Michigan Laws 324.51103 – Commercial forest; application for classification; “contiguous” defined; requirements for eligibility; application form; postmark or delivery date; providing certain information and fee to depart
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 324.51103
- commercial forestland: means forestland that is determined to be a commercial forest under section 51104. See Michigan Laws 324.51101
- declassification: means the removal of the commercial forest designation pursuant to section 51116. See Michigan Laws 324.51101
- Department: means the director of the department of natural resources or his or her designee to whom the director delegates a power or duty by written instrument. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- Forest management plan: means a written plan prepared and signed by a registered forester or a natural resources professional that prescribes measures to optimize production, utilization, and regeneration of forest resources. See Michigan Laws 324.51101
- Forestland: means a tract of land that may include nonproductive land that is intermixed with productive land that is an integral part of a managed forest and that meets all the following:
(i) Does not have material natural resources other than those resources suitable for forest growth or the potential for forest growth. See Michigan Laws 324.51101Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC Fund: means the commercial forest fund created under section 51112. See Michigan Laws 324.51101 Owner: means a person who holds title to the surface estate of forestland subject to this part. See Michigan Laws 324.51101 Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301 Rule: means a rule promulgated pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24. See Michigan Laws 324.301 state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
(1) The owner of at least 40 contiguous acres or a survey unit consisting of 1/4 of 1/4 of a section of forestland located within this state may apply to the department to have that forestland classified as a commercial forest under this part. For purposes of this subsection, “contiguous” means land that touches at any point. Even if portions of commercial forestland are contiguous only at a point, the privilege of hunting and fishing as provided in section 51113 shall not be denied for any portion of the land. The existence of a public or private road, a railroad, or a utility right-of-way that separates any part of the land does not make the land noncontiguous.
(2) To be eligible for classification as a commercial forest, forestland shall be capable of all of the following:
(a) Producing not less than 20 cubic feet per acre per year of forest growth upon maturity.
(b) Producing tree species that have economic or commercial value.
(c) Producing a commercial stand of timber within a reasonable period of time.
(3) An application for classification as commercial forest shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the department. The application shall be postmarked or delivered not later than April 1 to be eligible for classification as commercial forest for the following tax year. In addition to any information that the department may reasonably require by rule, the applicant shall provide all of the following to the department:
(a) A nonrefundable application fee in the amount of $1.00 per acre or fraction of an acre, but not less than $200.00 and not more than $1,000.00. The department shall remit the application fee to the state treasurer for deposit into the fund.
(b) A legal description and the amount of acreage considered for classification as a commercial forest.
(c) A statement certifying that a forest management plan covering the forestland has been prepared and is in effect.
(d) A statement certifying that the owner of the forestland owns the timber rights to the timber standing on the forestland.
(4) The department shall prepare and distribute to any person desiring to apply for classification of forestland as commercial forest under this part a brochure that lists and explains, in simple, nontechnical terms, all of the following:
(a) The application, hearing, determination, declassification, and prosecution process.
(b) The requirements of the forest management plan.
(5) Not later than 3 months after the effective date of the 2013 amendatory act that amended this section, the department shall notify each county and township and all owners of forestland that is classified as commercial forest under this part, who are on record with the department, of the amendments to this part that were enacted in 2013.
(6) After an owner certifies to the department that a forest management plan has been prepared and is in effect, a violation of that forest management plan is a violation of this part.
(7) A forest management plan that has been submitted to the department or the local tax collecting unit is exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.