NR 46.15 (32m) “Utilities” means any of the following:
(a) Indoor plumbing including water and sewer, piped to either a municipal or septic system.
(b) Electrical service by connection to the lines of a power company.
(c) Landline telephone service.
SECTION 13. NR 46.15 (33) is amended to read:
NR 46.15 (33) “Wood products” or “forest products” means those items listed on the current schedule of stumpage values for severance or yield tax in s. NR 46.30. SECTION 14. NR 46.16 (1) (intro.) and (a) are amended to read:
NR 46.16 (1) Application deadlines. An application for a new designation or a renewal of land as managed forest land shall be signed by all owners on forms provided by the department and filed as follows:
NR 46.16 (1) (a) Applications shall be postmarked or received by the department no later than June 1 to be considered for designation effective the following January 1.
SECTION 15. NR 46.16 (1) (cm) is repealed.
SECTION 16. NR 46.16 (1) (d) and (1) (e) and (2) (h) and (2) (Note) and (5) and (7) are amended to read:
NR 46.16 (1) (d) Lands subject to an ownership change after the application deadline, but before the order of designation has been issued, may not be designated as managed forest land for the year for which the original application was submitted. Ownership changes taking place after the issuance of an order of designation shall be processed as a normal transfer after January 1. The new owner shall may submit a new and complete application by the next applicable deadline. The department may designate land included on the application that remains under the original ownership effective January 1 of the year for which the original application was submitted providing the remaining land qualifies for entry. Ownership changes taking place after the issuance of an order of designation, but before January 1, shall be processed as a normal transfer after January 1, or the order shall be rescinded.
NR 46.16 (1) (e) Each application submitted to the department for a new designation or a conversion of forest cropland to managed forest land shall include a nonrefundable application fee of $30.00 per county in which the land that is the subject of the application is located. This fee shall be submitted to the department within 14 days of the submission of the application along with a printed remittance form provided by the department.
NR 46.16 (2) (h) Reconnaissance data and scheduled practices on electronic forms provided by the department.
NR 46.16 (2) Note: Forms can be obtained by contacting the Division of Forestry, Bureau of Forest Management, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707 electronically through the Wisconsin Forest Inventory and Reporting System (WisFIRS).
NR 46.16 (5) Same ownership. All eligible land under the same ownership and located in the same municipality when applied for designation or renewal in the same year, shall be designated under the same order of designation. All eligible land under the same ownership that crosses any municipal boundary where land designated for entry in any one municipality is less than 10 acres in the minimum parcel size or less than 80% productive, when applied for designation in the same year, shall be designated under the same order of designation. This subsection does not apply to land added to an existing managed forest land entry under sub. (7).
NR 46.16 (7) Additions. An owner may apply to the department to designate 10 or more acres of land as managed forest land which is add land to a managed forest land order. To be eligible, the addition shall be a parcel that is at least 3 acres in size and that is contiguous to land that was is designated as managed forest land on or after April 28, 2004 as an addition to the previously designated and contiguous managed forest land the date the application for addition is submitted. If the application for an addition is for land which is contiguous to land that was designated as managed forest land on or after April 28, 2004 in an adjacent municipality, the land must be designated under a separate order if it meets the eligibility requirements under s. NR 46.17 and s. 77.82 (1) (a), Stats. Land contained in an application for addition shall meet all current eligibility requirements under s. NR 46.17 and s. 77.82 (1) (a), Stats., except for minimum acreage and productivity requirements, which shall be met at the time land is designated as managed forest land. Land contained in an application for addition shall have the same ownership as the existing entry. SECTION 17. NR 46.16 (7m) and (10) are created to read:
NR 46.16 (7m) Renewals. (a) All land designated as managed forest land may be eligible for renewal. The department shall approve applications for an additional 25- or 50-year period at the end of an existing order period if all of the following are met:
1.The land meets all eligibility requirements outlined in s. NR 46.17 and s. 77.82 (1), Stats., 2. Items listed in s. 77.82 (3) (c), Stats., have been updated within the 5 years prior to the date of the application for renewal and practices in s. NR 46.18 (2) and (3) have been scheduled during the renewal order period; or a new management plan is submitted with the renewal application that meets all management plan requirements for new entries. 3. The owner is in compliance with all aspects of the management plan that is in effect on the date that the application for renewal is filed.
(b) 1. If there is a parcel within the order that is less than 20 acres but greater than or equal to 10 acres, the land may be renewed once.
2. If the current entry contains a parcel of managed forest land that is less than 20 acres and that parcel will remain less than 20 acres in the renewal period, then the parcel on the renewal application shall be identical to the current enrollment without any changes to acreage other than those provided for in s. NR 46.27 (1). If such a parcel includes an ineligible building or improvement, a withdrawal under s. 77.88 (3j), Stats., may be used to rectify the situation and allow the existing and renewed lands to be identical on the renewal application, subject to constraints provided for in s. 77.88 (3j) (b), Stats. To be considered identical, the withdrawal form shall be submitted before the department can approve the renewal application. NR 46.16 (10) Application submission and data collection. All applications submitted to the department shall be completed and submitted electronically through the Wisconsin Forest Inventory and Reporting System (WisFIRS) by a certified plan writer, unless a certified plan writer is unavailable, as provided for in s. 77.82 (3) (am), Stats. SECTION 18. NR 46.165 (3) (c) is amended to read:
NR 46.165 (3) (c) Completes the a basic training session sponsored by the department.
