Happy International Day of Forests! Annually, March 21 is a day dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness of our forests.  This year’s International Day of Forests theme is “forests and energy.”

In a video clip titled “The forest: nature’s powerhouse,” organizers of the 2017 celebration note, “Trees store the sun’s energy by turning it into wood which has always been the world’s most used source of renewable energy.  New scientific advances using wood waste are opening it up to even more uses like liquid biofuels, making it a fuel of the future.”

Wisconsin has 17.1 million acres of forestland and there are currently more than fifty public and private facilities in the state that use some form of woody biomass for their energy needs. Continue reading “Forests are nature’s powerhouse” →

A map showing the locations of Wisconsin’s primary forest products industries is featured in the fall 2016 issue of Wisconsin Wood Marketing Bulletin.   See the newsletter online here.  For more information, contact Statewide Forest Products Services Specialist Sabina Dhungana  at 608-261-0754.

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