Chapter 28

28.11(11)(a)4.e. e. One member to be selected by unanimous vote of the appointed members or, if the appointed members fail to achieve unanimity, by the governor.

28.11(11)(a)5. 5. The review committee appointed under subd. 4. shall, by majority vote within 60 days after receiving the findings of the department, do one of the following:

28.11(11)(a)5.a. a. Approve the application for withdrawal if it finds the proposed use to be of a greater benefit considering all losses and benefits to the people of the state as a whole, as well as to the people of the county.

28.11(11)(a)5.b. b. Provisionally deny the application for withdrawal giving specific reasons why it finds the proposal deficient and making any suggestions for revising the application to reduce the conflict of the proposed use with the public interest.

28.11(11)(a)6. 6. If the committee approves a withdrawal under subd. 5., it shall notify the county board of its approval stating, as necessary, specific procedures to be followed by the county relating to the withdrawal. The county board may then by a resolution approved by not less than two-thirds of its membership, withdraw the lands from the county forest law and shall send copies of this resolution to the department and to the county register of deeds who shall record the resolution.

28.11(11)(a)7. 7. If the committee provisionally denies the proposed withdrawal under subd. 5., it may consider an amended application for withdrawal upon presentation of the application and supporting information, or it may require additional investigation of the amended application by the department before reconsidering the application. Any additional investigation shall include additional public hearings if requested by the county, the department, or the committee.

28.11(11)(b) (b) If the application is approved the county shall reimburse the state the amounts previously paid to the county pursuant to sub. (8) (b) which reimbursement shall be credited to the county forestry fund account; except that the department may waive all or part of such reimbursement if it finds that the lands are withdrawn for a higher public use or that the amount of such reimbursement is unreasonable when compared to the value of the land. If the department has waived any portion of such reimbursement and if at any subsequent time the land ceases to be used for the purpose designated in the application for withdrawal, the full amount of reimbursement due the forestry fund account on the lands withdrawn shall immediately become due and payable to the department and shall be credited to the forestry fund account, unless the department finds and determines that the lands will continue to be put to another higher public use in which case payments of such reimbursement may be deferred by the department so long as the lands are devoted to a higher public use. If payment is not made prior to the time of the next forestry aid payment to the county, forestry aid payments in an amount to be determined by the department shall be withheld until the amount due the forestry fund account is reimbursed.

28.11(12) (12) Enforcement. If at any time it appears to the department that the lands are not being managed in accordance with this section it shall so advise the county forestry committee and the county clerk. If the condition persists the department may proceed against the persons responsible for such noncompliance under s. 30.03 (4).

28.11(13) (13) Review. All orders of the department made under this section may be reviewed under ss. 227.52 to 227.58.

28.11 History History: 1971 c. 215; 1975 c. 39 s. 734; 1975 c. 342; 1977 c. 29; 1979 c. 34 ss. 723 to 725, 2102 (39) (a); 1983 a. 27; 1983 a. 192 s. 304; 1983 a. 424 ss. 2 to 5; 1985 a. 29 ss. 655ce to 655cg, 3202 (39); 1985 a. 182 s. 57; 1987 a. 27; 1989 a. 31, 79; 1993 a. 16, 184, 301; 1995 a. 27, 201; 1997 a. 237, 248; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 16, 103; 2003 a. 242; 2005 a. 48; 2007 a. 20; 2021 a. 58, 128.

28.11 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. NR 48 and ss. NR 1.24, 47.60 to 47.75, and 302.03, Wis. adm. code.

28.11 Annotation A county forest withdrawal appeal review committee under sub. (11) (a) is not a state agency whose decisions are reviewable under ch. 227. Allen v. Juneau County, 98 Wis. 2d 103, 295 N.W.2d 218 (Ct. App. 1980).

28.11 Annotation County boards cannot sell or exchange county forest lands without first withdrawing them from the county forest program under sub. (11). 66 Atty. Gen. 109.

28.11 Annotation Conservation easements and restrictive covenants are permissible in county forests as long as they are consistent with and do not interfere with the purposes of county forests and the management plans properly developed for them under the county forest law. OAG 08-10.

28.15 28.15 National forests.

28.15(1) (1) In this section:

28.15(1)(a) (a) “Cooperative agreement” means an agreement between the secretary or the governor and the secretary of the federal department of agriculture under which the department is responsible for conducting forest management activities on federal land in this state.

28.15(1)(b) (b) “Federal land” has the meaning given in 16 USC 2113a (a) (2).

28.15(1)(c) (c) “Forest management activities” means harvesting and selling timber, activities that promote artificial and natural forest regeneration, and other activities to restore or improve the health of forests and forest watersheds, including fish and wildlife habitat in those forests and watersheds.

28.15(2) (2) As permitted by federal law, the department may conduct forest management activities on federal land under a cooperative agreement.

28.15(3) (3) As permitted by federal law, the department may contract with a county, private forester, or private contractor for the purpose of conducting forest management activities on federal land under a cooperative agreement.

28.15(4) (4) The department shall pay the initial costs of administering and implementing a cooperative agreement and any contracts entered into under sub. (3) from the appropriation under s. 20.370 (2) (mv).

28.15(5) (5) On June 30 of each fiscal year, 10 percent of the revenues received by the department in that fiscal year from the sale of timber from federal land under a cooperative agreement under this section shall lapse from the appropriation account under s. 20.370 (2) (cz) to the conservation fund. These amounts shall be lapsed until the total amount lapsed equals $750,000.

28.15 History History: 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 59.

28.20 28.20 Community forests. Any city, village, town or school district may acquire land, engage in forestry and appropriate funds for such purpose. The forest property may be located outside the city, village, town or school district limits.

28.20 History History: 1985 a. 218; 1993 a. 246.

28.21 28.21 Management. Any municipality, by registering its forest with the department, shall be eligible to receive free planting stock from the state forest nurseries and the services of foresters in preparing and carrying out planting and forest management plans. No trees shall be cut except those marked or designated for cutting by a state forester. Products of the forest may be devoted to public use.

28.22 28.22 Timber sales; community forests. Any sale of timber from a community forest shall be based on the scale, measure, or count of the cut products. Any sale of timber with either an estimated volume of at least 500 cord equivalents or an estimated value of at least $10,000 from a community forest shall be by public sale. Before a city, village, town, or school district may sell timber from a community forest that meets the volume or value threshold under this section, it shall announce the sale through 2 publications of a classified advertisement announcing the sale in a newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the timber to be sold is located.

28.22 History History: 1989 a. 79; 1999 a. 9; 2021 a. 128.

28.23 28.23 Income. All income from community forests shall be paid into the treasury, but may be assigned to the support of any legally authorized activity.

28.99 28.99 Parties to a violation.

28.99(1) (1) Whoever is concerned in the commission of a violation of this chapter for which a forfeiture is imposed is a principal and may be charged with and convicted of the violation although he or she did not directly commit it and although the person who directly committed it has not been convicted of the violation.

28.99(2) (2) A person is concerned in the commission of the violation if the person:

28.99(2)(a) (a) Directly commits the violation;

28.99(2)(b) (b) Aids and abets the commission of it; or

28.99(2)(c) (c) Is a party to a conspiracy with another to commit it or advises, hires or counsels or otherwise procures another to commit it.

28.99 History History: 1975 c. 365.