Statewide Forest Plan

Developing the Plan

Coordinated by the DNR-Division of Forestry, the Statewide Forest Plan was developed over a three-year period through a process involving extensive public comment and review.

Assessment

The foundation of the planning process was Wisconsin's Forests at the Millennium: An Assessment. Published in 2000, the report assessed the status of Wisconsin's forests and identified trends and issues likely to affect the sustainability of this resource.

Trends and Issues

As a second step, input from citizens, businesses, government and other organizations prioritized the most important trends and issues facing Wisconsin's forests now and in the future. The Statewide Forest Plan ultimately described 52 such items.

Draft Plan: Developing Objectives and Actions

Next, hundreds of individuals and organizations helped to develop preferred options for addressing the trends and issues and to outline their ecological, economic and social implications. Based on the preferred options, objectives and possible actions to address each trend and issue were then specified.

Final Statewide Forest Plan

The Statewide Forest Plan describes a common vision for Wisconsin's forests based on five goals and 10 principles of statewide sustainable forestry, a description of 52 trends and issues, and objectives and actions to address each issue. For an in-depth summary of the plan, read the Overview of Wisconsin's Statewide Forest Plan.