetings to show support for the resolution. Their efforts paid off. The Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program was reauthorized at its current funding for two years by the Joint Finance Committee, and will be included in Gov. Tony Evers' state budget proposal. Though it falls short of the 10 year goal, the reauthorization is a positive signal for the future of the program.