Why It Matters: Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program has long provided land acquisition and habitat management opportunities that benefit sportsmen and women through increased public access and improved habitat conditions. With the program set to expire in 2026 and no funding included in the current state budget, this legislation is critical to avoid a lapse in conservation investments and to ensure that hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and trappers continue to have quality places to recreate.
Highlights:
- AB 612 would reauthorize the Knowles–Nelson Stewardship Program through 2030 and adjust how stewardship funding is allocated, including support for a major land acquisitions program.
- Earlier this month, the Assembly Committee on Forestry, Parks and Outdoor Recreation held a public hearing on AB 612, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) registered in support.
- AB 612 serves as the funding companion to AB 315, the existing Knowles-Nelson reauthorization proposal that focuses on the policy framework for the program.
Earlier this session, Assembly Bill 315 was introduced to reauthorize and modernize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, which has helped acquire and improve lands open to hunting, fishing, trapping, and other forms of outdoor recreation for nearly four decades. While AB 315 addresses many policy components of reauthorization, funding details were left to a separate “trailer” bill that had not yet been introduced when AB 315 received a hearing in June.
That funding bill, AB 612, was introduced on October 31 and referred to the Assembly Committee on Forestry, Parks and Outdoor Recreation, which held a public hearing in early November. CSF formally registered in support of AB 612, which would extend authorization for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program until 2030 while making changes to how stewardship dollars are distributed across programs, including support for a major land acquisition initiative.
Following the hearing, the committee voted on the bill but deadlocked 6-6, advancing AB 612 out of Committee, but without a recommendation. This hearing marked the first formal legislative action on Knowles-Nelson in several months and comes at a time when the future of the program is one of the most pressing unresolved issues of the 2025–26 legislative session. In September, CSF worked with in-state and national partners to host a legislative trap shooting event to discuss the importance of the program and to maintain momentum towards its reauthorization.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation will continue working with members of the Wisconsin Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, legislative leaders, and conservation partners to advance a Knowles-Nelson reauthorization package that secures long-term funding, maintains robust opportunities for land acquisition and habitat management, and protects public access for the Badger State’s sportsmen and women.
