Current through August 26, 2024
(2) MANDATORY PRACTICES. The management plan
shall be prepared on forms provided 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:
(a) Harvesting mature timber according to
sound forestry practices.
(b)
Thinning plantations and natural stands for merchantable products according to
sound forestry practices.
(c)
Release of conifers and hardwoods from competing vegetation.
(d) Reforestation or afforestation of land to
meet one of the size and density requirements established in s.
NR 46.17(1).
(e) Post-harvest and pre-harvest treatment to
ensure adequate regeneration.
(f)
Soil conservation practices that may be necessary to control any soil erosion
that may result from department approved forestry practices.
(g) Restoration of land, if required under s.
NR 46.215.
(3) APPROVED
PRACTICES.
(a) The management plan may
contain a schedule of approved but not mandatory forestry practices.
(b) The management plan may contain a
schedule of approved but not mandatory practices for the management of forest
resources other than trees including wildlife habitat, watersheds, and
aesthetic features as follows:
1. No more than
20% of an owner's total contiguous designated managed forest land acreage may
be non-productive land, which shall be calculated in accordance with s.
NR 46.17(1)
(b).
2. On the 80% of a managed forest land parcel
required to produce or be capable of producing 20 cubic feet per acre per year,
practices for the management of forest resources other than trees may be
approved consistent with owner objectives as provided in subd. 2. a. and b.
a. The creation of openings and other
vegetative cover not producing forest products at the level meeting density
requirements under s.
77.82(1) (a) 2, Stats., is allowed so long as the area of
created openings or other vegetative cover, combined with other non-productive
land, does not exceed 20% of the managed forest land parcel, which shall be
calculated in accordance with s.
NR 46.17(1)
(b).
b. In addition to practices approved under
subd. 2. a., other practices may be approved on managed forest land to
accomplish the objectives of the owner relating to forest resources other than
trees if such approved practices do not significantly alter the value of the
merchantable stand of timber or preclude the growing of future forest crops for
commercial use. Such approved practices may include, where consistent with the
landowner's objectives, dividing clear-cuts into smaller blocks, shortening or
lengthening rotations, creating irregular cutting boundaries, leaving uncut
small stands, strips or individual trees on clear-cut, modifying residual basal
area on partial cuts, modifying species composition, reserving den or cavity
trees, substituting partial cuts for clear-cuts or substituting clear-cuts for
partial cuts.
(4) LARGE OWNERSHIPS.
(a) The requirements of this section for
management plans may be modified by the department for ownerships exceeding
1,000 acres after consideration of the following:
1. Other land of the owner entered as managed
forest land, forest crop land or other forest tax law programs administered by
the department.
3. The existence of
a management plan prepared by or for the owner and acceptable to the
department. The management plan shall be readily available to the department
upon written request or audit. A management plan under this section shall
include all of the following:
a. Maps or a GIS
database at a scale usable for forest management and showing land eligible for
designation. The maps or database shall represent current conditions, and
include the requirements provided for in s.
77.82(3) (c) 4 and 5., Stats. Maps, in a format approved
by the department, that show any land designated as open to public recreation
and meeting the requirements in s.
NR 46.21(3) (c) shall be provided.
b. Reconnaissance data and scheduled
practices using the procedure defined in subd. 4.
4. At the time of application to become a
large ownership, submission of legal descriptions and maps or aerial
photographs that meet the requirements established in s.
77.82(3) (c) 4 and 5., Stats., for the land being entered,
and a written commitment from an owner that describes the management plan that
is required in subd. 3. and outlines the procedure used to update and amend the
management plan, or that fulfills requirements established in subd. 6., if
applicable. The information provided in this subdivision shall be updated when
land is added to, transferred from, or renewed under the ownership.
5. An owner's demonstrated consistent
accessibility to competent technical forest management assistance through staff
or consultant services.
6. If the
land considered for large ownership is under a nationally recognized
third-party forest certification standard with a valid certificate held by the
managed forest land owner, the land may qualify as a large ownership without
fulfilling requirements under subd. 3. if the owner maintains the third-party
certification and provides maps, in a format approved by the department, that
show lands designated as open to public recreation and meeting the requirements
in s.
NR 46.21(3)
(c).
