AB 1093

This bill provides that the owner of open managed forest land (MFL) with roads

or trails that are maintained for vehicular travel must permit public access to the

roads and trails for the operation of certain vehicles. The bill also requires the

Department of Transportation to administer an MFL road repair program, under

which DOT awards grants to individual owners of MFL where roads or trails have

been damaged by vehicles.

Access to road and trails

Under the MFL program administered by the Department of Natural

Resources, the owner of a parcel of land designated as MFL makes an annual acreage

share payment that is lower than, and in lieu of, the property taxes that normally

would be payable on the land. In exchange, the owner must comply with certain

forestry practices. The owner must also open the MFL to the public for hunting,

fishing, hiking, sight-seeing, and cross-country skiing, but may designate up to a

certain number of acres as being closed to the public. For MFL that is designated as

closed, the owner must pay an additional closed acreage fee.

Under the bill, the owner of open MFL with roads or trails that are maintained

for vehicular travel at a width of at least nine feet must permit public access to the

roads and trails for the operation of any noncommercial motor vehicle with a gross

weight of 8,000 pounds or less and any all-terrain vehicle, utility terrain vehicle, or

snowmobile registered for public use or operated by a nonresident as authorized by

a trail pass or trail use sticker. The landowner may close the roads or trails to all

vehicles from April 1 to the first Saturday of the following May each year.

Under current law, an owner seeking to have land designated as MFL submits

an application to DNR that contains a management plan for the land. If the MFL

meets the eligibility requirements under the program, DNR approves the application

and issues an order designating the land as MFL. An owner may choose to have the

order last 25 or 50 years. An owner may modify the designation of a closed or open

area two times during the term of the order.

The bill provides that an owner may modify the designation of a closed or open

area for a period of one year following the effective date of the bill. This is in addition

to two changes authorized under current law.

Road repair program

The bill requires DOT to administer a managed forest land road repair

program, which is funded from the forestry account of the conservation fund. Under

the program, DOT must award grants to any individual owner of MFL where roads

or trails have been damaged by vehicles operating as authorized by the bill. DOT

must promulgate rules necessary to administer the program, including rules that

establish all of the following for grants awarded under the program: 1) grants must

be awarded in the order in which applications for grants are received by DOT; 2)

grants may used for maintenance, but not improvement, of roads and trails; and 3)