In his 2024 State of the State speech, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers surprised both the legislature and Wisconsinites everywhere when he announced that the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Legacy grant program would fund the state’s purchase of conservation easements on 55,000 acres of the Pelican River Forest in Oneida County. This represents the largest conversation purchase in state history and bypasses earlier opposition from legislative Republicans.

In separate interviews, The 8 O’Clock Buzz spoke to two key individuals in this process, Jim Lemke, Real Estate Section Chief for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource, and Charles Carlin, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Gathering Waters, a statewide alliance of land trusts that helped organize the campaign for the Pelican River Forest project.

Featured photo: Jim Lemke (L), Wisconsin DNR; and Charles Carlin, Gathering Waters. Images courtesy of Jim Lemke and Charles Carlin.

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