In this update:

 


WAFO Hosts MFL Landowners Meeting in Burlington

On Tuesday, September 29, Regional Representative Wayne Raisleger hosted an MFL Landowners Meeting on behalf of WAFO.  WAFO invited landowners whose MFL agreement expires within the next three years to help them determine their best course of action concerning the future of their woodland.  During the meeting, participants were surprised to learn that:

  • Considerable changes to the MFL have occurred since they entered over 20 years ago.
  • There are now many more requirements to entering land in the MFL.
  • Management plans are no longer written for free by DNR Field Foresters since the passing of the Fiscal Year 2015-2017 Budget Bill which called to eliminate four of these positions from the Department.  Landowners can, however, hire a Cooperating Forester to write this plan on their behalf.
  • It is very important how to understand how their land is classified and deferentially taxed before re-entering into the MFL.

The materials reviewed with landowners at the meeting will be available soon online on WAFO’s new Landowner’s Section.  Watch your email for more information coming soon!

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Recap of Recent Council on Forestry Meeting

WAFO Board Member, Richard Wedepohl, attended the September 30 Council on Forestry Meeting.  Below is a recap of that meeting.  More information on Council on Forestry activity and meeting minutes is available online.

  • Carmen Wagner was announced as the new Director of the Bureau of Private Forestry to replace Bob Mather.
  • Mike Kilgore, Professor at UW-Minnesota, discussed property tax incentives used by other states in the US.  Important points from that discussion include:
    • 50% of US states use some form of use-value assessment
    • Enrollment requirement for tax incentive program:
      • The average requirement for land be enrolled is for six years (as opposed to Wisconsin’s 25 year requirement)
      • Landowner surveys have indicated that 33% of landowners have timber production as an intended benefit; 18% identified forest sustainability is important; 15% valued open space; 14% noted that wildlife as a major consideration; 11% identified recreation as important
  • Interesting observations from Minnesota:
    • Landowners need to receive $50/acre to allow open public hunting access on their land
    • Average current state tax in central Minnesota on forest land is between $7-$9/acre
    • Savings of $425/year on 40 acre tax parcel is not enough to enter MN tax incentive program

View the .pdf version of Professor Kilgore’s presentation.

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WAFO Acts to Eliminate the Restriction on Leasing Managed Forest Land

We’re taking some positive steps toward eliminating the restriction on leasing managed forest land.  In the past several weeks, an act to repeal 77.83 (2) (am) and 77.83 (4) (b) has been drafted and several members of WAFO’s Board of Directors have met with potential co-authors from the Senate and Assembly.  WAFO is also reaching out to possible co-sponsors who are in support of this effort.

Since WAFO’s beginnings almost two years ago, we’ve been very active in our research, building partnerships, lobbying, and informing landowners of current rules and regulations affecting their woodland.  We’ve done so with a very small overhead, operating only on contributions from landowners like you.  As we begin this next legislative session with a chance to make true positive change, we need your help more now that ever!  Please consider supporting our efforts with a donation.

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WAFO Membership is Free – Please Help Spread the Word

Part of WAFO’s business plan is to link forest landowners with their state legislators.  We are currently setting up a structure which would allow us to let landowners know what “their” legislators are doing.  For example, if we had had the ability to inform those landowners who lived in, or had woodland in, areas represented by Representative John Nygren or Senator Alberta Darling (Co-Chairs of Joint Finance) we could have seen the leasing ban repealed as part of the last budget bill.

Did you know that there are several HUNDRED landowners who are enrolled in the MFL in just these two legislator’s districts?  If it takes only a handful of contacts be made to them on an issue like this, you can see the potential we have to make a difference.

Membership in WAFO is FREE. Let every other woodland owner you know that by simply providing an email address and information on where their woodland is located, they’ll become a member.  Not only will they be able to affect needed law and regulation changes by being able to speak as one, they also will have access to more detailed tips and information that will help them reduce their tax burden today.

How will WAFO exist without financial support?  The simple answer is it wouldn’t.  However we’ve already received enough financial support to get us to this point.  Occasionally we’ll ask members if they’d like to provide a donation or contribute to our Conduit so that we can target campaign donations to those who support our policy priorities.

If you haven’t already, please consider making a donation.  Charter members, those who have contribute $500 or more, receive a preliminary analysis on how their land should be, or could be, classified by their assessor to receive a lower tax rate.  Several WAFO members have already seen their property tax bills reduced by several thousand dollars.

Another option we’ve make available is a Business Associate Category, in which our industry partners may use to provide a link to their products or services.

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