Stewards petition DNR
By Andy Steinke, Dells Events
The Stewards of the Dells of the Wisconsin River were one of more than 200 individuals and groups to submit written and verbal comments to the Department of Natural Resources last month concerning a proposed Stewardship Fund rule.
Twenty-eight Dells Stewards signed a petition last week stating their concerns about the rule, NR 52, which deals with allowing "nature-based outdoor activities" on lands purchased with Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund dollars.
The Stewards’ petition stated: "As residents of the Wisconsin Dells area, we are planning to work with the Natural Heritage Land Trust to access Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Funds in order to preserve and protect the scenic beauty of property adjacent to the Dells of the Wisconsin River State Natural Area. If NR 52 becomes law, we have very little hope of convincing landowners to create conservation easements on their land. We urge you to stop this rule in order to protect the stewardship goals intended for this fund."
Land purchased with Stewardship Fund money — most of which is purchased by the DNR, but can also be purchased by local governments and nonprofit conservation organizations — is expected to be open to the public, said Mike Strigel, executive director of Gathering Waters Conservancy, a group of land trusts.
What NR 52 does, is set up guidelines for those wishing to limit one or more of the five nature-based outdoor activities: hunting, trapping, hiking, fishing and cross-country skiing.
Doug Haag, realty operations chief in the DNR Bureau of Facilities and Lands, said, however, the rule would not apply to conservation easements.
According to a PowerPoint presentation the department used during public hearings last month, "Most easements, state park acquisitions, fish hatcheries, fish, wildlife and game refuges are exempt from the law. Use of these lands is governed by existing statutes and administrative code."
When contacted with that information, Stewards President Debbie Kinder said she didn’t know the rule wouldn’t apply to easements.
"That’s good news for us," she said, "but I think it’s still a bad idea generally for protecting land. Any kind of land protected by Stewardship Funds should not become a public park with no supervision."
The rule is being written, Haag said, because when the Stewardship Fund was authorized for 10 more years by the 2007 state budget, it required that the nature-based outdoor activities be allowed unless one of three reasons — to protect public safety, to protect a unique animal or plant community, to accommodate usership patterns — could be given.
The Stewards submitted a petition because they were concerned the new rule would affect their ability to work with landowners to create a "buffer zone" around the state natural area along the Wisconsin River.
"If we have a buffer zone where people can participate in these [nature-based outdoor] activities, then it’s not a buffer zone," Kinder said.
One area of concern for the Stewards may be the future acquisition of Louis’ Bluff by the DNR.
Property owners Mariana and Frank Weinhold used the Stewardship Fund to purchase an easement for the bluff in 2007, but the 133.5 acre property is target by the DNR for future acquisition.
Jim Welsh, executive director of the Natural Heritage Land Trust, the trust that helped secure the easement for the Weinholds, said the land is at the northern end of the DNR’s "Dells of the Wisconsin River State Natural Area Master Plan."
Like much of the state natural area near it, Louis’ Bluff has fragile plant species that could be damaged if the land were purchased by the DNR with Stewardship Fund dollars and opened to the public.
"My guess is, (the DNR) would manage it as they do the other [state natural area] land in the Dells," Welsh said. The DNR restricts access to some of the natural area to protect ferns, orchids, liverworts and other unique plant species that could be adversely affected by nature-based outdoor activities.
Welsh said there was some concern about NR 52 affecting conservation easements early on, but said its looking like easements won’t be subject to the rule.
The public comment period for NR 52 is done, and those comments are being considered now by rule writers. A revised rule proposal is expected to come before the Natural Resources Board in December of January, Haag said.
It will then be reviewed by the state Legislature. Haag said he expects the rule to be in place by June 30.
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The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, named after two of Wisconsin’s most revered conservation leaders, Gov. Warren Knowles and Sen. Gaylord Nelson, was created by the state Legislature in 1989 to preserve valuable natural areas and wildlife habitat, protect water quality and fisheries, and expand opportunities for outdoor recreation.
It was reauthorized by the Legislature in 2000 and 2008 for additional 10-year periods.
Properties purchased with Stewardship Funds have always been required to be open to some form of public access.
For the 10-year period of 2010 to 2019, the Stewardship Fund will have $86 million in annual funding, up from its initial amount of $25 million.
To date, the DNR, local governments and nonprofit conservation organizations have bought or secured conservation easements for almost 596,000 acres of land in 71 of the state’s 72 counties. Eighty-seven percent of that land, or 521,000 acres, was purchased by the DNR.