1. Forest Reserve Input - Assessors, Conservation Directors, Supervisors
Monday, July 22, 2019

2. 196 Total Responses Tuesday, June 18, 2019 through July 15, 2019
Complete Responses: 196
Dan Cohen, Buchanan County Conservation Board

3. Q1: Which of the following would you say is a substantial benefit provided by Iowa’s Forest Reserve Program? (check all that apply)
Answered: Skipped: 11

4. Q1: Which of the following would you say is a substantial benefit provided by Iowa’s Forest Reserve Program? (check all that apply)
Answered: Skipped: 11

5. No substantial problems – 61%
Q2: For your county, which of the following do you believe are substantial problems with Iowa’s Forest Reserve Program? (check all that apply)
Answered: Skipped: 12
No substantial problems – 61%
Reduces County Revenues
Reduces school/other Revenues
Substantial time

6. Q2: For your county, which of the following do you believe are substantial problems with Iowa’s Forest Reserve Program? (check all that apply)
Answered: Skipped: 12

7. Q3: In your county, do you believe any of the following substantially occurs and, even if conservation benefits are met, you feel this is a problem? (check all that apply)
Answered: Skipped: 42

8. No issue was seen as substantial by a majority of respondents
Q3: In your county, do you believe any of the following substantially occurs and, even if conservation benefits are met, you feel this is a problem? (check all that apply)
Answered: Skipped: 42
No issue was seen as substantial by a majority of respondents

9. Q4: On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being your most preferred change, rank the following potential changes to Iowa’s Forest Reserve Program. - Least preferred
Least Preferred
Answered: Skipped: 0

10. Q4: On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being your most preferred change, rank the following potential changes to Iowa’s Forest Reserve Program. - Most preferred
Most Preferred
Answered: Skipped: 0

11. Q5: In your County, which department(s) administer(s) the Forest Reserve Program?
Answered: Skipped: 4

12. Q5: In your County, which department(s) administer(s) the Forest Reserve Program?
Answered: Skipped: 4

13. Q6: In which Department/Office do your work?
Answered: Skipped: 2

14. Q6: In which Department/Office do your work?
Answered: Skipped: 2

15. Q7: How many Forest Reserve acres currently are enrolled in your county? (select one)
Answered: Skipped: 2

16. Q7: How many Forest Reserve acres currently are enrolled in your county? (select one)
Answered: Skipped: 2

17. Takeaways Super Majority
Forest Reserve benefits wildlife habitat (91%), water quality, and soil conservation (71%)
There are no “substantial problems” with Forest Reserve (61%)

18. Takeaways If changes are made, the most preferred (>3/5):
Prohibit rental income (3.73)
Require management plan (3.49)
Require landowners reside in Iowa (3.40)
Increase minimum acres from 2 to 5 (3.05)
The least preferred change was to eliminate the program (2.05)

19. Takeaways Considerations for changes:
Prohibit Rental Income
Although these people do not pay property tax, they still pay income tax, and the land remains protected.
Require Management Plan
Who would write/pay for these plans?
Currently, many/most public lands do not have active management.
Increased burden for Conservation Boards to check compliance to plans.

20. Takeaways Considerations for changes:
Require Landowners Reside in Iowa
Will this lead to fewer good blocks of timber in Forest Reserve, and therefore less benefit?
Tie rental income restriction only to out-of-state landowners?
Increase Minimum Acres from 2 to 5
Perhaps the easiest to accomplish in the Code.
May impact urban forest reserve the most.

21. Takeaways Comments/Ideas not captured/vetted in Survey Questions
Change from 0 percent property tax to some other amount (25%, 50%, etc.).
Use aerial photography to monitor annually and/or visits once every few years.
Let each county (Supervisors) opt-in or opt-out.
Change sign-up deadline to fall for easier inspection.
Require landowner notify Assessor when removing trees/receiving income, and require contracts (hunting) be recorded (penalty?).
Open to public hunting.
Forest lands already are accounted for in Assessments.
When Forest Reserve land is sold/transferred, require new owner to re-apply (sunset/reapply in general?).
Approval should be through Conservation Department, since they have expertise.
These lands receive county services, so should pay property tax.
Should be discussed in the context of all tax credits – others need adjusting.
Many acres would be torn out in a heartbeat if Forest Reserve was gone.

22. Takeaways Considerations for changes:
Once the Code Section is opened, counties may not control the changes made.