Key land purchase proves value of WI stewardship fund

Thanks to the Journal Sentinel's Don Behm for reporting on the state's permanent, development-free acquisition for the public of a scenic waterfall and surrounding land on the Wisconsin-Michigan border:

The Northwoods Land Trust ensured permanent public access to Interstate Falls, an 18-foot waterfall on the Wisconsin-Michigan border, with its acquisition this month of 38 acres along the Montreal River.

Private donations and a willing seller helped put the deal together, with about half the $188,000 purchase price coming from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, an important public investment resource.

Earlier this year, Gov. Walker had proposed freezing Fund purchases until 2028.

Cathy Stepp, the "chamber-of-commerce mentality" DNR Secretary he's installed at the agency, had labeled the popular Fund fiscally unsustainable, and, since her early days as DNR Secretary had likened it to credit card spending.

After much public and bi-partisan support surfaced for the long-standing and non-partisan Fund, the Legislature passed a 2015-'17 budget that discarded Walker's Fund freeze-to-2028, but included other cuts to DNR staffing, science, and programs, and also ended small conservation planning and advisory grants to grassroots environmental organizations.