Member of Wisconsin Natural Resources Board Wants to See the State Spend Enough Money to Maintain Habitats and Public Lands

Friday, February 24th, 2023 -- 8:24 AM

(By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) A conservative member of the Natural Resources Board wants to see the state spend enough money to maintain habitats and public lands.

According to Danielle Kaeding with Wisconsin Public Radio, board member Greg Kazmierski said he’s concerned there’s not enough funding for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to manage habitats for wildlife as the state has added more properties under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, the state’s land acquisition program.

"We can't let this get too far ahead to the point that we have a wildlife desert out there because we haven’t been keeping up with the habitat management," Kazmierski said.

On Wednesday, Kazmierski shared a draft resolution with the board that seeks support for adequate funding for habitat management and the state’s public lands and facilities from the Legislature’s budget-writing committee. Members will share any thoughts on changes to the resolution, and they're expected to vote on it at their next meeting in April.

DNR Assistant Deputy Secretary Steven Little told the board that funding devoted to habitat management has increased over the last decade from $7.1 million in 2011 to at least $11.2 million for habitat management in 2022. He noted the funding allocated to habitat or wildlife management occurs outside the Stewardship Program. 

"The question then becomes what else can or how else can we maintain and support the habitat of acquisition targets and acquisitions that we've made…over the course of the program?" Little said.

Tim Gary, the agency’s budget and policy analyst, said the DNR has set aside $107.5 million for the management of state lands in the current fiscal year. That doesn’t include federal funding sources.

Board member Terry Hilgenberg echoed there may be a need to request funding from the Legislature to maintain habitats and public lands.

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