In February 2018, the Wisconsin DNR took acres of Wisconsin State Park lands out of Kohler Andrae State Park to give to the Kohler Company for their proposed golf course.  They stole this land from Wisconsin residents by simply saying the land “was no longer necessary for conservation purposes.”  This land consists of prime, environmentally sensitive  acreage in Kohler Andrae State park.  

Why did the DNR do this?  The answer is….because Kohler Company demanded the acreage for an entrance to their proposed golf course.  Under the pressures of the powerful Kohler Company demands,  DNR management pressured the staff to give the land to  Kohler Company.  

Friends of the Black River Forest has fought a legal battle against the proposed golf course for over a decade.  In January 2024,  the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided the Wisconsin DNR had erroneously issued a wetland fill permit to the Kohler Company.  

Friends of the Black River Forest immediately asked the Wisconsin DNR to reinstate the land back to the State park.  We asked they give this beautiful land back to Wisconsin residents. 

Friends of the Black River Forest went directly to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and requested him to reconsider the land swap decision and keep public parks PUBLIC. 

Friends of the Black River Forest (FBRF) and other environmental groups have been repeatedly urging Gov. Evers to send the Land Exchange Agreement giving Kohler Andrae State Park acres to the  Kohler Company to use for its own profit back to the Natural Resources Board to review and nullify. The agreement signed by Scott Walker, DNR and the Kohler Company was based on illegal actions by the Natural Resources Board and ignored DNR procedures. 

Friends of the Black River Forest believe letting this agreement stand with no time limit could invite sell offs of our state park lands by future administrations. 

FBRF and Sierra Club representatives presented their concerns to the Governor's staff while presenting a petition asking that he act on the Land Exchange Agreement. 

All of these requests have fallen on deaf ears.  

And now we ask:  Why hasn't this land been returned to Wisconsin residents?

We are asking Gov Evers and the Wisconsin DNR to give back the land stolen from Wisconsin residents.  We are asking for the acreage to be put back into Kohler Andrae State Park and protected from destruction.