Government Affairs

Members have been asking, what does the Forestry Mill Tax pay for? Funds raised through the Forestry Mill Tax are deposited in the DNR Conservation Fund under the Forestry Account.  The DNR Forestry Account Revenue and Expenditures for fiscal year 2016 have been released.  The Forestry Account shows revenues of $118,289,789 with total state and federal expenditures of $113,628,313.  The Forestry Mill Tax provided a revenue of $83,306,027.

The Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) will hold public hearings on the Governor’s 2017-19 Biennial Budget – Assembly Bill 64/Senate Bill 30 – which contain the provisions to remove the Forestry Mill Tax.  WWOA and other conservation organizations strongly oppose the removal of the Forestry Mill Tax funding in the state budget because it places Wisconsin’s nationally recognized forests and their resulting benefits at great risk.

The Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association authored the following coalition letter to share information about the Forestry Mill Tax’s 2017-19 budget provisions with Wisconsin’s citizens and legislators. An Open Letter to Wisconsin citizens and legislators, Wisconsin forests are at risk in the 2017-19 state budget proposal, which removes the designated stable funding of the Forestry Mill Tax.

To Members of the Wisconsin Forestry Community, No doubt you’re aware of the Governor’s proposal to replace the funding that has been generated through our Forestry Mill Tax since 1930 with what is proposed to be an equal amount of General Purpose Revenue (GPR).  In any of the discussions I’ve had with forestry stakeholders about this I’ve heard strong concerns and a variety of opinions, but I’ve never heard anyone suggest we’d be better off…

The Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau publishes  informational papers  on various aspects of the state budget. The Conservation Fund  paper is a 96 page document detailing revenue and expenditures related to natural resources.  Information on the Forestry Account starts on page 26 of this larger document or the select Forestry Account  to learn  more about this aspect of the state budget.

Governor Walker’s budget bill includes shifting funding for the DNR Forestry Program from the Forestry Mill Tax to general purpose revenues (GPR) for the 2017-2019 biennium.  This shift will jeopardize the stable funding source, which has supported the DNR Forestry Program and may place DNR Forestry and its 100 years of forestry accomplishments at risk.

W.W.O.A.  ALERT The DNR Forestry Program has been an important partner with the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association since WWOA’s founding in 1979.  Governor Walker’s budget proposal to eliminate the Wisconsin Forestry Mil Tax and shift DNR Forestry funding to general purpose revenues (GPR) will jeopardize this stable funding source which has supported the DNR Forestry Program for almost 100 years.  WWOA strongly opposes the elimination of the Forestry Mil Tax and encourages those interested in the stewardship…

This announcement was originally created by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and is being distributed by the Great Lakes Timber Professional Association (GLTPA)  The frozen road declaration ends and spring thaw and class II restrictions begin in zones 3, 4, and 5 on Saturday, February 18th, 2017, at 12:01 a.m.

The Wisconsin Conservation Congress will will hold its election of county delegates in each county. Upon completion of the delegate elections, the joint Spring Department of Natural Resources Rule and Informational Hearing and Conservation Congress County Meeting will convene on Monday, April 10, 2017. These meetings are held in each county across Wisconsin starting at 7:00 pm.

The public will have a second opportunity at upcoming open house meetings and open office hours to review and comment on proposed changes to master plans for several northern forests.