The state Senate Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry advanced to the full Senate changes in Wisconsin's Managed Forest Law that author Tom Tiffany says were needed.
The Managed Forest Law is a landowner incentive program encouraging sustainable forestry on private woodland. In exchange for following sound forest management, the landowner pays reduced property taxes. Tiffany says most of the changes approved in committee were technical, but he says one provision could help local governments...
"....as of 10 years ago, some of the property taxes from MFL closed properties went to the state forestry account..it went to the DNR.. Local governments were not getting the (money). We proposed to return some of those dollars to local units of government..."
The bill would lift the 160-acre cap on closed land for non-industrial landowners, enabling property owners to close off as much land as they want while still enjoying the larger tax break on those acres. It also allows for leasing rights to land owners.
Reports indicate Democrats thought the bill gave too much to larger property owners and took money away from DNR coffers.
Tiffany says he heard from property owners that the program has too many rules and it slows the amount of wood that could be going to the marketplace.
