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7.0 COUNTY FOREST ORDINANCE Declaration of Policy An ordinance prescribing rules and regulations for the administration of County powers and duties as provided in Chapters 26, 28, 29, and 59 of the Wisconsin Statutes, under which the Douglas County Board of Supervisors is granted specific powers relative to the establishment, protection, development and management of county forests to provide sustained yield of forest products for commercial use and the associated benefits of soil and water conservation, scenic and recreational values, and fish and game resources; all in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF DOUGLAS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I. The Douglas County Forestry Ordinance of July 20, 1939, and any amendment thereto is hereby repealed and recreated to read as follows: SECTION II. DESIGNATION OF COUNTY FORESTS Determination is hereby made that for the purpose of proper and complete identification all county owned forest lands now held and entered under the Wisconsin County Forest Law by Douglas County or hereafter acquired for forestry purposes and located within the areas described below, and as indicated on the official map appended to the comprehensive plan and on file in the office of the County Forestry Administration are established and designated as the Douglas County Forest. The Douglas County Forest boundaries are as published in the Department of Natural Resources Tax Unit Property listing for Douglas County Forest. SECTION III. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT The Douglas County Board of Supervisors hereby assigns administration of the County Forest to the Committee of this Board, known as the Forest, Parks and Recreation Committee, and hereinafter referred to as the Committee. ---PAGE BREAK--- SECTION IV. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE A. Annually, at the Budget meeting, the Committee shall present to the County Board, for its consideration and adoption, a work plan for the ensuing calendar year together with a detailed recommended budget in a form prescribed by the Finance Committee of the County Board. The work plan and budget adopted by the County Board at this meeting shall serve as a directive to the Committee and shall establish the limits as well as purpose for which expenditures may be made. B. Subject to budget limitations the Committee is hereby assigned the responsibilities detailed in sub-paragraphs 1 through 22. 1. The Committee shall direct and supervise the County Forestry Office. Shall employ a competent County Forest Administrator as its agent and such other competent personnel to direct, perform and enforce the administrative mid- management functions of this ordinance. 2. The Committee shall establish and maintain forest headquarters for office space and the housing of machinery, tools, equipment and supplies needed in conducting forestry operations. 3. In conformity with procedures established by the Forest, Parks and Recreation Committee or County Board rules, the Committee may purchase acquire, sell, trade or dispose of instruments, tools, equipment and supplies required for the operation of the department. Items costing more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) shall be purchased by competitive bid according to Section 59.08 of the Wisconsin Statutes. 4. The Committee is empowered to negotiate for and acquire lands within the designated County Forest area. Acquisition may be by outright purchase, based on competent appraisal of the value or values involved, or by gift, bequest or action to foreclose tax liens, or by trade of county owned lands outside of such areas for the purpose of blocking the forest for better administration or for recreational purposes. The Committee shall have the power and duty to execute applications for entry under provisions of Chapter 28 of the Wisconsin Statutes for lands acquired or owned by Douglas County within the County Forest boundaries. Upon entry of the tax-delinquent land, the Committee will have delinquent taxes satisfied using funds from the Land Acquisition account. 5. The Committee shall approve and make application for entry of "County Special Use" lands which are defined in Statutes 28.11 ---PAGE BREAK--- 6. The Committee shall do all things necessary for the protection of the forest, whether from fire, insects, disease, trespass, encroachment or from damage by animals or from other causes, in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources in all such related matters. 7. Regulate the disposal of slash and dispose of all salvaged materials. 8. Locate survey lines and appropriately monument corners of county forest land. 9. Construct, improve and maintain a system of forest roads, trails and fire breaks, and purchase or secure easements for access-ways and recreational trails to cross privately owned lands. 10. Conduct forest improvement work including reforestation, release cuttings, thinnings, pruning and weeding by any method including spraying or dusting of chemicals by airplane and other methods not prohibited by law. 11. Cooperate with the Department of Natural Resources in the determination of the allowable annual cut by establishment of an intensive county forest management plan including an inventory of growing stock and increment, acreage control, establishment of cutting compartments and other necessary items for such plan. 12. Sell timber stumpage in accordance with a county forest management plan in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources. 