Best Management Practices

Spongy Moth Egg Mass Surveying Video Released

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forest Health team joined with the DNR Office of Communications to produce an instructional video aimed at helping large landowners and land managers in the fight against spongy moth.

The video, less than 2 minutes in length, shows how to conduct a survey of spongy moth egg masses in the fall. With that information, people can predict how much damage to expect from the caterpillars in the spring, giving them time to make advance plans for the most effective control options.

Continue reading “Spongy Moth Egg Mass Surveying Video Released” →

WAA Summer Conference And Tree Climbing Competition July 26-28

Posted on by janness

Join the Wisconsin Arborist Association (WAA) for its summer conference. It will be held at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls University Center in River Falls, Wisconsin, on Friday, July 26, 2024. The program will have a little something for everyone, Planting for the Future and feature two educational tracks, one indoors and one outdoors.

Topics include:

  • Storm damage to trees
  • Construction project management
  • Tree stress and management
  • Tree diversity options
  • Mentoring the new generation
  • Training new climbers
  • Company training
  • Aerial lift to climbing transitions
  • Drone applications

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Spring Invasive Plant Management Workshop

Posted on by janness

Many residents and land managers in southeastern Wisconsin search for effective and efficient practices to control exotic invasive plants in our natural areas. The Southeastern Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium is teaming up again with Johnson’s Nursery to offer Invasive Plant Management Workshops in 2024.

Take this class to ensure that you are using the most appropriate, efficient, up-to-date and least environmentally damaging methods in those efforts. Continue reading “Spring Invasive Plant Management Workshop” →

Wisconsin Expands Trillion Trees Pledge

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Carmen Hardin, DNR Applied Forestry Bureau Director;
Carmen.Hardin@wisconsin.gov

Photo of seed cleaning equipment at Hayward State Nursery

Existing seed cleaning equipment at Hayward State Nursery is scheduled for an update.

Landowners across the state have stepped up in a big way when it comes to planting trees.

At the end of 2023, more than 32 million trees had been planted and tallied as part of Wisconsin’s Trillion Trees Pledge. The program started in 2021 when Governor Tony Evers committed the state to planting 75 million trees and conserving 125,000 acres of forestland by 2030. Continue reading “Wisconsin Expands Trillion Trees Pledge” →

USDA Seeks Donated Ash Trees To Battle Emerald Ash Borer

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Caleb Burden, Acting Field Lead Technician, USDA APHIS PPQ;
Caleb.Burden@usda.gov or 734-732-0025

Photo of a green ash tree with a small piece of bark cut back shows emerald ash borer larvae feeding on the tree.

A green ash tree with a small piece of bark cut back shows emerald ash borer larvae feeding on the tree. / Photo Credit: USDA APHIS PPS

In the fight against emerald ash borer (EAB), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) again asks Wisconsin landowners to donate live, EAB-infested ash trees for use in a biological control program.

The emerald ash borer is an invasive insect from Asia first detected in the United States in 2002. Following its discovery, EAB has caused the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees.

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Updated Tree Species Recommendations

Posted on by janness

By Dan Buckler, DNR Urban Forest Assessment Specialist

Pines are evergreen. So are hollies. And spruces and firs and hemlocks fit the bill. Requests for species recommendations are also evergreen – I’m sure many of you field these requests.

The DNR Urban Forestry program, in consultation with partners on the Wisconsin Urban ForestryBald Cypress Council, has updated its recommended species lists for street and park trees. You can find those four documents below and under “Tree Species Selection” on the DNR urban tree planting resources webpage.

These lists are not exhaustive, and any general list of recommendations has some uncertainty due to the nuanced conditions of specific planting sites. We highly suggest consulting with your local nurseries and other experts who can discuss what is available and provide other recommendations and planting advice. With just a few exceptions, these lists do not include cultivars and varieties, but your local experts can provide that amount of detail. Continue reading “Updated Tree Species Recommendations” →

Green Light On For Oak Tree Work

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of fallen leaves from a red oak that show discoloration, an indication that the tree is infected with oak wilt.

Discolored fallen leaves from a red oak tree indicate that the tree is infected with oak wilt. / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach and Communications, Fitchburg Service Center;
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

With the weather taking its time to turn wintry, it’s a good time to remind landowners and work crews that now through the end of March is an ideal time to perform pruning, trimming and brush removal on and near oak trees.

This is a low-risk period for the trees to be infected with oak wilt, a fungal disease spread by beetles. When a red oak is infected with oak wilt, it will die that year. The disease also stresses white oaks, often proving fatal.

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Mielke’s Home Is Where His Heart Is

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Photo of Dick Mielke at the sign on the edge of his property christening it 'Legacy Hills.'

Dick Mielke was born and raised on farmland east of the city of Baraboo, and still lives on the land. He has converted much of it into carefully tended Managed Forest Law property he and his wife call “Legacy Hills.” / Photo Credit: Wisconsin DNR

By Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health Outreach/Communications, Fitchburg;
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov; 608-335-0167

BARABOO TOWNSHIP — This land has been Dick Mielke’s legacy since the day he was born.

On a warm October morning, Mielke gave a visitor a tour of his property located four miles west of the city of Baraboo in Sauk County. Along the way, he pointed out landmarks that have played pivotal roles in the story of his life.

“If you look over there, you can barely see the house I grew up in, behind those trees. There’s a window. Oops, now it’s gone,” Mielke said while driving an ATV along a logging path on the edge of a tree stand. He and his wife, Melanie, now live in a comfortable ranch-style home they built on the property in 1990.

“My grandfather settled here from Germany right around 1900 … My family has been on the property ever since,” Mielke said.

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2023 MFL Audit A Success

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Map showing Managed Forest Law management zones

This map shows the Managed Forest Law management zones. / Map Credit: Wisconsin DNR

Back in August, a team of third-party forest certification auditors made their annual trip to Wisconsin to evaluate the performance and administration of the MFL Certified Group to American Tree Farm System® and Forest Stewardship Council® standards.

Over the week of Aug. 12, auditors visited 85 sites in the counties served by the Northeast Tax Law Team. This audit was even more successful than last year, with only a single audit finding and no corrective actions needed. That marks the first annual audit in the history of the MFL Certified Group (dating back to 2005) which resulted in zero corrective action requests!

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White Pine Weevil Damage And Management Options

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Linda Williams, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Woodruff
Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0665

Photo of a white pine tree showing weevil damage.

A dead terminal leader, resulting from an attack by white pine weevil. Photo: Linda Williams, Wisconsin DNR.

White pine weevil (Pissodes strobi) is a native insect that can kill the terminal leader of white pine, jack pine and spruce. Wisconsinites often refer to this insect as Tip Weevil.

The insects prefer to attack stout terminal leaders. When the terminal leader dies, lateral branches grow upward and compete to take over apical dominance. This can leave a noticeable crook for decades. If two or more lateral branches take over, forking can occur. New terminal leaders may be attacked in subsequent years, causing more crook or forking.

Spruce and jack pine tend to recover better from weevil damage than white pine because the lateral branch that takes over apical dominance often creates a less prominent crook.

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