New Managed Forest Law (MFL) enrollments become active at the start of the year to align with the new property tax year. There are 1,370 new enrollments for 2025! Some statistics for the new enrollments include:

• Nearly one-third of enrollees are new landowners in the MFL program, which is similar to enrollments in recent years.
• A total of 88,105 acres were added to the MFL program.
• 1,352 enrollments are individual landowners, and 18 added land to large ownerships with at least 1,000 acres statewide.
• The average size of the new enrollments was 61 acres for individual landowners and 302 acres for large ownerships.
• 10,356 acres are open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, sightseeing and cross-country skiing.
• 43% (4,453 acres) of the open MFL acreage is part of a large ownerships.
• 71% of eligible new enrollments elected to participate in the MFL Certified Group.
• The total number of 2025 enrollments is less than the 1,452 enrollments that expired at the end of 2024, but the total new acreage enrolled in MFL in 2025 is almost 15,000 acres more than the total of the expired acreage.

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Julie Church has joined the Tax Law Section as our Tax Law operations specialist. Julie oversees the Certified Plan Writer (CPW) program, assists with tax law policy and program management and helps manage the Wisconsin Forest Inventory and Reporting System (WisFIRS). She serves as a key liaison for various stakeholders, including cooperating foresters and CPWs. She started her new role in November 2024, and is stationed in Rhinelander at the Forestry Headquarters.

A graduate of St. Olaf College in Minnesota, Julie holds a degree in biology with concentrations in environmental science and Nordic studies. After completing internships in Wyoming and Pennsylvania, she attended Eastern Kentucky University and graduated with a master’s degree in biological sciences with a thesis focused on blue jay vocalizations.

Julie first began working with the DNR as an LTE with the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and held a Forestry executive staff assistant position for just over 6 years, working with the Field Implementation Team, Strategic Leadership Team and the Council on Forestry on a wide array of topics.

Outside of work, Julie enjoys mountain biking, cooking, being outdoors and spending time with her husband, Nick.

Julie is thrilled to join the Tax Law Section and looks forward to continuing to contribute to the program.

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg
[email protected]

For 48 years and counting, Roger Pluedeman has been a logger.

And much more.

After starting his career in Rhinelander in 1977, Pluedeman moved to the Eagle River area in 1979 and established Pluedeman Logging. He has owned and operated that business ever since.

The basic roles of a logger have become second nature to Pluedeman: Forge contracts with landowners, make detailed plans, cut down trees and turn them into logs and remove the logs for transport to their destination.

But Pluedeman also excels at the people side of logging: Developing and growing long-term relationships, both with landowners and with the land itself.

“He’s not a ‘look what I did’ guy. He’s known as a guy who gets the work done and helps where he can,” said Henry Schienebeck of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, who has known Pluedeman for decades.

“Roger’s work includes a lot of long-term relationships, and that goes to show that whomever he’s working with, he’s treating them fairly.”

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Whether or not you are in the Managed Forest Law (MFL) Certified Group, we recommend adhering to all applicable Forestry Best Management Practices (BPMs) for Water Quality to protect your property’s soil and water resources. During forest management, we can take measures to minimize rutting, soil compaction and erosion and protect the value of any water features on the site. Familiarizing yourself with the water features on your property from the BMP perspective will help you ensure that when it comes time to harvest timber or put in a road, you take the necessary measures to protect what is important to you.

As described in Wisconsin’s BMP Field Manual, BMPs are a set of guidelines “intended to provide simple and cost-effective methods for protecting water quality in lakes, streams and wetlands… before, during and after forest management activities”. BMPs are designed to protect water quality, water temperature, nutrient balances, habitat diversity and hydrologic processes.

When BMPs are not followed or properly implemented, the impacts can include reduced soil ability to absorb water, increased soil erosion potential, diverted, concentrated and/or increased water flows, and reduced cover next to water resources. In addition to negative impacts on water quality, landowners may also experience more practical impacts, such as reduced usability of roads and trails due to erosion.

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Two forestry pesticides now have an Environmental and Social Risk Assessment (ESRA) available on the MFL Certified Group Pesticide webpage courtesy of our colleagues at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Tebufenozide is an insecticide that can be used to control spongy moth, and aminocyclopyrachlor is an herbicide used to control broadleaf plants.

Neither chemical is found in the current Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)® List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides. However, MFL landowners using or considering pesticides on certified land still have responsibilities under the FSC® pesticide policy regarding Integrated Pest Management, ESRA, monitoring and reporting.

If this sounds new to you or the details are foggy, you are encouraged to read our past newsletter article on the topic and review the materials available on the MFL Certified Group Pesticide webpage.

Lastly, “better late than never” holds true for pesticide reporting! If you applied pesticides on your certified MFL property last year, it is not too late to submit your pesticide report(s) using the online form.