13. In accordance with plans approved by the Board, establish, construct and maintain wherever desirable within the forest, picnic grounds, waysides, camps and campsites, public access roads and boat landings, scenic areas, nature trails, multiple use trails, and designate, mark and preserve places of natural or historic interest and significance. Management and regulatory control of all County Forest Recreation Areas is hereby specifically delegated to said Committee. 14. Cooperate with the Department of Natural Resources on all matters relating to game and fish management within the county forest on which a memorandum of understanding between the County Board and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is in existence. 15. The Committee is authorized to enter into agreement with the North Central Forest Experiment Station, the University of Wisconsin or other recognized research organizations, bureaus or entities with the endorsement of, or directly with the Department of Natural Resources for the use of tracts of County Forest lands, labor, materials and equipment for conducting forest research. ---PAGE BREAK--- 16. Do special forest or recreation development work on other public lands not included in the County Forests including such lands as County lands, state lands, federal lands, school forests, county special-use lands, community forest, County parks, public highway and similar projects and be authorized to acquire easements and develop trails over private land. 17. With Board approval and after Department of Natural Resources approval the Committee may grant permits to prospect for ore or minerals upon County lands under the jurisdiction of this Committee in accordance with the provisions of the County Forest Law. 18. Establish regulations pertaining to the posting of signs on County Forest lands. 19. The Committee shall issue such permits for private access roads across County land with such safeguards to protect the County interest. 20. The Committee shall issue such easement for utility lines, town roads and permits for town disposal sites with such safeguards to protect the County interest. 21. Prepare and present an annual report of its activities to the County Board. The report shall include statistics showing work accomplished. Such reports shall be in sufficient detail so that performance of the Forestry Office may be measured. 22. To follow Schedule A - Terms and Agreements of Easements as adopted by County Board Resolution. 23. To manage, appraise and sell timber as directed by the Land and Development or County Board on tax-delinquent properties. SECTION V. COUNTY FOREST LAW ADMINISTRATION When the Committee makes application for entry of additional lands under the County Forest Law, the County Clerk and County Board Chairman shall take all necessary action to approve such application as provided by statute. Withdrawal of lands entered under the County Forest Law shall be in the manner prescribed by Section 28.11 (11) of the Wisconsin Statutes or any amendment thereof. SECTION VI. FOREST FINANCES A. All allotments from the State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to Douglas County under section 28.11 of the Wisconsin Statutes or any amendment thereof, for the purchase, development, preservation, maintenance and sustainability of the County Forest lands, shall be ---PAGE BREAK--- deposited in the County Forestry Fund. If any lands or equipment purchased from said funds are sold, the County shall restore the purchase price to the County Forestry Fund. All monies received as cost sharing on the expenditure of County Forestry Funds shall be credited to that fund. All unexpended County Forestry funds shall be non-lapsing to a gross amount of $250,000 annually. B. All monies received from the sale of timber stumpage, cut forest products, fees and use permits, sale of building materials, sale of surplus materials and equipment, fire or other damage collections or other revenue received by the Committee, except income specified in paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Section, shall be deposited in the Douglas County Forestry Fund. All severance taxes incurred as a result of such sales shall be paid as required by statute from the County Forestry Fund. 1. Monies received from the sale of timber from non-County Forest Crop or Special Use lands will be used first to pay expenses of the Department for labor, equipment and materials. The balance of the funds will go to the Land and Development Fund. C. For the purpose of financing land acquisition within the County Forest boundaries, there is hereby established a non-lapsing fund known as the County Forest Land Acquisition Fund. Said fund to consist of revenues from the following sources: 1. All net proceeds from the sale of lands withdrawn from the County Forest. 2. Whenever the balance in the County Forest Land Acquisition Fund is less than $20,000.00 the Forestry Committee, with the concurrence of the Finance Committee, may direct that a maximum of 10% of the net proceeds from County timber sales be deposited in said fund as they are collected, but only until a $20,000.00 balance in said fund has been attained. SECTION VII. COUNTY FOREST USE REGULATIONS A. Recreational Use. 1. All cabin permits must terminate by December 31, 2000. The permit holder must dismantle the buildings or remove them from the County land within 30 days after receiving written notice. After the 30 days all structures shall be deemed a public nuisance and shall be removed by the Department at the expense of the owner. The Douglas County Forestry Department holds the right to cancel the permit upon failure of permit holder to abide by these regulations. Convictions of any Conservation Law shall be considered grounds for automatic cancellation. 