Buying hunting land that is enrolled in MFL

I’ve been looking for hunting land in northern WI and the 2 pieces that are most intriguing are enrolled in MFL. One is “open” and the other “closed”. I’ve been doing some reading and have more to do to educate myself, but wondering what experience any of you have with lands enrolled in MFL.

I am not interested in sharing the land for hunting with anyone, but would be willing to consider a “closed” plan. Can you do any food plots, etc on MFL? Can you take land out of MFL? I’d appreciate any input anyone has on this topic.

I have a good portion of my land in the Forestry closed and have done a lot of work in MFL over the years.

First, you need to obtain a copy of the contract. Policies and contract options change from year to year based on funds available and participation. My contract has a steep penalty for taking land out or premature harvest. I also have the open to open, but the financial side is extremely minimal. I placed my bid on a great year. The state had much larger funds available and incentives were high to get participation.

If you can get one that is already closed, I would not hesitate one bit. Find out the contracting terms and years. Tax credits generally range 10 to 20 years, again all part of the terms. Additionally you need to know what responsibilities you have and the profit share % if/when a selective harvest is done

I can not plant crops or have food plots in mine, of which there is a gray area. I could plant certain grasses or clover to prevent the growth of invasive species and to allow the saplings to get enough light without the need of constant mowing.

Because I designed mine before just diving in, I kept specific areas out for crop, plots, and access road

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Much of what Randy said is incorrect. I am a forester and deal with MFL/FCL every day. Contact your local DNR forester and they can tell you everything you need to know. Or PM me.

Joel W Taylor wrote:

Much of what Randy said is incorrect. I am a forester and deal with MFL/FCL every day. Contact your local DNR forester and they can tell you everything you need to know. Or PM me.

Joel, what’s incorrect? I find it difficult to believe that we were mislead or provided misleading documentation from our forestry department

Policies don’t change from year to year. Contracts are for 25 and 50 years. Food plot are allowed. There’s no “bidding” on MFL. Tax rates have nothing to do with state funding or incentives. Plans can be changed from open to closed. Roads are not factored into plans…. To name some.

Joel, are you in WI? Completely different from our experiences.

The year I applied, I was given a state guideline of what was available in funds, cost share, etc. we were advised by the Richland County Office to not ask for the max across the board. We ‘bid” for our program by asking for values that were below the state max so when it was reviewed we had a higher opportunity to be accepted.

When they (local foresters) came to mark off the proposed planting, they excluded areas of the mfl were I had food plots and the lanes I wanted kept clear for tractor/atv access. Therefore the plat of the MFL on our property had to be modified and the acreage number had to be adjusted.

The funds I receive are on a 15 year contract – with sh like hell I could get that for 25 years

I was provided with plenty of documentation telling what I could and could not plant the the MFL program. Was also provided with a schedule of events/ tasks that defined my responsibility to do over time.

When the time comes for us to do a selective harvest, I have a % of $$ that must be paid to the state.

My property has been in for around 10 years. My neighbor did a program about 5 years before me, and I’ve helped friends with their properties since doing mine. We all have variances in our programs.

So am I to believe that different counties and different foresters do it differently throughout the state?

You are talking about WFLGP grant funding, not MFL. There is no yield tax on harvested timber. You don’t have to exclude shooting lanes, food plots, or roads from MFL. The MFL program is a state program and is the same across the state.

Thanks for the input Randy and Joel.

Joel I stand corrected. It appears I have two different programs that were blended into one in the way it was presented to us. You are correct in the grant program which was the primary focusand our understanding it WAS the MFL program. Managed Forest Law was never really discussed and our paper work only has references to the MFL. This opened up a discussion that I need to have with our local Forestry office and find out what we really have. After reading through some of the DNR info online, I’m finding conflicting info. Thanks for your persistence on this to prompt me to dig into this.

Like I said, I deal with all of this every day. Feel free to message me any questions.

We have 80 acres enrolled in the MFL program in Washburn county. I am 1 of seven shareholders in our land but also our contact with the DNR. We just had our property logged 2 years ago. You can claim up to 80 acres as private. Taxes are a bit more expensive but still dirt cheap. I think our taxes this year on 80 acres was 140.00. I think there are limits on how often you can move in/out of private designation. Everything Joel has said is spot on from my experience. I have been taking care of our land for over 20 years now. We did the switch from Forest Crop Land (FCL) to the Managed Forest Land (MFL) program 15 to 20 years ago. If you wanted to pull out early, it would be expensive. Let me know if you have any additional questions. I might even still remember some of the details of logging our property 2 years ago (started that process 5 – 6 yrs ago). I learned alot.

You can have 320 in closed MFL now. Unlimited in open MFL. You can change the designation once in the life of the contract. The withdrawal fee is much lower now if you want to get out for some reason. They will also allow you to take a few acres out for a building site. In the past you could have buildings on land in MFL (with specific restrictions) but you no longer can.

So I’m the state of wisconsin from what I understood is there are no restrictions on the food plots in closed Mfl. Is that correct?

No restrictions at all on anything less than 2 acres. Larger than that is typed as non-productive. You are allowed up to 20 percent non-productive (won’t or isn’t growing timber).

Hey Joel.
You seem to be quit knowledgeable about MFL in Wisconsin.
love to send you a message to ask some specific questions.
is that possible?
thanks much.