Taxes on managed forest lands, eligibility for the managed forest land program, management plans for managed forest land, sale or transfer of managed forest land, productivity of managed forest land, closed managed forest land, forest production areas, natural heritage inventory, wildlife action plans, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, and granting rule-making authority. (FE)

A similar program exists for land designated as forest croplands (FCL). Since July 1985, no new land may be subject to the FCL program. However, there is forest land that is currently in this program since the designations last for 25 or 50 years.

Taxes and fees Under current law, an owner pays a severance tax for wood products removed from FCL and a yield tax for merchantable timber cut from MFL. This bill eliminates both taxes.

Under current law, subject to limitations, land may be withdrawn from the MFL program with payment of a withdrawal tax. The withdrawal tax is the higher of two amounts: the amount of past tax liability, less the taxes paid, or 5 percent of the fair market value of the merchantable timber on the land, less the taxes paid.

Variations on this method of calculating the withdrawal taxes are used depending on when the land was designated as MFL, how long the land has been designated as MFL, and whether the MFL is subject to an original order or an order that has been renewed. Under this bill, those methods are replaced with a single method of calculating this tax: the total net property tax rate imposed by the municipality in which the land is located is multiplied by the assessed value of the land being withdrawn, with the result then multiplied by ten years, or the number of years the MFL was subject to the order, whichever is fewer.

Under current law, the amount that is collected as closed acreage fees is collected by the applicable taxation district and paid to the applicable county, which pays these amounts to DNR for deposit into the conservation fund. This bill requires the taxation district to retain 80 percent of the closed acreage fees and to pay 20 percent of the closed acreage fees to the county. None of the amount collected is paid to DNR.

Eligible land Under current law, a parcel of land is eligible for designation as MFL only if it consists of at least ten contiguous acres. Under this bill, the minimum acreage requirement is increased to 20 acres, but the owner of an MFL parcel of less than 20 acres may apply for a one-time renewal of the order designating the parcel as MFL without meeting the 20-acre requirement.

Under current law, a parcel that is developed for a human residence is not eligible for designation as MFL. Under the bill, a parcel is not eligible if there is any building or improvement associated with a building located on the parcel. The bill defines "building" to include any structure used as shelter, as a place of employment, or as storage and "improvement" to include any accessory building, structure, or fixture that is placed on a parcel for the parcel's benefit. The bill specifically excludes roads, certain rights-of-way, fences, hunting blinds, and other structures from being considered improvements. This bill requires DNR to promulgate rules relating to hunting blinds and authorizes emergency rule making.

Under current law, the owner of land that is designated as managed forest land under an order that takes effect on or after April 28, 2004, may file an application with DNR to designate as managed forest land an additional parcel of land if the additional parcel is at least three acres in size and is contiguous to any of that designated land. This bill allows any owner of MFL to apply to designate an additional parcel of land as MFL regardless of the date of the order designating the land as MFL. The tax rate applicable to an added parcel is the tax rate currently applicable to the parcel to which the land is being added.

Management plans Under current law, an amendment to or repeal of the MFL subchapter of the statutes does not affect the terms of an order or management plan, except as expressly agreed to in writing by the land owner and DNR. Under this bill, subject to certain exceptions, DNR may not amend or otherwise change the terms of an order or management plan to conform with changes made to the statutes subsequent to the date on which the order was entered or the plan was approved. If a statute is enacted or a rule is promulgated during the period of the order that materially changes the terms of the order, the state shall require the landowner to elect between acceptance of modifications to the contract or voluntary withdrawal of the land without penalty.

Under current law, an MFL order may be renewed at the end of its term. DNR may deny an application for renewal only if the land does not comply with the eligibility requirements, the owner has failed to comply with the management plan for the MFL, or delinquent taxes are owed on the land. Under this bill, DNR may deny the application if the land that is subject to the renewal application is not identical to the MFL under the existing order or if certain requirements for establishing, updating, and reviewing mandatory forestry soil and conservation practices in a management plan are not met.

Sales and transfers of land Under current law, an owner may sell or transfer an entire parcel of MFL. An owner may also sell or transfer part of a parcel of MFL, if the land being sold or transferred is all of the owner's land located in a quarter-quarter section or in a government lot or fractional lot, provided that the land remaining meets the eligibility requirements for designation as MFL. Under the bill, an owner may voluntarily withdraw part of an MFL parcel for the purpose of selling it or using it as a construction site. The land withdrawn may not be less than one acre and may not be more than five acres. The bill limits the number of times that MFL may be withdrawn for this purpose and requires the owner to pay the withdrawal taxes and the withdrawal fee.

Productivity of land This bill creates a provision that allows an owner of MFL that has been damaged by a natural disaster to restore the productivity of the land so that it meets the requirements under the MFL program for producing merchantable timber. If the owner fails to complete the restoration within a time period specified by DNR, either DNR may order withdrawal of the land or the owner of the land may request withdrawal of the land. The owner is exempt from payment of withdrawal taxes if the owner makes the request and DNR determines that the MFL is unable to meet the production requirements for merchantable timber and if the owner withdraws only the number of acres necessary for the parcel to again meet the production requirements. This bill defines "natural disaster" as fire, ice, snow, wind, flooding, insects, drought, or disease.

This bill also allows an owner who is unable to meet the requirements for producing merchantable timber for environmental, ecological, or economic reasons to request withdrawal of that part of a parcel that is unsuitable for the production of merchantable timber. The owner is exempt from payment of withdrawal taxes or fees.

Under current law, a person may not cut any merchantable wood products on FCL or any merchantable timber on MFL unless the owner has filed a notice with DNR. DNR may prescribe the amount of forest products or timber to be removed unless the notice of intention to cut was provided to DNR by a cooperating forester authorized to assist in the harvesting and sale of timber or by an accredited forester.

Under this bill, DNR may not prescribe the amount of forest products or timber to be removed if the notice of intention to cut was provided to DNR by additional persons meeting specified education and work experience requirements.

Closed lands Under current law, an owner may designate MFL as closed to public access. The closed area may consist of a quarter-quarter section, a government lot, a fractional lot, or a combination thereof or up to 160 acres in each municipality. Under this bill, an owner may designate any MFL as closed to public access, and the limit on acreage that can be designated as closed applies only to land owned by a business entity.

This bill also allows an owner of land designated as closed to permit a person who performs land management activities on the land to access the land to conduct recreational activities.

Other provisions Under current law, a "forest production area" is an area in a state forest that DNR has classified as an area in which the primary management objective relates to the production of timber and other forest products. This bill requires DNR to propose a variance to the master plans of all state forests except for the southern state forests and Governor Knowles State Forest so that 75 percent of all the land in those state forests combined is classified as a forest production area.

Under current law, DNR conducts a natural heritage inventory program to determine the existence and degree of endangerment of natural areas. Under this bill, activities under the program related to private property may be conducted only with the permission of the property owner.

This bill authorizes DNR to prepare a state wildlife action plan that identifies which native wildlife species with low or declining populations are most at risk and that provides guidance for activities to conserve those species. The plan may not require action by property owners or the department and may not be referenced as guidance on DNR forms.