As the fishing and camping seasons get underway this weekend there are concerns about the future of land available for recreation
The state's Stewardship Program buys land to use for recreation but that program expires in three years and according to George Meyer of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation we're running out of land. It's being sold off.
For example, Meyer says, there's a disturbing trend of smaller landowners selling off property in the Managed Forest Land Program, citing a loss of one-point-eight million acres in recreational land in just the past three or four years.
Meyer says the Federal government also isn't helping by changing the boundaries of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge which he says will cut off access for hunters and anglers.
That's why the Federation and its affiliates are urging the reauthorization of the Stewardship Program with an increase in its buying power. Meyer says it's critical to the future of outdoor recreation in this state.