LETTER: JFC blocks public preserve to serve secret private interest

To Ozaukee Press:
    I am greatly concerned about the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust’s ability to purchase the 131 acres of bluffs, forests and three-fourths of a mile of Lake Michigan Shoreline since the Wisconsin Legislature has put many roadblocks in the way of the planned Cedar Gorge Clay Bluffs Nature Preserve.
    If former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, a fiscal conservative, and the bipartisan members of the Wisconsin Legislature that created the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Fund were in power today, I believe things would be different.
    The Joint Finance Committee has stalled the grant request because of a secretive private interest who is considering buying the land that OWLT wants to purchase for the nature preserve.
    OWLT believes that everyone—local residents and visitors—should be able to enjoy hiking on the Lake Michigan bluffs.
    I am asking the JFC to do the right thing: Reconvene and commit the full grant amount approved by the DNR of $2.3 million for this amazing conservation endeavor.
 Barbara Gilmore
Grafton