Gov. Evers secures funding for Wisconsin’s largest land conservation purchase

• Gov. Tony Evers has secured federal funding for the largest land conservation purchase in Wisconsin history.
• The project includes the purchase of approximately 70,000 acres of land in northern Wisconsin known as the Pelican River Forest.
• Republicans on the House Budget Committee had previously blocked administrative funding for the project over concerns about the economic impact.

Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday that he has secured federal funding to complete the largest land conservation acquisition in Wisconsin history, bypassing Republicans in the Legislature who had blocked the plan.

Last year, the state Department of Natural Resources planned to spend about $4 million from the state's Knowles-Nelson Management Program to fund the purchase of about 70,000 acres east of Rhinelander in northern Wisconsin, known as the Pelican River Forest. was standing. The U.S. Forest Service had agreed to pay the remaining 75 percent of the easement.

Republicans on the Assembly Budget Committee blocked administrative funding for the project in April. Sen. Mary Felkowski, one of the lawmakers who opposed the plan, said she was concerned about the impact removing so much land from potential future development would have on northern Wisconsin's economy. . Republicans have long criticized the stewardship program because it removes blocks of private land from local tax rolls and discourages development.

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In his State of the State address Tuesday, Evers announced that the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Heritage Program would fund the state's share of easements, thereby bypassing Congressional appropriations committees.

Evers cited the project's rejection in a lawsuit he filed in October with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, arguing that Congress was interfering with basic government functions.

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The land is owned by the Conservation Fund, a Virginia-based national land conservation organization. This easement ensures that land remains undeveloped with public access for hunting, fishing, trapping, and motorized recreation such as snowmobiles and four-wheelers.

Clint Miller, Central Midwest regional director for The Nature Conservancy, called this “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect approximately 70,000 acres of forest.”