77.06 Forestation.

(1) Cutting timber regulated.

(a) No person shall cut any merchantable wood products on any forest croplands where the forest crop taxes are delinquent nor until 30 days after the owner has filed with the department of natural resources a notice of intention to cut, specifying by descriptions and the estimated amount of wood products to be removed and the proportion of present volume to be left as growing stock in the area to be cut. Merchantable wood products include all wood products except wood used for fuel by the owner.

(b)

1. The department of natural resources, after examination of the lands specified in the notice of intention to cut, may prescribe the amount of forest products to be removed, except as provided under subd. 2.

2. The department of natural resources may not prescribe the amount of forest products to be cut if the notice of intention to cut was provided to the department by any of the following:

a. A cooperating forester authorized under s. 28.05 to assist the state in the harvesting and sale of timber.

b. A forester accredited by the Society of American Foresters, Association of Consulting Foresters, or Wisconsin Consulting Foresters.

c. A person who holds at least a bachelor's degree from a forestry program provided by a nationally or regionally accredited institution of higher education and who has 5 years of experience engaged in the full-time profession of managing forests, including timber harvesting, wildlife management, water quality, and recreation to maintain a healthy and productive forest.

d. A person who holds a degree or diploma from a 2-year forestry program provided by an accredited technical or vocational school and who has 5 years of experience engaged in the full-time profession of managing forests, including timber harvesting, wildlife management, water quality, and recreation to maintain a healthy and productive forest.

e. A person who has 5 years of experience engaged in the full-time profession of managing forests, including timber harvesting, wildlife management, water quality, and recreation to maintain a healthy and productive forest.

(c) Cutting in excess of the amount prescribed by the department of natural resources, or cutting that the department finds is inconsistent with sound forestry practices, shall render the owner liable to a forfeiture equal to 20 percent of the value of the timber cut and subject to cancellation under s. 77.10.

(2) Appraisal of timber, zones. Each year the department of natural resources, at the time and place it shall fix and after such public notice as it deems reasonable, shall hold a public hearing. After the hearing the department shall make and file, open to public inspection, a determination of the reasonable stumpage values of the wood products usually grown in the several towns in which any forest croplands lie. A public hearing under this section shall be held prior to August 1 of each year and the determination of stumpage values made by the department of natural resources shall take effect on November 1 of that year. If the department of natural resources finds there is a material variance in the stumpage values in the different localities, it may fix separate zones and determine the values for each zone.

(3) Revaluation. As to any locality or zone in which the department of natural resources deems there has been no material variance from the preceding year in stumpage values, it may omit to make any new valuation in any year, in which event the last preceding valuation shall continue in force until changed in a succeeding year.

(4) Cutting reported. Within 30 days after completion of cutting on any land description, but not more than one year after filing of the notice of intention to cut, the owner shall transmit to the department of natural resources on forms provided by the department a written statement of the products so cut, specifying the variety of wood, kind of product, and quantity of each variety and kind as shown by the scale or measurement thereof made on the ground as cut, skidded, loaded, delivered, or by tree scale certified by a qualified forester when stumpage is sold by tree measurement. The department of natural resources may accept such reports as sufficient evidence of the facts, or may either with or without hearing and notice of time and place thereof to such owner, investigate and determine the fact of the quantity of each variety and kind of product so cut during said periods preceding such reports.

History: 1971 c. 215; 1977 c. 29, 224; 2009 a. 365; 2015 a. 55, 358.