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Certification audits praise DNR land management

Posted on by Kirsten Held

Wisconsin’s forested lands are some of the state’s most valuable resources and the Department of Natural Resources is doing a good job caring for them according to audits conducted by SCS Global Services.  Independent, third-party certification means DNR management of its properties meets strict standards for ecological, social and economic sustainability. The words “exemplary” and “superb” were used in reporting 2016 audit findings on 1,551,440 acres of state-owned lands.  Department owned lands are certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  Read more in this DNR news release.

For more information, contact Mark Heyde at 608-267-0565.

Forestry professionals gather in Madison

Posted on by Kirsten Held

Professional foresters from across the U.S. and Canada are gathering in Madison on Nov. 3-6 for the 2016 national Society of American Foresters convention.  Wisconsin DNR forester Julie Peltier, who is serving as general chair of the convention, said the gathering of about 1,600 foresters will provide the opportunity to showcase Wisconsin’s 17.1 million acres of forests and the social, cultural, ecological and economic benefits they provide.  Read more in this DNR news release.  For more information, contact Kirsten Held, Kirsten.Held@Wisconsin.gov.

State forest meetings scheduled for Nov 2 and 3

Posted on by Kirsten Held

You are invited to attend open house meetings to review and comment on proposed changes to master plans for several northern forests and on a 15 year review of the Brule River State Forest master plan.  The meetings are scheduled for November 2 in Woodruff and Black River Falls and November 3 in Brule and Winter.  You may also review the documents, fill out surveys and submit comments online through the master planning pages for the properties.  Comment deadline is November 21, 2016.  Read more in this DNR news release.

Celebrate National Forest Products Week

Posted on by Kirsten Held

Since 1960, the seven-day period beginning on the third Sunday of October has been designated by Presidential proclamation as a time to recognize the many products that come from our forests in addition to the people who manage, harvest, and manufacture these products we depend on each and every day. Most Wisconsinites recognize that forests are an essential part of our state’s history, culture, and environment, but many do not realize the economic importance of our 17.1 million acres of forest land to the state and local economies.

Wisconsin’s forest products industry:

  • Leads the US in paper production;
  • Provides more than  64,000 jobs; and
  • Contributes $ 24.7 billion of output to the state’s economy annually.

The forest products industry continues to provide a sustainable resource in response to an ever changing market. Despite the market changes over time, the diversity of Wisconsin’s forest products companies has been and will remain an important contributor to the economy in Wisconsin.  Read more in this DNR news release.

Written by Sabina Dhungana, DNR Forest Products Specialist, (608) 261-0754, Sabina.dhungana@wisconsin.gov

Grants to strengthen fire suppression in 196 communities

Posted on by Kirsten Held

Fire departments in 196 Wisconsin communities will receive a total of $645,487 in grants from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forest Fire Protection Grant Program in 2016. The funding can be used for equipment, prevention, and training to enhance forest fire protection and suppression ability.  This grant program was established in 1997 to strengthen the capacity of local fire departments and county or area fire organizations to assist the DNR forestry staff in suppression of forest fires. Here’s a complete list of 2016 FFP grant recipients [PDF].  Read more in this news release or on the DNR website, keyword grants.

For more information, contact Chris Klahn (christopher.klahn@wisconsin.gov), DNR cooperative fire control specialist, 608- 297-2214.

BMPs found to protect water quality

Posted on by Kirsten Held
Map of 2015 BMP Monitoring Sites on private, nonindustrial forestland in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin forestland sites monitored by the 2015 BMP teams. Coniferous trees represent sites that were in the Managed Forest Law (MFL) program and deciduous trees represent sites not in the MFL program. Note: Some dots are close together making the total number of sites difficult to determine on this map.

Newly-released results from 2015 monitoring for the application and effectiveness of Wisconsin’s Forestry Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Water Quality show excellent results. The effectiveness of BMPs that were applied correctly was extremely high (99.6%) at protecting water quality, but when BMPs were applied incorrectly or not applied, BMP effectiveness rates woefully dropped (6.3% and 9.4% respectively).  Even with the low water quality protection of BMPs that were applied incorrectly and not applied, no major impacts were reported on any of the monitored sites.   Read more details about the results from the monitoring of 36 non-industrial private forestland (NIPF) sites (26 of the landowners are enrolled in the MFL program) in the 2015 BMP Monitoring Report.

For more information, contact Forest Hydrologist Dave Kafura, david.kafura@wisconsin.gov, (715) 416-4140

Managing seed orchards for tree improvement

Posted on by Kirsten Held
White pine plantation

White pine plantation near Lake Tomahawk

Soon after the beginning of the nurseries in Wisconsin, managers realized they had a special role to play in the development of trees, especially when it came to disease resistance, growth, and form. In conjunction with the UW system, USDA Forest Service scientists and researchers and our own tree geneticist, nursery staff established a number of seed orchards.  Throughout the decades, we have explored and invested in new sites, creating a tree improvement program that is stocked with species in various stages of development and/or characteristic selection.

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