Forest Products News

Black Walnut Trends In Wisconsin

Posted on by Kirsten Held

By Brian Anderson, DNR Forest Inventory Analyst, Rhinelander and Alex Rosenflanz, DNR Forest Inventory Specialist, Madison

Acres Of Black Walnut Forests
Black walnut is a valuable and highly sought-after species found in the Midwest and Eastern United States. In Wisconsin, its distribution is primarily limited to the state’s southern region, although scattered sites are found farther north. The total acreage of black walnut in the state has increased nearly three times, from approximately 35,065 acres in 2004, to 101,274 acres in 2019.

Of that total, surprisingly, only 10% is attributed to stands established by artificial regeneration. The distribution of acres by stand age shows a boon in stands aged 31 to 90 years since 2004, with younger age classes remaining relatively steady since 2009 (Figure 1). Relatively few stands have reached ages over 90 years.
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New Forest Products Specialist In Dodgeville

Posted on by Kirsten Held

By Collin Buntrock, DNR Forest Products Team Leader

I am very pleased to announce that Brian Zweifel has accepted the statewide Forest Products Specialist position in Dodgeville. Brian’s first day was Feb. 14.

Brian brings a diverse background in forestry and partnership development and will play a key role in forest products training, business and market development regionally and across Wisconsin. He has worked as a DNR forester and consulting forester and has experience with international marketing and forest products extension.

He is excited to bring his experience as a field forester and forest products extension to the forest products services team to support, promote and grow Wisconsin’s forest products industry.

Upcoming Forest Products Events

Posted on by Kirsten Held

Wisconsin Local Use Dimension Lumber Grading Classes (WI LUDL) – Woodruff, Wisconsin
May 31, June 1 – 2, 2022
To register for one of these courses, please visit this webpage.

Hardwood Sawmilling Certificate – Antigo, Wisconsin
June 6 – July 1, 2022
This unique certificate prepares learners for hands-on, in-demand positions within the hardwood lumber industry. This short four-week certificate will help launch you into a lifelong, rewarding career. All classes are taught in person and utilize Northcentral Technical College’s 27,000 square foot state-of-the-art Wood Technology Center of Excellence.

The training will focus on hardwood lumber inspection; sawing, edging and trimming to maximize profits; hardwood log scaling and grading; and species identification for hardwood lumber and logs.

To learn more about this program, please visit this webpage. To register, visit the registration page.

Small Live Edge Slab Business Workshop – Grafton, Wisconsin
June 9, 2022
This one-day educational and networking workshop focuses on the business and operational skills needed to operate a live-edge slab producing sawmill business successfully. There will be on-site slab sawing demonstrations. To learn more about this workshop and register, please visit the event’s registration page.

National Firewood Workshop – Arlington, Wisconsin
June 15 – 16, 2022
This firewood industry event combines education and networking opportunities. The workshop offers discussions on business and equipment topics and outdoor sawing and firewood splitting demonstrations by multiple equipment manufacturers.  To learn more about this workshop and register, please visit the event’s registration page.

Monitoring The Condition Of Wisconsin’s Forest Regeneration

Posted on by grace.hershberg

Have you ever wondered how Wisconsin’s forests are monitored for regeneration? Forest regeneration, the process of renewing tree cover by establishing young trees, is one of the most basic and important elements of sustainable forest management. After a harvest or disturbance event, like a fire or heavy winds, successful regeneration is crucial to developing healthy, productive forests that can provide sustainable economic and ecological functions. Forest regrowth patterns must be well understood to manage Wisconsin’s forest resources sustainably.

In 2018, the DNR’s Forestry Division launched the Forest Regeneration Monitoring (FRM) program to better assess the status and progression of naturally regenerating forests on county, state, federal and private lands across the state.

Continue reading “Monitoring The Condition Of Wisconsin’s Forest Regeneration” →

Wood Energy – Renewable And Locally Available

Posted on by grace.hershberg

Did you know that wood energy makes up a large percentage of Wisconsin’s renewable energy consumption? In 2017, biomass (including wood) accounted for an estimated 70% of the state’s renewable energy use.  Are you a business, school or institution interested in learning more about whether wood energy is a good fit for you?  See how the Forest Products Services program can help!

Graphs displaying renewable energy use by source.

Source: https://psc.wi.gov/Pages/Programs/OEI/WisconsinEnergyStatistics.aspx

Wisconsin’s Forest Census

Posted on by grace.hershberg

The Department of Agriculture’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program is the nation’s “Forest Census” and has been ongoing, in one form or another, since the 1930s. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) manages this program with its state partners, allowing every state to get a snapshot of the condition of its forestland in a given year.

FIA data is frequently used to understand how forests across the state are changing over time. This analysis informs sound forest management and planning, allows Wisconsin’s forest products industry to evaluate timber availability and helps us better understand the forests that we use for many purposes.

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Careers In The Forest Products Industry

Posted on by grace.hershberg

The forest products industry employs more than 63,000 workers in every corner of the state. Jobs in forest management, logging and wood and paper manufacturing are an important part of our state’s economy. Consider a rewarding career in the forest industry, with occupations including:

Pictured above is a cabinetmaker at a custom cabinet company in northeastern Wisconsin. Credit: Wisconsin DNR

  • Logger
  • Forester
  • Truck driver
  • Log scaler
  • Lumber inspector
  • Mill production worker
  • Maintenance technician
  • Electrician
  • Process engineer
  • Quality control specialist
  • Sales representative

Forest Markets – Connecting Forest Management, Products And The Economy

Posted on by grace.hershberg

Forest products markets play an important role across Wisconsin’s urban and rural economies and are strongly tied to healthy, well-managed forests. Division staff in the Forest Products Services (FPS) team support market growth by investigating new uses for Wisconsin wood, providing professional guidance on emerging products and technologies, gathering data on Wisconsin’s timber product output and being a bridge between Wisconsin producers and buyers (i.e. the marketplace). 

A market segment experiencing notable growth is urban wood recycling. Historically, urban trees were used by only a few mills in the state. However, the increase of trees killed by invasive insects and disease caused many municipalities to seek alternative uses for urban wood rather than disposing material in a landfill. Recent efforts to market this growing source of material and develop ways to recycle urban trees within communities led Wisconsin to become one of the leading states in urban wood utilization. Throughout the state, markets continue to grow; at least 30 companies are producing products made from urban wood. 

Continue reading “Forest Markets – Connecting Forest Management, Products And The Economy” →

Working To Improve Forest Utilization

Posted on by grace.hershberg

DNR forest products staff work closely with businesses and organizations to use Wisconsin wood more profitably and effectively.

This work ranges from connecting buyers with suppliers of timber and other wood products, to directly assisting both rural and urban forest businesses to improve their profitability and marketing position. In addition, staff partner with members of the forest industry to host and teach workshops on lumber grading, kiln drying, workplace safety and marketing. They also provide technical assistance to improve mill productivity and product quality and collect data for assessing business development opportunities.  Learn more about Wisconsin’s forest businesses here.

Forest Products Specialist assessing moisture uniformity of dried hardwood lumber during a mill assessment. Credit: Wisconsin DNR

Participants practicing railway tie grading procedures at an industry workshop hosted by the Forest Products Services team. Credit: Wisconsin DNR