Managing a woodlot means looking back and moving forward. “Forest regeneration is messy,” says Brad Hutnik, Wisconsin DNR Silviculturist/Forest Ecologist. “It involves harvesting, and it may require prescribed burning. Foresters work with the stand they have right now, but they are really interested in the stand that they will be passing on to future generations.”
As winter begins to give way to the first hints of spring, there is still time to settle down with a good book that could inspire some upcoming 2023 property management projects. Here are a few reading suggestions from some experienced Wisconsin conservationists that you might find inspirational. You might even decide to tuck one of these titles into a pocket as you head outdoors.
Landowners, watching Covid-era lumber prices go through the roof, might assume that they would get more money for their standing trees, but there are many factors that go into what logger can afford to pay a land owner and still make his own living. While lumber prices are high, fuel prices and wages needed to attract timber workers are also up.
Landowners can lease their woodlands for sustainable purposes like maple syrup harvesting and hunting, and it’s worthwhile to address issues specific to each activity.
According to the UW-Extension, apples are the most widely planted fruit tree in Wisconsin. Who wouldn’t like to step out the door and pick apples from their own trees?
Laura DeGolier is a great example of the diverse kinds of volunteers who can have a significant impact on restoring natural areas throughout the state. Having established an independent insurance business, she has combined her management skills with her love of nature to make a real contribution to a number of restoration efforts.
This could be the perfect time to start growing Christmas trees — whether you are only interested in a few for your own friends and family or whether you want to start a lucrative business on some extra acres — according to Greg Hann, member and promotions director of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association (WCTPA).
Tom was a commercial pilot. “I was flying one day,” he remembers, “when another pilot was catching a ride and chatting with the captain. I heard the words New Glarus, hills, farm, and pretty, all in the same sentence.”
“The history of Wisconsin’s forests includes what happened yesterday and 10,000 years ago. It’s all part of a continuum — both the natural and human aspects of our forests. They can’t be separated,” says Ed Forrester, president of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin (FHAW). FHAW is dedicated to the discovery, interpretation, and preservation of Wisconsin’s forest history.
This is part of a series on Wisconsin’s very impressive Forest Health Team. It first appeared in My Wisconsin Woods, the online newsletter of The Aldo Leopold Foundation. photos courtesy […]
Digging in the Driftless 