Note: Examples of nationally recognized
third-party forest certification standards include the American Tree Farm
System®, the Forest Stewardship Council®, and the Sustainable Forestry
Initiative®.
(b) The department may revoke large ownership
status for large ownerships failing to meet requirements established in par.
(a). Large ownerships shall be notified of the cause for revocation in writing,
and shall be given one year to develop a management plan under s.
77.82(3),
Stats., that contains all items listed in s.
NR 46.16(2) (f),
(g), and (h).
(c) Large ownerships shall supply the
department, upon written request, additional information required to determine
owner compliance with s.
77.82(1),
Stats., and this section as provided for in s.
77.82(2) and (3), Stats.
(5) MANAGEMENT PLAN AS A CONDITION OF
DESIGNATION.
(am) A management plan agreed to
by the department and the owner is a condition of designation.
(bm) Management plans for applications under
s.
NR 46.16(1)
(a) received on or before June 1 shall be
prepared by a certified plan writer or the department itself.
1. Management plans shall be approved by the
department no later than October 1 of the year in which the order of
designation will be issued. The department shall approve a management plan if
all the following apply:
b. The management
plan includes all requirements under subs. (2) and (3), as approved by the
department.
d. All owners have
signed the management plan.
2. As a condition of designating the land for
plans prepared by the department, the applicant shall pay the management plan
fee no later than October 1 of the year in which the order of designation will
be issued.
3. Failure to have a
management plan approved by the department on or before October 1 of the year
in which the order of designation will be issued or a later date agreed to by
the department, conditioned by s.
77.82(9),
Stats., will result in a denial of the application.
(dm) Management plans submitted by June 1
that are returned to a certified plan writer by the department for revisions
shall be resubmitted by September 15. Plans resubmitted after September 15 that
are not approvable may be denied. Extensions may be granted with department
approval.
Note: The treatment of sub. (5) as revised and
published in July 2005 and May 2006, first applies to management plans that are
filed on or after November 1, 2005.
(6) MODIFICATION OF DESIGNATION OF CLOSED OR
OPEN AREAS. A landowner may modify the designation of a closed or open area
twice during the period beginning with April 28, 2004 and ending with the
expiration date of the order. Requests for changes in the open/closed
designation shall be in writing or on department forms filed with the
department. Requests received by the department no later than December 1 in a
given year will be eligible to be effective the following January 1. Requests
received by the department after December 1 and before the end of the year,
shall be effective January 1 of the second year beginning after the year in
which the form is received.
Note: Requests to change the open/closed
status shall be filed by the deadline. Forms may be obtained online at
dnr.wi.gov, search keywords "Managed Forest Law".
Note: This section interprets and administers
ss.
77.82(3) and (7) and
77.83(1) and (1m), Stats., which describe further
requirements for the management plan and designation of closed
areas.
(8) MANAGEMENT PLAN
FEE.
(a)
1m.
The department shall charge a management plan fee for plans the department
prepares for applications filed under s.
77.82(2), (4), (4m), and (12), Stats.
2. The management plan fee will be based on a
formula established in this section. The fee assessed shall be the fee in
effect on the June 2 following the date the application was
filed.
(b) On June 2 of
each year the statewide management plan fee shall be calculated. The management
plan fee shall consist of a cost per acre rate. The rates shall be calculated
by averaging the cost preparation data submitted by independent certified plan
writers under s.
NR 46.165(4)
(f) from the 12-month period ending on the
prior May 1.
(9)
IDENTIFIED RISK. Forest regeneration or health concerns that have foreseeable
repercussions on stand productivity shall be identified in the management plan.
These identified risks to lands enrolled that are identified in the management
plan may not be the cause for an analysis under s. NR 46.215.
(10) AMENDING A MANAGEMENT PLAN. Owners may
amend their management plan under s.
77.82(3) (f), Stats., for reasons that include:
(a) Landowner requests a change that
maintains the management plan's required compliance with the provisions of this
chapter and subch. VI of ch. 77, Stats.
(b) The management plan is inaccurate or
missing information.
(c)
On-the-ground conditions have changed since the time of entry to the extent
that the prescribed practices in the plan are no longer considered sound
forestry practices.
(d) Changes in
silvicultural research and practices, including invasive species management, to
the extent that the prescribed practices in the plan are no longer considered
sound forestry practices.
