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TRUST LANDS > Land Transactions
Land Transactions The lands we currently hold in trust are a patchwork of acres remaining from over a dozen grants from the federal government for a wide variety of public purposes, including “School Section” and university lands, swamp reclamation lands, canal lands, military wagon road lands, and many others. Most of the original granted lands were sold over 100 years ago. Consolidating our holdings while protecting unique natural areas is a critical component in our land management strategy. With the passage of “land bank authority” in 2006, we gained authority to “bank” the proceeds of land sales for future acquisitions. Previously, when we sold land, the proceeds were deposited into the Trust Funds; we could only acquire new land—to provide road access for managing our other land holdings, for example—if a property owner were willing to trade. Land bank authority provides much greater flexibility to:
Land bank sales Since the inception of the Land Bank program in 2006, the BCPL has sold or is in the process of selling 8,246 acres. Of that acreage, 6,748 have been sold to the WI Department of Natural Resources (DNR); 1,398 have been sold to Sawyer County; 20 acres to Taylor County and 80 acres to privat landowners via a sealed bid sale. Most of the lands sold to the DNR have been for designated natural areas (4,950) or properties located within other DNR project boundaries. These sales coupled with Land Bank purchases have increased the amount of managed timberlands by 10.6% (2,974 acres) while unproductive wetlands have decreased by 9% (2,454 acres). BCPL has begun the process of offering for sale its isolated, unproductive tracts to private parties by sealed bid. An independent appraisal of those lands is conducted prior to offering the parcels for sale. Land bank purchases Criteria for evaluating potential land acquisitions include: the potential for good timber production, ownership of the parcel provides improved public access, and whether the parcel blocks well with existing Trust Lands, thus improving timber management efficiency. The BCPL has purchased 7,009 acres since the inception of the Land Bank program. All of these lands are open to the public. Strategic land purchases adjacent to previously landlocked Trust Lands have increased public access to an additional 3,367 acres. Contributing to northern communities A number of northern Wisconsin communities benefit from these land bank transactions. BCPL is keeping working forests working by acquiring productive timberland. Through sustainable timber harvests on these lands, we keep local logging industries working. We also make payments in lieu of taxes (“PILT”) at the previous owner’s property tax rate on the lands we acquire under land bank authority. These payments help to pay for local government services.
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