Walker Strikes Again: DNR Suspending Stewardship Fund Grants

The Department of Natural Resources, now run for Scott Walker by three representatives of the home-builders' industry is notifying recipients ongoing Knowles-Nelson Stewardship grant funding for conservation projects by letter today that their grant funding is suspended "this fiscal year."

And there is no date given for its revival, though some projects are in mid-purchase or ongoing negotiations. 

The agency says because of the state's fiscal crisis, all programs, including "non-essential bonding" that supports Stewardship Fund und grants, are "on the table" and that no further applications will be taken until a new grant review process is announced.

The Stewardship Fund is a long-standing, bi-partisan program named after Governors Warren Knowles and Gaylord Nelson. It provides funding to local non-profits for land purchases that keep open space and habitat in the public domain, and is as popular with anglers and hunters as it is with hikers and urban conservationists.

"If you should proceed purchasing...property your organization does so without any guarantees of an eventual Stewardship grant," says the letter, originating in the DNR Bureau of Community Financial Assistance.

More later.