Fueling Forest Growth

On the north end of Baileys Harbor a passerby might notice the thinning of a stretch of pine trees on the west side of Highway 57. Last summer almost half the trees in the tract were removed, not to make way for development, but for the health of the forest.

The land is part of nearly 23,000 acres of forestland in Door County that is enrolled in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Managed Forest Law Program, which dates back to 1904. That’s 23 percent of the county’s 100,000 acres of forest. The sustainable forestry program helps to manage and preserve Wisconsin’s privately owned forests while saving landowners money on their property tax bill.

The Baileys Harbor tract was planted at about 1,000 trees per acre, said Door County DNR Forester Bill Ruff. Last spring, as the trees neared age 30, Ruff said somewhere between a third and one half of the tract was removed, providing more room for growth for those trees left behind.

“We wait till the trees reach a good maturity level,” Ruff said. “Once you thin the trees, the remaining trees really expand in diameter growth and at the crown of the tree. Within 10 years they’ll get close to touching each other again. It makes for a healthier tree that can ward off disease better.”

The trees will be monitored and thinned about every 10 years after the initial thinning.

In exchange for being part of the managed forest program, property owners commit to a 25-year enrollment during which they must adhere to forest management practices set out by the DNR. They can’t develop or sub-divide the land.

“Tracts of forest land are getting smaller, and large tracts are harder to come by,” Ruff said. “This avoids what we call fragmentation or parcelation.”

In return, the property owner pays a managed forest law rate per acre instead of property tax on the land. That rate is $8.23 per acre if the land is closed to public access, but drops to $1.67 per acre if it’s left open. The savings helps some people to keep land in their family, while keeping forests intact and well-managed.

When it comes time to thin the trees, 5 percent of the value of the wood products goes to a yield tax. Of that 5 percent, 20 percent of that goes to the county, and 80 percent to the municipality where the land is held. The remaining 95 percent of the sale goes to the landowner.

Ruff said he tells interested landowners to put a lot of thought into their long-term plans before enrolling.

“You’re tying up your land for a long time, and there are stiff withdrawal penalties, but it’s a good program if it’s right for you,” he said.

Nearly 70 percent of Wisconsin’s 16 million acres of forestland is privately held. Most of that forestland, 10.4 million acres, is owned by about 360,000 non-industrial landowners. More than 9,000 of those landowners are part of the Managed Forest Law program, creating healthier forests and preserving ecosystems.