Leadership Team for the Statewide Forest Plan
Enhancing Assistance to Wisconsin's Private Forest Landowners
Forestland ownership strongly influences the condition of forests in Wisconsin. Non-industrial private landowners own 57% of Wisconsin's forestland, and the number of private forest landowners continues to increase. Between 1984 and 1997 the number of Wisconsin's non-industrial private owners increased by 20% to about 270,000 statewide. As a result, it has become increasingly challenging to provide professional forest management assistance to them. In addition to an increase in the number of woodland owners, forested parcels are more likely to be purchased by people who have different values than the forest owner of the past. Many of today's new forest landowners are from urban areas and own the land primarily for recreational use or aesthetic values. These newer private owners tend to be more cautious about harvesting their timber, less knowledgeable about principles of sustainable forestry and more likely to be absentee landowners. Currently, less than 25% of landowners have a management plan or receive professional assistance when managing their forest. Therefore it is necessary to give these forest landowners the assistance and knowledge they need to sustainably manage their woodlots in conjunction with a sustainable forest management plan.
Key Issues:
- 272,000 non-industrial private landowners own 57% of Wisconsin's forestland. It is increasingly difficult to provide professional forest management assistance to these landowners.
- Many of these landowners are from urban areas. They tend to be less knowledgeable about sustainable forest management practices and more likely to be absentee landowners.
- Fewer than 30% of private landowners have a management plan or receive professional management assistance.
Current Plan of Action
Contact:
John DuPlissis, Forestry Outreach Specialist
University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
College of Natural Resources
Stevens Point, WI 54481
(715) 346-4128, [email protected]
UWSP College of Natural Resources
Recent Initiatives
- Letter to State Conservationist Patricia Leavenworth sent June 20, 2005 (pdf, 55K)
- Reply from Patricia Leavenworth (pdf, 208K)