AB 855

This bill reauthorizes the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000

Program until 2030 and makes some changes to it.

Current law authorizes the state to incur public debt for certain conservation

activities under the stewardship, which is administered by the Department of

Natural Resources. The state may incur this debt to acquire land for the state for

conservation purposes and for property development activities and may award

grants to others to acquire land for these purposes. Current law establishes the

amounts that DNR may obligate in each fiscal year through fiscal year 2021-22 for

expenditure under each of five subprograms of the stewardship program.

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