WISCONSIN 
Modified Rate Law! 
Optional. Enacted 1953. Amended 1963. 
Statutes 1957. Sec. 77.16. 
Classification 
Qualification. Tracts of less than 40 acres which 
are more suitable for growing timber and other 
forest crops than for any other purposes are 
eligible for classification. 
Procedure. The owner makes application to the 
Conservation Administrator. The Administrator 
examines the tract and if the application is ap- 
proved, forwards copies of the order to the owner, 
the district supervisor of property assessments, the 
town clerk, the town assessor and the county 
clerk. If classification is not approved, the owner 
may petition the Conservation Commission for a 
public hearing. 
Application and approval constitute a contract 
running with the land for a 10-year period unless 
terminated earlier; contracts may be renewed by 
mutual consent. 
Conditions governing continued classification. 
The owner must promote the growth of timber and 
prohibit grazing and burning. At the request of the 
! Known as the “‘Woodland Tax Law.” 
29 
owner, the Conservation Administrator assists in 
preparing and carrying out planting and forest 
management plans. The Administrator makes an 
annual report as to the forest practices of each 
owner of classified lands. 
Declasstfication 
If the Administrator finds that an owner has 
not complied with the law or if the land is no 
longer used for forestry purposes, he declassifies 
the land. A public hearing by the Commission may 
ee ere ; the order of the Commission is 
nal. 
Tax treatment 
Land and timber. Taxed at a fixed rate of 20 
cents per acre for the period of classification. 
Tax administration 
The tax is paid to the town treasurer as part of 
the total property tax on the land and is subject 
to the same collection provisions. 
Use of revenue 
Taxes are distributed in the same manner as 
taxes on the owner’s remaining acreage. 
