Date of enactment: March 14, 2024
2023 Senate Bill 255 Date of publication*: March 15, 2024
2023 WISCONSIN ACT 111
AN ACT to amend 281.36 (3r) (e) of the statutes; relating to: public access to wetlands benefitting from the in lieu
fee subprogram.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 281.36 (3r) (e) of the statutes is amended
to read:
281.36 (3r) (e) As part of the mitigation program
established under par. (a), the department shall establish
an in lieu fee subprogram, under which payments are
made to the department or another entity for the pur-
poses of restoring, enhancing, creating, or preserving
wetlands or other water resource features. The subpro-
gram must be approved by the U.S. army corps of engi-
neers. The department shall establish requirements for
calculating the in lieu fee payments. Under the in lieu
fee subprogram, the wetlands that benefit from the sub-
program shall may be open to the public for hunting,
fishing, trapping, cross−country skiing, or hiking or any
combination thereof, but. In determining approved mit-
igation projects that benefit from the subprogram, the
department shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that
there is no net loss of public access to wetlands. If the
wetlands that benefit from the subprogram are open to
the public, the department may establish reasonable
restrictions on the use of the land by the public in order
to protect public safety or to protect a unique plant or
animal community. The subprogram shall be consistent
with federal regulations.
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.”