On Thursday, March 5, the Senate Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry met in Executive Session to discuss related items, including SB 867, a bill in which WAFO has long been a proponent and which would further revise the Managed Forest Law (MFL).

After a paper ballot, we’re happy to let you know that SB 867 has PASSED (Yes: 3 – Senators Tiffany, LeMahieu and Stroebel; Noes: 2 – Senators Wirch and Smith) out of this Committee and is on it’s way to the full Senate for vote soon.

Important provisions that SB 867 addresses include:

  • Allowing for a structure to be placed on land enrolled in the MFL that is necessary for storage of equipment necessary for forestry purposes.
  • Expand the eligibility for lands that may be added to existing agreements.
  • Read more about SB 867

We need your support to get this bill passed this session

Please send your Senators an email or make a phone call to let them know you support this bill. If you don’t know who they are, you can find them by clicking here: who are my legislators or by searching online for “Wisconsin Legislature, Who are my legislators.” Simply send an email or make a phone call to say you support SB 867.

Other efforts that WAFO is working on include changing the laws to provide more transparency on how our rural lands are classified, and then differentially taxed. We’ve helped many of our members save thousands of dollars by knowing how Wisconsin’s property tax system works. If you’d like to learn more about how your land is taxed and what options you have to reduce taxes, email us and we’ll send you our “Landowners Guide to Understanding Your Property Tax Bill.” 

You also may be interested in reading a commentary from one of our members, Geary Searfuss, in which he describes how our state has treated woodland owners and why there is a need for our legislators to recognize the value and importance of woodland owners to the state of Wisconsin.

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