Yesterday, funding for Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program expired.
For nearly 40 years, this widely supported conservation program has been a crucial tool for protecting the places that make Wisconsin special: our forests, wetlands, rivers, parks, and trails. Today, 93 percent of Wisconsinites support renewed funding for Knowles-Nelson* because they understand the value it brings to Wisconsin’s natural resources and the places people enjoy outdoors. It has helped conserve more than 650,000 acres across all 72 counties while supporting local parks, outdoor recreation, and wildlife habitat.
For Groundswell Conservancy, Knowles-Nelson has been our most important funding tool for conserving land. Since 1989, the state conservation program has helped us permanently protect more than 6,000 acres across 75 special places in southern Wisconsin. In fact, Groundswell has been awarded Knowles-Nelson grants almost every year since the program began. These dollars provided the matching funds needed to expand public access to the outdoors, improve water quality, help wildlife thrive, and preserve Wisconsin’s outdoor heritage.
In the Black Earth Creek valley, Knowles-Nelson funding helped protect more than a mile of newly restored Black Earth Creek. That protection opened the creek to the public and enabled the creation of the Wolf Run Trail. The trail is envisioned to ultimately connect Middleton with the Great Sauk State Trail, creating new opportunities to hike, bike, and enjoy one of Wisconsin’s most beautiful landscapes.
We’re grateful that two major Groundswell projects secured Knowles-Nelson funding before the program expired. Just last week, Groundswell and Ducks Unlimited completed the largest conservation project in our history, permanently protecting nearly three square miles of land along the Lower Sugar River. This land will become an addition to the Avon Bottoms State Wildlife Area near Brodhead.
Groundswell worked with Ducks Unlimited recently to protect three square miles of land along the Lower Sugar River. A Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program grant made this project possible. Photo by Logan Killam
Later this year, we’ll protect Pine Quarry Farm in the Black Earth Creek watershed. The project will preserve important natural resources, improve water quality, and create new opportunities for public recreation.
These projects demonstrate exactly why Knowles-Nelson matters.
Groundswell’s conservation work will continue. We’ll keep partnering with landowners, communities, donors, and conservation organizations to protect the lands and waters of southern Wisconsin. But without renewed Knowles-Nelson funding, some future projects will take longer to complete, become more difficult to finance, and might not even be feasible.
The good news is that the program itself has not disappeared. It remains part of Wisconsin law, and the Legislature has the power to fund it again. Its future is still very much within reach.
If you believe Wisconsin’s land, water, and outdoor traditions deserve continued investment, now is the time to make your voice heard. Contact your state legislators and let them know conservation funding matters to you. And as election season approaches, ask candidates where they stand on the future of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
You can also show your support by requesting a Team Knowles-Nelson yard sign from us—email amy@groundswellconservancy.org or call our office at 608.258.9797—or by visiting the Team Knowles-Nelson website.
For nearly four decades, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has helped protect the places we love today while ensuring future generations can enjoy them tomorrow. With your voice and continued support, we hope it will once again become symbolic for Wisconsin’s commitment to and investment in conservation.
*Source: Statewide poll of Wisconsin voters commissioned by The Nature Conservancy, 2025
Read about Knowles-Nelson in the news this week:
Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program Dead at 37, News From the States, July 1, 2026
State Senate Democratic Committee: Senate Democrats Warn of Impacts as Knowles-Nelson Program Expires, WisPolitics, June 30, 2026
Knowles-Nelson Stewarship Funding Ends After 30 Years, WMTV Ch. 15, June 30, 2026
Democrats Criticize Republicans Over Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program Expiration, Channel 3000, June 30, 2026
Knowles-Nelson Conservation Program Expires, WKOW Ch. 27, June 30, 2026
After 30 Years, Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Funding Expired on Tuesday, WBAY, June 30, 2026
With an Eye on Midterms, Democrats Mark the Demise of Knowles-Nelson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 30, 2026
Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Funding Is Ending. Here’s What to Expect, Wisconsin State Journal, June 26, 2026
In Focus: Will the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program Survive?, Spectrum News, June 25, 2026