Comments Sought on Forest Management Plans

Interim plans guiding the management of forest resources on a number of state-owned properties across the state are now available for review and comment through Nov. 13, 2015. The interim plans will guide forest management on the properties until formal master plans are completed.

The Interim Forest Management Plans are important because they will allow timber taken off these lands to continue to be certified as sustainably managed, a “seal of approval” that gives the public confidence these properties are well managed. Such plans also will benefit sawmills and other companies using timber from those properties, according to Aaron Buchholz, a land program manager with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Green Bay.

The properties with interim forest management plans are Dickenson Creek Fisheries Area and Owen Wildlife Area in Clark County; Jefferson County Extensive Wildlife Habitat in Jefferson County; Glacial Habitat Restoration Areas and Oakfield Ledge State Natural Area in Fond du Lac and Winnebago counties; and Richard Bong State Recreation Area in Kenosha County.

“These interim plans are very important for forest certification, which in turn is very important for business,” Buchholz says. Forest certification is a process that assures consumers that timber (and products made from certified wood) has been grown and harvested in a way that meets strict environmental and social standards. The Wisconsin forest products industry is a $16 billion per year business that directly supports more than 56,000 jobs and generates $228 million in state and local tax revenues.

Information and links to individual interim plans for these properties, as well as directions on how to submit comments, can be found online on the DNR website dnr.wi.gov by searching keyword “IFMP.”

People can fill out an electronic survey to submit comments, or can download the form and mail it in. Comments, either electronic or written, are due by 4:30 pm Nov. 13, 2015.