The ending date of the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program and granting bonding authority. (FE)

This bill reauthorizes the stewardship program until fiscal year 2029-30. For fiscal years through 2021-22, the bill maintains at $33,250,000 the amount that DNR may obligate under the program each fiscal year, and for fiscal years beginning with 2022-23 and ending in 2029-30 the bill sets this amount at $21,000,000. The bill increases to $1,214,250,000 the total amount of public debt that the state may contract under the program.

Beginning in fiscal year 2022-23, the bill reduces the amount DNR may obligate under the land acquisition subprogram from $21,000,000 to $9,000,000 and eliminates requirements that DNR set aside $5,000,000 for grants awarded to counties for land acquisition and certain amounts for DNR to acquire land and to match grants DNR receives under the federal forest legacy program. The bill maintains the requirement that DNR set aside, in each fiscal year, $1,000,000 for the department to acquire land for the ice age trail and $7,000,000 for grants awarded to nonprofit conservation organizations (NCOs).

Beginning in fiscal year 2022-23, the bill also reduces from $9,750,000 to $9,500,000 the amount DNR may obligate for the property development and local assistance subprogram.

This bill provides that, in each fiscal year beginning in 2022-23, DNR set aside $5,000,000 to acquire forest land and $5,000,000 for grants to counties to acquire land for county forests from certain amounts transferred from the general fund to the conservation fund.

2017 Wisconsin Act 59 eliminated the forestation state property tax, and replaced it with this annual transfer from the general fund to the conservation fund of an amount equal to 0.1697 mills for each dollar of assessed valuation of property. Under current law, DNR must use this amount for forest acquisition, preservation, and development.

Under current law, DNR's authority to acquire land is limited to a specified set of purposes, including such purposes as state parks, state forests, state trails, stream bank protection, and habitat areas and fisheries. Current law generally limits DNR's acquisition of land and awarding of grants for land acquisition under the land acquisition subprogram of the stewardship program to this set of purposes as well.

This bill allows DNR to acquire or award a grant for the acquisition of a parcel of agricultural land under the land acquisition subprogram for the purpose of leasing a portion of it to any person for agricultural purposes if the remainder of the parcel is used for one of the allowable purposes.

Under current law, in each fiscal year ending in 2019-20, if DNR does not obligate an amount authorized for a stewardship subprogram in a fiscal year, it may not adjust the annual bonding authority for that subprogram by raising the annual bonding authority for the next fiscal year. Under this bill, this restriction applies again beginning in fiscal year 2022-23.

Under the land acquisition subprogram, DNR may award grants to counties to acquire land for county forests, or for projects that promote nature-based outdoor recreation or conservation and for which DNR is requesting the county's assistance (county grants). Under the bill, a county is not eligible for a county grant if the number of acres of public land in the county that are used for nature conservation purposes constitutes 20 percent or more of the number of acres in the county.

Under current law, one exception to the prohibition on obligating unobligated amounts under the stewardship program is that, if in a given fiscal year the amount that DNR obligates to provide grants to NCOs is less than the amount set aside for that purpose under the land acquisition subprogram, DNR may obligate the unobligated amount in the next fiscal year but only for the purpose of awarding a county grant. Under this bill, beginning with fiscal year 2022-23, this unobligated amount may only be obligated for the purpose of awarding a grant to a governmental unit under the property development and local assistance subprogram.

This bill eliminates current law provisions that require DNR, if it receives a donation of land for state parks, state trails, habitat areas, stream bank protection, the natural areas heritage program, or the ice age trail, to determine the value of the donated land and release an equal amount of stewardship moneys to be used for the same project or similar activities.