The state Natural Resources Board approved a land swap Wednesday between the Department of Natural Resources and Kohler Co. that gives the manufacturer a piece of land in Kohler-Andrae State Park for a planned 18-hole luxury golf course.
The swap — and the company’s plans for the golf course — have been hotly contested since details of the course in Sheboygan County were announced in 2015.
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Opponents raised legal objections to the deal and complained the DNR should not be giving up state park land.
Supporters, meanwhile, have touted the broader economic benefits of a high-end Kohler development on the shore of Lake Michigan. DNR staff also said the land exchange is a better deal for the state, giving them more usable property.
In two separate votes, the board voted, 5-1, to remove 4.59 acres on the northern edge of the park from Kohler-Andrae’s official boundary and exchange that property with Kohler for other land.
The land that the DNR is giving up was independently appraised at $59,700.
Kohler also will get an easement to the main entrance road of the park and other land. The company would then extend a road to a planned maintenance building. The easement of 1.88 acres is valued at $9,400.
In return, Kohler is providing the DNR with about 9.5 acres on the western edge of the park that the company recently purchased. That land, which includes a house the DNR would use to house seasonal workers, has been appraised at $295,000. Kohler is also paying for kiosks at the entrance of the park that will make it easier for visitors with park passes to enter.
Opponents argued that what is being overlooked is that the land the state is losing has ecological value, including forested habitat, used by bird watchers and hikers and is attractive to wildlife.
Board member Gary Zimmer of Rhinelander, assistant executive director of the Wisconsin County Forests Association, appeared to be swayed by such concerns and questioned whether the land going to Kohler would not one day be needed.
Kohler-Andrae attracts about 450,000 visitors a year and is among the top six busiest in the state park system.
The land deal is part of larger issues: Kohler’s plans for a major new golf course that would be tucked between the lake and the Black River and still needs other approvals from the DNR. Also, the course is a pet project of Kohler Chairman Herbert V. Kohler Jr., a key financial supporter of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
The Friends of the Black River Forest are opposed to the course and the environmental and social impact of the 247-acre property — now forested, but which would lose about half of its canopy — would have on the surrounding area.
They have also raised concerns about the company’s influence with the DNR. But agency staff have said they are following protocols used in other cases involving land swaps and environmental reviews.
Kohler has said it will initially invest $25 million for the new course and has touted the economics of the project, including more than 220 new full-time jobs. The company also operates two other high-end golf operations in the area — Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits.
Supporters emphasized the prestige of Kohler golf courses, pointing out that Whistling Straits will be the host of the 2020 Ryder Cup.
In addition to a Kohler representative, among those attending the board meeting and voicing support for the project was an aide speaking for Rep. Tyler Vorpagel (R-Plymouth), the city manager of Sheboygan, a lobbyist for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the executive director of the Wisconsin State Golf Association.
“This is not just another golf course,” said Rob Jansen of the golf association, adding that Kohler intends to make its yet-unnamed course one of the top 50 golfing destinations in the world.
But in a letter to the board, Christa O. Westerberg, an attorney representing the Friends of the Black River, said the DNR lacked the authority to trade land with Kohler.
Westerberg said the board would first have to vote to change the master plan for the park — something it started to do in June 2017 but never finished. Another objection: Kohler-Andrae land was purchased with the help of federal dollars intended for recreation. She said federal authorities need to sign off on the deal.
On Wednesday, DNR staff and their legal counsel told board members they were within their authority to go ahead with the deal.
Kohler-Andrae was created, in part, with a land donation from the Kohler family.
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