By Bruce Ross, Executive Director [email]bross@wisducks.org[/email]

This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s January, 2023 Newsletter edition.

Knowles-Nelson stewardship funding to acquire access to 56,000 acres of the Pelican River Forest is now being considered by the legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance (JFC).  This property, southeast of Rhinelander, includes forest land, marshes and forested wetlands.  It would become accessible to sportsmen when the funds are released and the easement is signed.

Knowles-Nelson funds of $4M would be leveraged against $11.4M federal dollars to make this happen.  Learn more about this investment that would become the state’s largest track of continuous land, and open to all sorts of outdoor activities, including waterfowl hunting.

Nearby WWA volunteers have good things to say about the property.  Bart Tegen (Wood Duck Box Logistics Coordinator) indicates, “there are multiple creeks and beaver ponds in this tract. With the years the beavers have had to work, I would guess that are more ponds and flooded creeks than ever on this property.”

Tim Lehman of the Northern Wetlands Chapter indicated he’s ”hunted and scouted around a fair amount…  There are waterfowl opportunities as well as wild rice restoration opportunities there….”

Unfortunately, says Bart, “access to this huge tract is currently the problem.  About 15 years ago they started to gate the roads due to people dumping trash and scrap all over the land.  The landowners have the land in managed Forest Land Open, yet they are able to gate the access points so it is essentially inaccessible.”

The Knowles Nelson funds used to match the federal funding would buy an easement that would remove the gates, and establish a fund to maintain the 50+ miles of interior roads to facilitate all manner of outdoor pursuits.

There’s a lot going on in this acquisition with significant downstream [no pun intended] ramifications for outdoor enthusiasts of all sorts. Your WWA is encouraging the JFC to take prompt, positive action in this letter.