The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program – which was created by the Wisconsin State Legislature in 1989 to preserve natural parcels of land, protect water quality and expand outdoor recreational opportunities – expired last week after 37 years of existence.

So, how did we get to this point?

Legislative Democrats will tell you the blame falls solely and directly at the feet of their Republican counterparts – myself included. However, that claim is nothing more than a disingenuous display of blatant political theater.

It is true that some Republican lawmakers do not support the program because they have issues with taking so much valuable private property off the tax rolls. That ends up shrinking the tax base for many rural communities, particularly those in Northern Wisconsin.

But on the other end of the spectrum, you have Democrat legislators who essentially want to hand over a blank check to the state Department of Natural Resources to make major land purchases without any legislative oversight.

To help strike a balance, Rep. Tony Kurtz (R- Wonewoc) and I introduced a bill in June of 2025 that would have reauthorized the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program at $28.25 million annually through fiscal year 2027-28.

Our legislation, known as SB 316/AB 315, would have also prioritized maintaining our existing public lands over buying new property.

Was that bill perfect and did we get everything we were looking for? Absolutely not. But that is what happens when you have a split government and need to meet in the middle. No one gets everything they want. That’s just the way it is.

Yet, Democrats in the Wisconsin State Legislature continue to show the world that they are immune to the word compromise.

When SB 316 and AB 315 were being considered in their respective committees in both the Senate and Assembly, every single Democrat member voted in opposition.

When AB 315 was presented to the full Assembly in January, every single Democrat representative who was present voted no.

After weeks of negotiations, SB 316 never made it to the Senate floor because we were told by the minority leader that not a single Democrat senator would vote in favor of the legislation.

So, here we are. The party that says they vehemently support Knowles-Nelson had a chance to continue it, but instead chose to turn their backs on all of Wisconsin.

You have to wonder why Democrats would sabotage our compromise bill, effectively causing the end of the popular stewardship program.

One could only come to the conclusion that they care more about having campaign fodder for the upcoming November election than they do upholding Knowles-Nelson. 

Patrick Testin is a Republican Wisconsin State Senator from Portage County.