State program's open geocaching land tough to find

Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 5:54 pm

JSOnline article about the Managed Forest Law program.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:44 am

Amazing that we need to supply more contact information for a cache on DNR land than those that get this tax break!

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:30 am

This has always been one of my pet peeves. Finding land that is in the programs is very tricky. Tax bills often published in a database online helps. Knowing the boundaries can also be difficult. On more than one occasion I have been on property enrolled in the program and had landowners tell me I was trespassing. As soon as I let them know that I am aware of the land being in the program, they change their tune. This usually happens during hunting season when you are wearing blaze orange and stick out. The rest of the time, I don't think they even know you are there.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:44 am

I may be wrong, but I think that some of the Albany Public Hunting grounds (Green county) may be in the program. Some of it is posted as private, but available for hunting.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:58 pm

Outrageous waste of tax-dollars.....again.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:14 pm

Lostby7 wrote:

Outrageous waste of tax-dollars.....again.

I have to agree to a certain extent but also disagree if you know which hoops to jump thru. The program does allow you access to lands for hunting, hiking, exploring and a variety of outdoor pursuits. This becomes a great asset if you live in an area of the state where there is very little recreational land available. I'm fortunate to live in an area where there is a lot of public land, many people don't have that luxury. My Springer and I spent many an outing on land in this designation chasing pheasant. I don't know who enjoyed it more...

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:37 pm

Here's a tip on how to find the land.

Go to one of the many county land maps such as (http://coastal.lic.wisc.edu/wisconsin-ims/wisconsin-ims.htm). It may take a little searching to find the information you need until you get use to the specific counties map but once you do, it becomes easier. Not all counties use the same tools and formats.

Once in, look for a "Tax Parcel Report". If it is open it will state in the report "Forest Tax" in the tax category. That's the land you are looking for. You can even print out a copy. I often take this with me when I hunt new areas. Property owner doesn't question you once you pull it out.

The more you explore a county, the easier it gets to use the maps. If you have any questions on the Door or Price county maps ask away. The others I would have to play with for a while.

Hope this helps people out there. Tom

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:05 pm

Northwoods Tom wrote:

Here's a tip on how to find the land.

Go to one of the many county land maps such as (http://coastal.lic.wisc.edu/wisconsin-ims/wisconsin-ims.htm). It may take a little searching to find the information you need until you get use to the specific counties map but once you do, it becomes easier. Not all counties use the same tools and formats.

Once in, look for a "Tax Parcel Report". If it is open it will state in the report "Forest Tax" in the tax category. That's the land you are looking for. You can even print out a copy. I often take this with me when I hunt new areas. Property owner doesn't question you once you pull it out.

The more you explore a county, the easier it gets to use the maps. If you have any questions on the Door or Price county maps ask away. The others I would have to play with for a while.

Hope this helps people out there. Tom

I just type in the county name and then GIS and usually have success in finding the map.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:48 pm

That's true, but I like having all the maps on one site.(My cottage up north is on the border of two counties)

One thing that I'm unsure of, is the status of being able to place geocaches on these Forest Tax parcels. Earthcaches might be a different case. I stick with National Forest properties for my caches.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 5:03 pm

http://coastal.lic.wisc.edu/wisconsin-ims/wisconsin-ims.htm

here is a link to all the county's in wisconsin who have GIS mapping click on the county and it will take you to the counties page

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:01 pm

Interesting that this topic came up. I am in the process of enrolling my property in the MFL program. For the record, there are a lot of hoops to jump through to get land enrolled. I am in the first stage, having hired a consulting forester to write a management plan for my property. Only plans written by foresters who are licensed Plan Writers are eligible. My forester is estimating my cost for writing this plan to be about $1000. After the plan is written, it is submitted with the requisite forms to the DNR. I assure you, the information gathered is much more complete than the DNR Cache Notification Form. BTW, there are two levels of participation in the program. The level with the greatest property tax reduction requires opening the land to the public. The other level has a smaller tax benefit, but does not require allowing public access to the land.

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:43 pm

Hiding a new cache in Auburndale as I type this! Very Happy