Sale of public lands owned by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands to the state; county management of certain state lands; merit scholarships for certain University of Wisconsin System students; the obligation of moneys for land acquisition under the Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson Stewardship 2000 Program; and making an appropriation (at the request of the state treasurer). (FE)

Under current law, BCPL manages the common school fund, the normal school fund, the university fund, and the agricultural college fund (trust funds). The trust funds were established from the proceeds of the sale of most of the land granted to this state by the federal government at the time of statehood.

BCPL manages the remaining lands granted by the federal government to this state and also administers a state trust fund loan program under which it makes loans, from moneys belonging to the trust funds, to school districts, local governments, and certain other public entities for certain public purposes.

Under this bill, if BCPL determines that the sale of all lands under its jurisdiction will not breach its duty as trustee, BCPL may sell all properties under its jurisdiction to the state. If BCPL sells this property, the bill requires DNR to purchase it and to pay for the purchase in annual installments.

Under current law, the state may incur public debt for certain conservation activities under the stewardship program, which is administered by DNR. The state may bond for various conservation activities under the program, one of which is land acquisition. This bill requires DNR, beginning in fiscal year 2017-18 and ending in fiscal year 2026-27, to set aside $10,000,000 each fiscal year under the stewardship program, which may be obligated for the purpose of making the annual installment payments for the purchase of BCPL land. Under the bill, DNR is required to use those amounts to make installment payments of no more than $10,000,000 each fiscal year until the total amount paid equals the appraised value of the land, except no payments may be made after fiscal year 2026-27.

Beginning in fiscal year 2017-18 and ending in fiscal year 2019-20, this bill reduces from $9,000,000 to $2,000,000 the amount that may be obligated for DNR land acquisition and for grants to counties for land acquisition, and reduces from $7,000,000 to $4,000,000 the amount that may be obligated as grants to nonprofit conservation organizations for land acquisition.

County management of DNR land.

The bill authorizes a county board to manage, maintain, and improve any of the land DNR acquires from BCPL that is located in that county. Under the bill, if the county board adopts a resolution within six months after the effective date of this bill stating its intent to manage, maintain, and improve any such land, including a description of the land, and provides notice of the resolution to DNR, and if DNR provides notice to the county that it has acquired the land, then the county is required to, and DNR is required to allow the county to, manage, maintain, and improve the land (department land).

The bill allows a county to incorporate department land into its comprehensive county forest land use plan, if one exists, without DNR approval and allows the county to use county forest administration grants and sustainable forestry grants obtained under the county forest law for department land. The bill grants a county board many of the powers with respect to department land that a county board currently has with respect to county forests, such as regulating the use of the land by the public, establishing forest plantations, and engaging in silviculture, forest management, and timber sales. Similar to a current requirement under the county forest law, the bill requires any timber sale from department land with an estimated value of $3,000 or more, except for timber that has been damaged by fire, snow, hail, ice, insects, disease, or wind, to be by sealed bid or public sale after fulfilling a publication requirement and allows any timber sale with an estimated value below $3,000 to be made without prior advertising.

The bill authorizes a county board to adopt a resolution stating that the county no longer intends to manage, maintain, and improve department land and requires the county board to notify DNR of this resolution as soon as practicable after its adoption, at which point the county's responsibility to manage, maintain, and improve the land ends.

Wisconsin Merit scholarships.

The bill requires the Board of Regents to award merit-based annual $5,000 scholarships to students enrolled in two-year or four-year UW schools who have graduated from an in-state high school or been granted a high school diploma by the administrator of an in-state home-based private educational program. The scholarships are called “Wisconsin Merit scholarships.” The bill requires the Board of Regents to determine student merit based on performance on standardized college entrance examinations and, if applicable, cumulative high school grade point averages. Under current law, income and interest from the normal school fund is appropriated to the Board of Regents to do the following annually: 1) make need-based grants totaling $100,000 to students at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies who are members of underrepresented groups; 2) provide scholarships totaling $100,000 to students enrolled in the sustainable management degree program through the UW-Extension; and 3) award the balance to the UW-Stevens Point for environmental programs. Under the bill, the Board of Regents must provide $200,000 annually to the UW-Stevens Point for environmental programs and award the balance in the scholarships required under the bill.