DNR shares information on County Notice of Intent to Cut

LINCOLN COUNTY – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently provided information on the County Notice of Intent to Cut and how it may pertain to Lincoln County residents who plan to harvest forest products on their property.

The DNR said there are two parts to the County Notice of Intent to Cut law (Wisconsin State Statue 26.03):

• No person may harvest any raw forest products (such as logs, pulpwood and bolts, Christmas trees and miscellaneous forest products – balsam boughs, birch poles, etc.), or direct the harvesting of any raw forest products, from any land until 14 days after the clerk of the county in which the land is located is notified of the person’s proposal to harvest.
• No person may harvest any raw forest products, or direct the harvest of any raw forest products, from any land which taxes are delinquent.

“The County Notice of Intent to Cut is free, and it must be filed each calendar year with the county clerk where the land is located,” the DNR stated. “The landowner, forester or logger can file the County Cutting Notice on behalf of the landowner. Clarification on who will file, either the landowner, forester or logger, should be addressed prior to harvesting timber, such as through a timber sale contract.”

Once filed, the DNR explained, the clerk will check with the treasurer for unpaid taxes and then will notify the landowner, logger, town chair and DNR forester. The DNR forester then checks for tax law status and the tax law cutting notice.

“Notification shall describe the land by quarter, section, government lot or fractional lot,” the DNR said. “This information can be found on your tax bill.”

According to the DNR, the following penalties may apply if a County Notice of Intent to Cut is not filed:

• Failure to file – Citation with forfeiture of $200.50.
• Failure to file if taxes are delinquent – Citation with forfeiture of $767.50.

A County Notice of Intent to Cut is not needed for fuelwood for home consumption, clearing land for agriculture, boughs for own use and up to five Christmas trees for own use, the DNR noted.

Properties enrolled in a Forest Tax Law program require the filing of a Managed Forest Law and Forest Crop Law Cutting Notice and Report of Wood Products (Form 2450-032).

“The Cutting Notice proposes and reports harvesting on tax law land,” the DNR said. “The submittal of this notice is mandatory under Wisconsin Statue S. 77.06, and 77.86. Any person failing to file notice or report, or intentional filing of a false report, is subject to a forfeiture of not more than $1,000 and withdrawal from the Managed Forest Law.”

Harvesting must be done in compliance with the management plan or schedule and must be filed at least 30 days prior to the harvest.

For more information on filing a Cutting Notice in Lincoln County, contact Lincoln County Clerk Christopher Marlowe at 715-539-1019; visit www.co.lincoln.wi.us/county-clerk/page/cutting-notice; or visit the Lincoln County Clerk’s Office, located within the Lincoln County Service Center, 801 N. Sales Street, Suite 201, Merrill.

Those interested in forest management, conducting a timber harvest or a free property walk can contact Zach Hylinski, DNR Forester, 101 Eagle Drive, Merrill, at 715-921-5611 or Zachary.Hylinski@wisconsin.gov.

For more information on Managed Forest Law, contact Ryan Grefe, DNR Tax Law Specialist, 101 Eagle Drive, Merrill, at 715-297-9194 or Ryan.Grefe@wisconsin.gov.