What’s new in the new year? Maybe a new opportunity to manage your forest. Management practices in the Managed Forest Law program (MFL) may be “mandatory” or “non-mandatory.” Mandatory practices are the forest management practices required to meet the goals of the MFL program and practice sound forestry. It is important to everyone that these practices get completed, and that tax law gets landowners’ attention early when there’s a mandatory practice to complete.

Each year in the second or third week of January, thousands of MFL landowners receive reminder letters for mandatory practices scheduled in their MFL forest management plan for completion within the next two years. Under MFL, mandatory practices are “due” at the end of the calendar year in which they are scheduled. Here, “due” means you must have started your practice and be in touch with your Tax Law Forestry Specialist regarding your plan to complete it. Recognizing that completing the mandatory practice can be a long process, reminder letters are sent out two years before the practice is due. If the landowner has not taken AND communicated any action toward practice completion, a second reminder letter is sent one year before the practice is due. Continue reading “MFL Mandatory Practice Reminder” →

Were you one of the lucky few that got a visit from the audit team last summer? If so, thank you! By agreeing to showcase your forest management, you make the continued third-party certification of the MFL Group possible. The auditors, who visit forest management operations all over the country and globally, make the annual trip to visit Managed Forest Law (MFL) landowners here in Wisconsin and are consistently impressed by your stewardship, commitment and knowledge of your MFL property. Continue reading “External Forest Certification Audit Results” →

The legal requirements of the Managed Forest Law program have changed, allowing additional flexibilities to landowners and clarifying the administration of the program by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Governor Evers signed 2021 Wisconsin Act 230 into law on April 8, 2022, putting the following changes to chapter 77, Wis. Stats. into effect:

• The 20-acre minimum enrollment requirement may now be comprised of two 10-acre portions that are not contiguous to each other if they are on a tract of land under the same ownership*
• Buildings and improvements on Managed Forest Law property are allowed if used exclusively for storage*
• Additions to existing parcels of any size are allowed if certain eligibility requirements are met*
• Leasing on Managed Forest Law land is clearly allowed
• Voluntary withdrawal from the Managed Forest Law program is exempt from tax or fee for a public purpose to a city, village or town that is the taxing jurisdiction

*Changes effective as of April 16, 2016

The act also clarifies:

• The instances when the DNR is or is not required to assess a withdrawal tax and fee
• The DNR’s authority to provide flexibility for large ownerships (1,000 acres or more) of Managed Forest Law land, allowing for alternative management plan requirements
• What constitutes a material change to the terms of the order

Read the updated statute, chapter 77, Wis. Stats., on the Wisconsin Legislature’s website. 

 Thank you for your interest in the Managed Forest Law program.

The DNR Division of Forestry prioritizes soliciting stakeholder input on division documents. As a division, we are committed to informing and involving our stakeholders in the development and review of materials that guide our programs. Inviting stakeholders to provide input is not only good customer service, it also creates opportunities to identify potential concerns and unforeseen impacts, understand diverse perspectives and determine the level of stakeholder support for division documents. To review and provide feedback on a document, go to the DNR Forestry Public Comment webpage here. 

DOCUMENT AVAILABLE NOW FOR STAKEHOLDER INPUT:
Document Title: Forest Tax Law Handbook HB2450.5
Contact Person: Skya Rose Murphy, skyar.murphy@wisconsin.gov or 608-843-1551
Due Date: June 4, 2021
For a detailed description of document updates, visit the webpage here.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Division of Forestry’s Tax Law Section has released their strategic plan developed to further meet the Division of Forestry’s Strategic Direction 2017-2022 intent to “… continue to improve administration of the Tax Law programs, focusing on a new service model which will consolidate tax law work into fewer positions and develop expertise in staff.”

The new strategic plan focuses on five goals with associated objectives designed to guide section efforts to increase completion of sound forest management through landowner engagement, cooperator commitment and staff expertise.

• Strategic plan narrative
• Strategic plan graphic

This plan does not include the specific tactics that will be utilized to achieve the objectives and strategies. The Tax Law Section will be soliciting feedback from the Wisconsin Private Forestry Advisory Committee (WPFAC) and other key stakeholders to develop and finalize an implementation plan to be released later this fall. That plan will detail tactics and tools to achieve specific objectives affiliated with the five goals.

We are excited and ready to work collaboratively with our customers and partners to move the tax law program forward and better serve the people of Wisconsin and their resource.  Please direct questions to R.J. Wickham, Tax Law Section Chief at Richard.Wickham@Wisconsin.gov or 920-369-6248