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Landowners Urged To Fight Spongy Moth

Posted on by wjaroch

A closeup of a fresh spongy moth egg mass on a tree. Now is the time to locate and destroy egg masses to reduce the number of caterpillars attacking your trees in the spring. / Photo Credit: Bill McNee, Wisconsin DNR

As fall begins, landowners all over Wisconsin – including those involved in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Managed Forest Law program – are urged to remember the fight against spongy moths.

After all, the best time to put a dent in next year’s infestation is to spend some time during fall and winter finding and removing spongy moth egg masses – each of which contains 500 or more potential future caterpillars.

The invasive pest caused a state-record defoliation total of 373,000 acres in 2023. The outbreak seemed on track to continue in several areas of the state in 2024 until rain and cooler weather boosted the emergence of two natural enemies of spongy moth caterpillars, a virus and a fungus, which helped to greatly reduce the population in many areas last July.

Still, caterpillars survived to pupate, mate and leave behind egg masses that will become next spring’s batch of caterpillars. Fortunately for landowners, the next few months mark the best opportunity to attack the spongy moth population, eliminating the caterpillars before they have a chance to emerge and feed. Continue reading “Landowners Urged To Fight Spongy Moth” →

Tuttle Offers Expert Advice To MFL Landowners

Posted on by wjaroch

Andy Tuttle in his typical “office” environment. Photo Credit: Andy Tuttle

Andy Tuttle figures he has seen just about everything in decades of work as a forester.

“That’s the cool thing about what we do,” said Tuttle, a consulting forester for Groeschl Forestry Consulting. “Everything is an adventure and there are new projects every day.”

Tuttle’s list of specialties includes forest management planning, timber sale and inventory administration, appraisal and contracting, wildlife habitat improvement, environmental impact studies, recreational planning, GIS/GPS mapping and expert litigation testimony.

That’s a full deck of varied skills, to be sure. But Tuttle says “the bread and butter of what I do” is consulting with landowners involved – or considering involvement – in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Managed Forest Law (MFL) program.

As such, Tuttle stands as a shining example of the 200 or so certified MFL plan writers in the state.

“Because there’s so much to do with MFL, probably 70% of what I do, if not more, is related to MFL in some way,” Tuttle said, adding that his MFL work often focuses heavily on when the time for a timber sale arrives. Continue reading “Tuttle Offers Expert Advice To MFL Landowners” →

DNR To Accept Seedling Orders For The Spring Starting Oct. 7

Posted on by wjaroch

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will accept seedling orders from Wisconsin landowners for planting trees and shrubs in spring 2025 starting Oct. 7, 2024. The high-quality seedlings are native species appropriate for planting throughout Wisconsin and grown at the F.G. Wilson State Nursery in beautiful Boscobel.

Seedlings grown by the state nurseries are used for reforestation and conservation plantings on private, public and tribal lands. These seedlings can provide future forest products and revenues, wildlife habitat, soil erosion control, living snow fences, carbon storage, aesthetics and shade for landowners and public land managers in every county. Any seedlings planted will also get Wisconsin closer to the goal of planting 100 million trees across the state by 2030; a part of the national Trillion Tree Pledge.

Continue reading “DNR To Accept Seedling Orders For The Spring Starting Oct. 7” →

Preliminary Seedling Availability For Spring 2025 Planting | Wisconsin DNR Reforestation Program

Posted on by wjaroch

Proper tree planting requires a lot of decision-making, and one of the most crucial decisions is which species and age are the most appropriate and cost-effective to plant. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Reforestation Program is taking some of the unknowns out of that process by giving landowners and property managers an early peek at the seedlings we anticipate having available in fall 2024 for planting in spring 2025.

This list is preliminary, as some species may be added, adjusted or removed depending on health, growth and other factors as the growing season progresses.

The listed tree and shrub seedlings will be available to purchase starting Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Though we expect high demand, we anticipate having a variety of species and ages available to all customers.

Continue reading “Preliminary Seedling Availability For Spring 2025 Planting | Wisconsin DNR Reforestation Program” →