On Tuesday, May 28, WAFO representatives met with Rep. Jeff Mursau to discuss details of the MFL Clean-Up Bill. If all points are passed, landowners would see many positive changes in the way their land is taxed and managed.

We welcome any comments you have on these points- we work better together! Email info@wiafo.org.

Point 1. Allow structures that are necessary to store equipment used to carry out forestry activities to be located on land enrolled in the MFL.
Current law does not allow for structures and fixtures that are needed for sound forestry practices. We recommend expanding the language to include: Structures used to store equipment necessary for conducting sound forestry practices.

Point 2. Remove the requirement for municipalities that they tax structures located on land enrolled in the MFL as personal property. We recommend deleting the reference requiring structures be taxed as personal property and delete s.77.88(3m) Withdrawal For Failure to Pay Personal Property Taxes, the section which describes the process for the DNR to issue orders and assess penalties.

Point 3. Expand the eligibility requirement to meet the 20 acre minimum requirement by allowing landowners to enroll separate, discrete parcels that are all located on contiguously owned land as long as they total more than 20 acres. Current law requires each discreet woodland area be enrolled as a separate parcel, many of which may no longer qualify because they are less than 20 acres. However, many landowners have woodlands separated by wetlands or agricultural land that are not contiguous with each other but are managed as a whole. We recommend adding language that says “The fact that parcels are separated by different land uses does not render a parcel of land noncontiguous if they are located on a contiguous property under the same ownership.”

Example: The 8 acre parcel on the right would not be eligible as MFL with the eligible 20 acres at left, even though they are on the same 40 acre lot.

Point 4. Allow withdrawals of fractional acres. The requirement that prohibits withdrawal of partial acres for construction or sale is not consistent with transfer rules that allow fractional acres to be withdrawn. We recommend eliminating the requirement that prohibits partial acres to be withdrawn.

Point 5. Limit landowner liability for errors discovered after an order has been issued and land was enrolled in the MFL. Current law does not address situations where errors are discovered after land has been enrolled in the MFL. A common situation occurs when new surveys show that boundaries and acreage of lands of the enrolled parcel no longer meet basic eligibility requirements. If the DNR believes it cannot address these situations administratively, we recommend adding a section to s.77.88 to include:

1) Allow the order to be rescinded by the DNR, with no penalties, if newly discovered information, such as a new survey, shows that the land to no longer meets the minimum criteria that was necessary at the time of enrollment or,
2) Allow the land to remain in the program until the end of the order without potential for re-enrollment.

Point 6. Expand allowance of additional lands. Current law states that an owner of land that is designated as MFL may apply to designate as MFL an additional parcel of land if it is at least 3 acres in size and is contiguous to any of that designated land. However, many landowners keep an acre or two out of the enrollment to allow for a future building site. With the current law now allowing landowners to remove land for sale or construction, landowners would like to include that land with their enrollment. To meet the 3 acre minimum, landowners could include additional areas but are limited by the requirement that the parcel be 3 acres in size AND CONTIGUOUS to the designated land. We recommend changing the language to: ADDITIONS TO MANAGED FOREST LAND. An owner of land that is designated as managed forest land may file an application with the department to designate as managed forest land additional parcels of land if the additions total at least 3 acres in size and are contiguous to any of that designated land. 

Point 7. Require that landowners be provided information with their tax bills on how their land is classified. Current Law: 77.09(3)(b) Property tax bills shall show all of the following for real property: the estimated fair market value of the land, except agricultural land, as defined in s. 70.32 (2) (c) 1g., and the assessed value of the land and the estimated fair market value and assessed value of the improvements.

Tax rates differ significantly based upon how their lands are classified and landowners have no way of knowing how their lands are classified unless they call their assessor. Without having this information, landowners cannot know whether or not their assessor has properly “classified” and taxed their lands. We recommend revising language to: Property tax bills shall show all of the following: 1. For real property, the estimated fair market value of the land, except agricultural land, as defined in s. 70.32 (2) (c) 1g., the classifications of the land, and the assessed value of the land and the estimated fair market value and assessed value of the improvements.