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Nonprofits and residents urge county not to cut conservation fund; committee pauses vote
Summary
Public commenters and conservation partners urged the Dane County Land and Water Committee not to cut the county’s conservation fund, opposing a proposed amendment that would reduce the executive’s $10,000,000 capital allocation to $5,000,000; the committee postponed any vote to Oct. 22.
Public testimony and staff presentations at the Dane County Land and Water Committee centered on a proposed amendment (labeled C‑O‑1) that would reduce the county’s 2026 conservation fund capital allocation from the county executive’s $10,000,000 proposal to $5,000,000. Committee members did not vote on the amendment; the chair said amendments and votes will take place at the committee’s Oct. 22 budget meeting.
Martha Gibson, who said she is vice chair of the Dane County Towns Association, told the committee: "There's never been a more important time for conservation in Dane County." Gibson argued a cut would undermine the county’s ability to use purchase‑of‑development‑rights (PDRs), conservation easements and matching funds to keep farmland available and protect open space, and said local nonprofits currently have a pipeline of projects they cannot…
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