,

The bad and good of déjà vu

,

It's déjà vu all over again, Yogi Berra was once reputed to say. So it always seems to be in Wisconsin conservation.

Starting with the bad side of déjà vu, please see all the following links for warnings and calls to action regarding Senate Bill 802 that would allow non-profit conservation organizations and local governments to sell land they had purchased for conservation and outdoor recreation with Stewardship dollars.

If you read the links from the Mississippi Valley Conservancy (western Wisconsin), Groundswell Conservancy (our neck of the woods), and Gathering Waters (our statewide association of land trusts), you find analysis why this is a truly bad idea and how to contact legislators to urge them to oppose it. I provided the links for that information and also to remind you of what great work organizations like Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Groundswell Conservancy, and Gathering Waters do—more on that in a bit.

A vibrant prairie, made possibly by Knowles-Nelson Stewardship. Photo by Roger Packard

What’s the need?

Among the many reasons this bill is deplorable is that I can't find the reason it was introduced. Originally it seems to have been drafted to allow County Forests to sell lands purchased with the assistance of Stewardship. Perhaps that addressed some real problem. Locked in my basement by the Arctic vortex I had just spent some time on the Bayfield County Forest website. The administrators and County Board are working with the Red Cliff tribe to convey some mutually agreed on lands to the Tribe with the County then using the proceeds to add lands to the Forest. If the bill was drafted to facilitate such work, great but it has been amended to a much broader, suspicious, and bad scope.

I was sometimes involved in Dane County's purchase of lands with Stewardship Funds. One question that often comes up with donors or policymakers or concerned citizens when a local government or non-profit buys land for conservation is: how do we know that the land will be retained and managed for its purpose? What's to stop a local government or non-profit from one day selling the property, possibly at quite a profit? The Stewardship prohibition on such sales offered a powerful and reassuring answer to that question.

Back to the good news

Those links also give us cause to celebrate as you'll learn of some great purchases by the Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Groundswell Conservancy, The Prairie Enthusiasts, and Landmark Conservancy. Included in the good news about Groundswell's purchase is a plug for another of my favorite conservation organizations, Trout Unlimited, that helped with that purchase.

Lessons for advocacy:

  1. We have to be constantly vigilant about Stewardship. Some legislators are determined to shut it down, dismantle it piece by piece, or stop many worthwhile purchases.

  2. Madison Audubon has lots of allies in land, habitat, and bird conservation. All of those purchases are going to be great for birds, especially the ones in western Wisconsin and southwest Dane County. The leaders of many land trusts track and understand state legislation superbly and constantly communicate with conservationists around the state. All the Gathering Waters staff, Mississippi Valley's Carol Abrahamzon, and Groundswell's Jim Welsh are excellent and wholly trustworthy.

  3. Don't lose faith or optimism. Lots of good is getting done every day.

And on that note, keep an eye out for Madison Audubon; we're going to present you with some wonderful opportunities to save some great land and restore vital habitat in the not too distant future.

Take care and stay warm,

Topf Wells, Madison Audubon board of directors and advocacy committee chair

Cover photo by Monica Hall