Do you remember when you were in fourth grade? Did you receive a tree seedling to plant for Arbor Day?
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) nurseries have been giving away free seedlings to celebrate Arbor Day since 1984 – over two million seedlings across the state. Every fourth-grade student in Wisconsin is eligible to receive a free tree seedling from DNR nurseries to complement Arbor Day celebrations. Continue reading “Fourth Grade Arbor Day Orders Now Available”
Date: Feb. 16-18, 2025
Location: KI Convention Center, Green Bay, WI
*These training opportunities are provided as an information service only and do not constitute an endorsement from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
See below for information on the ISA Virtual Event and other upcoming trainings. Continue reading “Upcoming Trainings”
During National Forest Products Week, the USDA Forest Service announced it is making nearly $34 million in funding available through its Wood Innovations, Community Wood and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance grant programs. The Forest Service is seeking proposals that support crucial links between resilient, healthy forests, strong rural economies and jobs in the forestry sector. Funding for these programs is intended to spark innovation, create new markets for wood products and renewable wood energy and expand processing capacity. You can read the full news release on the Forest Service’s website.
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forest Health team leader Becky Gray will discuss invasives during a presentation to the Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium, set for Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee. / Photo Credit: Art Kabelowsky, Wisconsin DNR
Forest Health team leader Becky Gray has planned an appearance at a public meeting of the Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium (SEWISC). She’ll give a presentation covering invasives on a statewide level.
The event will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Havenwoods State Forest, 6141 N. Hopkins St., Milwaukee, WI. More information is available on the SEWISC website.
White, cottony hemlock woolly adelgid egg sacs on a hemlock branch. / Photo Credit: Bill McNee, Wisconsin DNR
By Michael Hillstrom, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Fitchburg; Michael.Hillstrom@wisconsin.gov
Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) and balsam woolly adelgid (BWA) are invasive, aphid-like insects that cause tree mortality in North America. Neither has been found in Wisconsin so far, but they are likely to arrive at some point, as they have been confirmed in Michigan.
HWA (Adelges tsugae) is an invasive, sucking insect pest of hemlock trees. The white, cottony egg sacs of HWA can be seen on the undersides of hemlock branches at the base of needles year-round. HWA saliva enters the tree while feeding. The saliva is toxic and causes needle drop and twig dieback, progressing to tree mortality in 4-10 years.
Two photos of the same spot on a tree in Door County, showing Heterobasidion root disease fruiting bodies (left) and the basal wound beneath them (right). / Photo Credits: Bill McNee, Wisconsin DNR
By Bill McNee, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh;
Bill.McNee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942
Heterobasidion root disease (HRD), formerly known as annosum root rot, was recently found in Door County for the first time.
In mid-September, several suspected HRD fruiting bodies were spotted in a white spruce plantation on privately owned land in the town of Sevastopol. One cluster of fruiting bodies located at the base of a dead spruce was confirmed as Heterobasidion irregulare, the fungal pathogen that causes HRD. The other fruiting bodies were identified as a native decay fungus that has a similar appearance.
Continue reading “Heterobasidion Root Disease Found In Door County”
Photo credit: Larry Krueger.
The people who make Wisconsin’s forest products industry function are vast and varied. It’s estimated that more than 123,000 jobs in the state are tied to the forest industry. From the foresters and woodland owners caring for the forest to the loggers and truckers getting the logs from the forest to the sawmills and pulp mills throughout the state to the workers creating finished wood and paper products, it takes a wealth of passionate people to produce the many forest products you depend on every day.
Larry Krueger, a co-owner and sawmill manager of Krueger Lumber, is one of those working in the heart of Wisconsin’s forest products industry – fitting, as Krueger said he was born into it.
“My father Herb Krueger started Krueger Lumber in 1969,” Krueger continued. “The more you see the beautiful, natural products from our forest, the more you grow to love and appreciate its beauty.”
In his role, Krueger wears many hats. His day at the mill begins at 6:15 a.m. with a hard hat as he tours the sawmill to ensure smooth operations.
“I speak to various workers at different production points, checking for any problems and to see what’s new. I walk from the sawmill to the dry kilns and warehouses. I stop at the different lumber grading areas, speaking to the graders about any questions or issues they are seeing in the kiln-dried lumber being re-graded for quality,” he said.
Selling kiln-dried lumber is one of Krueger’s top priorities; after ensuring everything is running smoothly, he trades in his hard hat for a sales pitch.
“Throughout the rest of the day, I speak with and email regular and potential customers,” Krueger said. Continue reading “Larry Krueger Shares Insights From Forest Products Industry Career”
Wood stores carbon throughout its life. Photo credit: DNR
Wisconsin’s forests and forest products have a dual role in climate change. They are impacted by climate change, but also help mitigate its effects by storing carbon in wood products from sustainably harvested forests.
Sustainably managed forests in Wisconsin provide essential raw materials for more than 1,200 wood product companies and 280 logging businesses. Annual forest growth in the state significantly exceeds the volume harvested. In 2013, Wisconsin’s primary wood-using mills received 307 million cubic feet of industrial roundwood, while net growth reached 576 million cubic feet — an impressive 18 cubic feet of wood growing every second – and enough to fill Camp Randall Stadium roughly 108 times over.
When sustainably harvested wood is used in long-lived products such as lumber, furniture, windows and doors, it stores carbon throughout its life, only releasing it back into the atmosphere when it decays. Compared to concrete and steel, wood is gaining popularity as a building material due to its carbon-storing capacity – about half of dry wood is carbon – and its renewability. Additionally, it requires a less energy-intensive manufacturing process.
Continue reading “How Wisconsin’s Forests And Climate Initiatives Are Shaping A Sustainable Future”
Wisconsin exported around $1.3 billion worth of forest products in 2022. Photo credit: DNR
The economic impact of Wisconsin’s forests cannot be understated.
The annual value of products from Wisconsin’s forest industry is over $24 billion, representing 2.3% of the state’s gross domestic product. Forest industries in Wisconsin employ around 58,000 individuals.
The economic influence of Wisconsin’s forest products industry extends to other sectors through inter-industry transactions and household spending. The forest products industry contributed an additional 66,000 jobs and $13.1 billion in output, bringing the total to over 123,000 jobs and $38 billion in production tied to the forest products sector. To help contextualize the scale of that impact, consider this: For every ten jobs in the forest products industry, 11 jobs were created in other areas of the economy.
Continue reading “The Economic Powerhouse Of Wisconsin’s Forest Products Industry”
