Where: University Club of Milwaukee
When: Thursday,
January 17, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
RSVP required: call (608) 251-9131 x15
People interested in conservation issues are
invited to join Governor Jim Doyle at a reception hosted by Gathering
Waters Conservancy to celebrate the reauthorization of the Knowles-Nelson
Stewardship Fund.
The Stewardship Fund is a nationally
renowned public program that protects natural areas, water quality,
wildlife habitat, parks and recreational lands through voluntary
agreements with willing landowners. Since its establishment
in 1990, more than 470,000 acres in 71 of Wisconsin’s 72
counties have been protected. The program provides public access
for outdoor activities including hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing,
wildlife watching and biking.
Arthur Harrington, president of Gathering Waters
Conservancy and an attorney in the Milwaukee office of Godfrey & Khan, is serving as host
of this event. “The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund is Wisconsin’s
most important land conservation program. Without it, places like the
Mequon Nature Preserve and Milwaukee’s Lake Shore Park would never have
been established,” said Harrington.
With the Stewardship
Fund threatened in this year's contentious budget proceedings,
Gathering Waters Conservancy spearheaded a campaign to rebuild
broad, bipartisan support for the program. Last
October, those efforts proved successful when the state
budget was signed and Governor Doyle and legislative leaders
came to an agreement on legislation that would reauthorize the
Stewardship Fund at $86 million a year through 2020, up from
the current $60 million – an agreement that signifies a
major bipartisan step forward in continuing to conserve the best
of outdoor Wisconsin. 
“Future generations will look back and thank Governor
Doyle and our legislative leaders for having the foresight to
support and expand the Stewardship Fund,” said Michael
Strigel, Executive Director of Gathering Waters Conservancy. “We
are in a tight race to protect Wisconsin’s last remaining
wild places, and this event is an opportunity to honor the individuals
whose exceptional work will help ensure our success.”
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund Celebration
will be held at the University Club of Milwaukee on Thursday,
January 17th from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. The event is open
to the public by RSVP. For more information about the event,
please contact Sara DeKok at Gathering Waters Conservancy at
(608) 251-9131 x10 or sara [at] gatheringwaters.org.
Click
here for a downloadable version of this press release » 
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