SECTION 19. NR 46.17 (1) (b) is amended to read:
NR 46.17 (1) (b) No more than 20% of a managed forest land parcel may consist of land unsuitable for producing merchantable timber as provided in s. 77.82 (1) (b) 1., Stats., or non-stocked non-productive land as defined in s. NR 46.15 (21m) or a combination of those types of land. SECTION 20. NR 46.17 (1) (c) is created to read:
NR 46.17 (1) (c) 1. If the portion of land considered capable of producing merchantable timber in par. (a) does not meet density requirements established in subd. 2., it may be designated as managed forest land if the department determines, that within a reasonable timeframe, stocking levels can be increased to be consistent with density requirements and mandatory practices needed to achieve density requirements are established in the management plan.
2. Density requirements established in the table below do not address other stand-level regeneration guidelines, such as adequate levels of pre-harvest and post-harvest advanced regeneration or percent stocking to ensure continued stand productivity. On a site-by-site basis, site conditions, species, and other regeneration guidelines specific to Wisconsin cover types may be evaluated to determine an alternative density requirement.
Stand Size Classes | Tree Diameter Ranges at 4.5 Feet From Ground Level | Minimum Medium Density |
Seedlings | 0”−1” | 800 trees per acre for natural stands. 400 trees per acre for planted stands. |
Saplings | 1”−5” | 400 trees per acre for natural stands. 300 trees per acre for planted stands. |
Pole timber For conifer species For other species | 5”−9” 5”−11” | 7 cords per acre |
Sawtimber For conifer species For other species | 9”+ 11” | 3,000 board feet per acre. |
SECTION 21. NR 46.17 (3) is repealed and recreated to read:
NR 46.17 (3) Buildings on managed forest land. (a) Buildings or improvements associated with buildings.
1. For lands designated or renewed as managed forest land in 2017 and later, a building or an improvement associated with a building that is placed or constructed on land renders the land not eligible for designation.
2. For lands designated as managed forest land prior to 2017, a building is allowed if it is not considered developed for human residence as defined in s. NR 46.15 (9). (b) Hunting blinds. Tree stands and hunting blinds are permitted on lands enrolled in the managed forest law program if they meet all of the following criteria:
1. Are not connected to utilities;
2. Are not used as a human residence;
3. Do not interfere with forestry practices; and
4. Are either:
i. Tree stands and hunting blinds owned by, or constructed with permission of, the landowner; or
ii. Portable tree stands and hunting blinds placed on land designated as open to public access by a member of the public, and completely removed each day at the close of shooting hours.
(c) Structures and fixtures needed for sound forestry. Structures and fixtures placed on land enrolled in managed forest law for this purpose shall be removed following the completion of the practice. Structures and fixtures needed for sound forestry may not include those that meet the definition of a building.
SECTION 22. NR 46.17 (3) Note 1 is repealed.
SECTION 23. NR 46.17 (4) and (5) are created to read:
NR 46.17 (4) Withdrawn land. Land withdrawn under s. 77.88 (1), (3k), or (3L), Stats., for failure to meet productivity requirements provided for in s. NR 46.17(1)(c)2., may not be eligible for reentry in the program unless the department determines that there has been an environmental, ecological, or economic change that would allow the land to meet density requirements as provided for in s. NR 46.17 (1) (c) 2., and productivity requirements as provided for in s. 77.82 (1), Stats. NR 46.17 (5) Leases or agreements. An owner of managed forest land may enter into a lease or agreement on such lands so long as the terms of the lease or agreement do not conflict or interfere with any aspect of this chapter or subch. VI of ch 77, Stats.
SECTION 24. NR 46.18 (2) (intro.) is amended to read:
NR 46.18 (2) Mandatory practices. The management plan shall be prepared on forms provided by the department through the Wisconsin Forest Inventory and Reporting System (WisFIRS), signed by all owners and shall include a list of stands subject to mandatory practices, a schedule of completion dates and a description of the mandatory practices to be undertaken during the term of the order. Practices included in the management plan and any additional practices needed to complete a scheduled practice or establish regeneration after a scheduled practice may not be eligible for an analysis under s. NR 46.215 until such practices have been sufficiently attempted, as determined by the department, even if the additional practices are not overtly identified in the management plan. Practices projected beyond the term of the order may be added, if requested by the landowner. The following practices, if determined applicable by the department, shall be addressed in the management plan: SECTION 25. NR 46.18 (2) (d) (intro.) is renumbered 46.16 (2) (d) and amended to read:
NR 46.18 (2) (d) Reforestation or afforestation of land to meet one of the following size and minimum medium density classifications: requirements established in s. NR 46.17 (1). SECTION 26. NR 46.18 (2) (d) (Table) is repealed.