2. Overnight camping, including tents, trailers, cars, trucks and portable hunting and fishing camps may be permitted at County Forest campgrounds, or other areas on ---PAGE BREAK--- the County Forest as designated by a permit issued by the County Forest Administrator for a period not to exceed ten days. Camping in developed campgrounds will be by permit only and restricted to designated sites. Camping fees will be established by the Committee. No overnight camping will be permitted at areas designed as picnic areas, boat landings, or on any town or county forest road or access trail. 3. The committee shall be empowered to establish trails and facilities and procedural standards for development and regulations for the use of all types of recreational trails. 4. Vehicular traffic and motorized recreational devices may be banned or otherwise restricted from any part of the county forest when in the opinion of the Committee, serious damage may result from such use. 5. The following activities are prohibited on County Forest lands or in the lakes, rivers and streams of such lands. Cutting, defacing, pulling or digging up of any tree, trees, or brush except as authorized by the committee. Careless use of fire. Dumping or leaving of rubbish, garbage, debris, dirt, stone or other littering materials. Creating a disturbance. Damage, destruction or misuse of any improvement including any land monument, landmark, or corner post of the government survey, county survey or survey of public record. Construction, occupation or use of any elevated scaffold or other elevated device on County Forest lands except portable tree stands used for hunting purposes provided they are removed each day at close of hunting hours and do no permanent damage to trees in which they are placed. 6. Legal action for violation of rules and regulations under this section are covered under Section VIII. ---PAGE BREAK--- B. Timber Cutting 1. Cultural cuttings shall include thinnings, release cutting, sanitation cuttings and improvement cuttings to remove trees or weed species from or condition for the purpose of stand improvement. All cultural cuttings on County Forests shall be in accordance with County Forest Management Plan and in cooperation with the staff of the Department of Natural Resources. Materials cut in such operations by County crews may be used by the Forestry Office or given to other county agencies for their use, or sold, as the Committee shall determine. When sold to other public agencies, the latter shall pay to the County a sum of not less than prevailing average stumpage rate. 2. Salvage cuttings shall include the cutting of timber damaged by fire, storm, insect or disease. Salvage cutting shall be done under the procedure specified for cultural cutting or for commercial cutting, as the Committee may decide. 3. Commercial cuttings shall include all cutting where stumpage is sold under contract in which the primary objective of the cutting is the marketing of the timber products, including logs, ties, poles, posts, pulpwood, piling, Christmas trees and boughs or other forest products. Contract specifications for each cutting operation pertaining to payment and financial responsibility of the bidder shall be determined by the committee. All timber sales shall conform to provisions of section 28.11 of the statutes and shall follow the procedure for pre-sale appraisal, pre-sale approval, cutting notice and cutting report as provided by Department of Natural Resources Timber Sale Handbook 2461 or any amendments thereto. Timber sales may be submitted to the Committee for approval prior to the sale. SECTION VIII. LEGAL ACTION A. Criminal Action: Whenever an arrest shall have been made for unlawful cutting on land owned by Douglas County or on which the County holds a tax certificate, the district attorney shall take appropriate action under Chapter 26 of the Wisconsin Statutes, Douglas County Ordinance 7.2 or any amendment thereof. B. Seizure: Whenever forest products are found, known to have been unlawfully severed from County lands, the Douglas County Sheriff shall on satisfactory evidence seize such materials pursuant to Section 26.06 of the Wisconsin Statutes for use by the County or sales as the Committee may determine. ---PAGE BREAK--- C. Civil Action: Whenever evidence of unlawful cutting on Douglas County lands shall be lodged with the district attorney, he shall on recommendation of the committee bring suit to recover damages as provided by Section 26.09 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Similarly, civil suit shall be brought against parties responsible for forest fire damage under Section 26.21 of the Statutes. D. Cooperation: It shall be the duty of the Committee and its appointed administrative agent to secure information and to seek the cooperation of state, County and town officers in securing information required for legal action. E. Penalties: Any person, firm, company or corporation including all forest visitors and users who violate the rules and regulations of Section VII shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $10.00 nor more than $500.00 together with the cost of the action and in default of payment thereof to imprisonment in the county jail until such forfeiture and cost be paid but for not more than thirty days pursuant to law. Those who violate any part of Section VII or any State fish and game laws or litter laws shall be subject to ejection from the County Forest. SECTION IX. Any previous ordinance or resolution of the County Board of Douglas County in conflict herewith, is, to the extent of such capacity, hereby repealed. SECTION X. WHEN EFFECTIVE This ordinance shall become effective upon passage and publication in the official newspaper of Douglas County, Wisconsin. Date of Passage: May 10, 1973 Date of Publication: July 23, 1973 Amendments: November 16, 1989 March 16, 1995 April 20, 1995