I attended high school in a small southeastern Wisconsin town where people got excused absences for opening day of deer and turkey hunting season. Wisconsin is downright cozy to outdoorsmen, and the sports of hunting and fishing exist in an equilibrium with property owners. However, as reported by the Wisconsin State Journal on Sept. 10, a bill making its way to the capitol is about to complicate land use dynamics in Wisconsin, and doing so could break the long-held peace.
Created in 1985, the Managed Forest Law program allows landowners to set aside portions of their holdings as state protected forest and has led to the conservation of three million acres. For doing this, owners get lowered property taxes, and the law lets them choose whether they want the conserved land to be open to the public ($1.67 per acre in taxes) or closed to the public ($8.34 an acre in taxes). Compared to the usual rate of $30 to $32 dollars an acre, conserving land is a steal as well as good for our state. With 19 percent of Wisconsin’s forest-land in the program, we’re a model of success for other states.
However, the new legislation crafted by State Rep. Fred Clark, D-Baraboo and Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center would raise the tax rate of those wishing to deny the public access to their land by 25 percent. Most of the land in the program, 62 percent, is closed, so that means that owners will either have to put up more cash to keep their property private or allow outsiders on their grounds to hunt, fish and whatever else they want to do.
On one side of the coin, the citizens of Wisconsin have the right to enjoy their conserved forest land. In February of this year, power plays by the large Illinois hunting club Coleman Lake Club outraged the citizens of a small Northwoods town when the club put their thousands of acres on the managed land list and closed it off to local sportsmen. Said Clark about the program’s goal, “It was absolutely our aim to create a broad public policy that would prevent large enrollments from being closed to the public.” Wisconsinites love their outdoor recreation, and closing up such large tracts makes it more difficult to enjoy our favorite pastimes. Said George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and former Department of Natural Resources secretary under then- Gov. Tommy Thompson said, “We’re losing access on hundreds of thousands of acres that we’re supposed to have access to.”
On the other hand, though, landowners should have the right, as my uncle would say, to tell people to “get the hell of their property.” The hike in property taxes may make it economically difficult for owners to keep their land private, and usually, they want it private for a reason. As reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, landowner Mike Greenheck said he closed nearly 2,500 acres in Buffalo, Pierce and Richland counties after an arson incident, vandalism and the shooting of his family dog. People often have disregard for land or property that is not theirs, and it is easy to see why landowners might want it closed. Even though the managed forest is part of a state governmental program, it’s important to remember that it’s still the landowner’s holding. Furthermore, the concern of losing access to the land is overshadowing the fact that overall, one-fifth of the state’s forested acres have successfully been conserved for future generations.
The most important aim of the program has already been met – Wisconsin forestland is safeguarded from development, which benefits everyone. Changing the law to make it more financially difficult for landowners to privatize their forests could discourage landowners from enrolling their forests. It could also force them to grudgingly allow sportsmen on their property. These two groups have existed harmoniously for such a long time, and the new Legislature is unwise, especially since they’re the ones with the guns.
Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in biological anthropology, archaeology and Latin American studies.
