AB 978

This bill prohibits a person from traveling by foot on a groomed hiking trail on state-owned land unless the Department of Natural Resources has issued the person a hiking permit. The bill requires such a person to carry proof of the hiking permit at all times while traveling by foot on a groomed hiking trail on state-owned land and to exhibit this proof to DNR or its wardens or other law enforcement officers on demand. The bill specifies that a hiking permit does not authorize a person to hike in an area on state-owned land where hiking is prohibited.

The bill excludes from this prohibition vehicle admission areas, where, under current law, a vehicle admission receipt is generally required in order for a vehicle to enter. Vehicle admission areas include all state parks, the Richard Bong state recreation area, the Wisconsin Dells natural area, the Point Beach state forest, certain recreational areas in other state forests, certain designated use zones within recreation areas, and most roadside parks. Under the bill, a hiking permit is not required to travel by foot on a groomed hiking trail on state-owned land if doing so is incidental to an activity that the person is authorized to do under a DNR approval or registration, the person is authorized to do so on a state trail under a state trail pass, or the person is authorized to do so as part of an organized and authorized event.

Under the bill, DNR must issue a hiking permit to a person who applies for the permit and who pays the required fees, and the permit is valid for the calendar year in which it is issued. The bill authorizes DNR to directly issue the permits, appoint persons who are not DNR employees as its agents to issue the permits, or contract with persons who are not DNR employees to operate a statewide automated system for issuing permits. The bill sets the fee for the permit at $20 for an adult, $10 for a child 12 years of age or older, and $0 for a child under the age of 12, with a 75 cent issuing fee for each permit issued to a person age 12 or older. The bill allows a DNR agent to retain 50 cents of such an issuing fee. The bill also requires DNR to establish a system under which DNR pays each agent 50 cents for each time that the agent processes a transaction through the statewide automated system.