School Forest Resource Management

Timber cruising at Janesville school

School Forest Management Plan Guidelines

  • Registered forests should, at a minimum, contain one (1) contiguous acre of forested land.
  • Municipalities and school districts should maintain an updated forest management plan on properties 10 acres and larger and implement recommended practices. 
  • Management plans should be updated, at a minimum, every 10 years.  Management plans should be reviewed annually by municipality or school district personnel to ensure the plan is being followed.
  • Management plans developed for school forests and other community forests to be used for educational purposes should include educational opportunities available in the forest.
  • Forest management plans should incorporate educational objectives as described by the school district's education plan, if available.
  • If a forest management plan is not developed for a property under 10 acres, a description of the property and objectives for management should be written.
  • Management plan or property description (for properties under 10 acres) can be completed by a Department forester, cooperating forester (at owner's expense), or other interested parties (including students). All management plans need to be approved by a Department forester.

Access to school forest resources provided by the DNR, WEEB, and the Wisconsin School Forest Education Specialist will be limited to school forests that meet these guidelines.

Example Management Plans

Madison School Forest (PDF)

Unity School Forest (PDF)

Boston School Forest (Stevens Point) (PDF) coming...

School Forest Timber Sales

Timber sales from the school forest are a great opportunity to:

  1. provide income for school forest activities
  2. educate students, teachers, and the community about how management decisions are made and how harvesting is done
  3. study the results of management activities on the school forest

The state school and community forest law clearly defines the process for establishing a timber sales on these properties. The law requires that: No trees may be cut unless they are marked or designated for cutting by a state forester. As written in s. 28.22, Wis. Stats., "Any timber sale from a community forest shall be based on the scale, measure or count of the cut products. Any timber sale with an estimated value of $3,000 or more shall be by public sale after 2 publications of a classified advertisement announcing the sale in a newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the timber to be sold is located."  The law provides for penalties if these conditions are not met.

Habitat Restoration

US Fish & Wildlife Service - Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
By offering technical assistance and funds to school districts (and private landowners), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) through its Partners for Fish and Wildlife program (PFW) works cooperatively with landowners and partners to restore fish and wildlife habitats.

The PFW program emphasizes the reestablishment of wetlands, native vegetation and ecological communities for the benefit of fish and wildlife associated with the needs and desires of private landowners. A dollar-for-dollar cost-share, although not a program requirement, is sought on a project-by-project basis. Up to 100-percent funding for habitat restoration projects is available through the Service and its partners. Landowners agree to maintain the restored habitats for no less than 10 years, but otherwise retain full control of their lands.

Since 1987, the PFW program in Wisconsin has worked with more than 5,800 landowners to restore 12,700 acres of wetlands and 12,000 acres of native grasslands. The depth and diversity of the PFW program encompasses all of Wisconsins ecosystems: wetlands in the state's glaciated regions; tallgrass prairies in the southwest; oak savannas in the central sands; and wild rice lakes of the north. The widely acclaimed PFW program is a positive, results-oriented approach to fish and wildlife conservation.

National Ash Tree Seed Collection Initiative

In the event that the emerald ash borer cannot be contained, the Rose Lake Plant Materials Center is taking steps to see that the ash tree doesn't vanish forever.

The PMC has initiated the National Ash Tree Seed Collection Initiative. An agreement has been established to store ash tree seed at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, CO. The U.S. Forest Service has agreed to x-ray the collected ash seed to determine sound seed for storage. If the ash tree populations are completely decimated by the ash borer, the stored seeds can be used as the genetic base for work to re-establish ash trees for future generations. The PMC is seeking volunteers to collect seed from ash trees throughout the U.S. in the growing regions of ash trees. Additional information on the initiative along with identifying and collecting ash seed is contained HERE.

Publications and Information

Getting the Help You Need: People and Dollars for Wildlife - This Wisconsin DNR publication provides a good overview of resource available for managing wildlife on your land. www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/publ/gettinghelp.pdf

Forest Fact publications - UW-Extension - These publications cover a wide range of forest management and the forest products industry. There are publications specific to managing different types of forest (hardwood, aspen, pine, etc.), general information about forest measurements (what is basal area, what is a cord, what is a board foot, etc.) and many others of interest to school forests http://forest.wisc.edu/extension/forfact.htm

Resource Links

Invasive Species

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/

Invasive Plant Association of Wisconsin
www.ipaw.org/

Invasive and Exotic Species of North America
www.invasive.org/

Federal and state exotic species activities and programs
http://invasivespecies.gov/

Foresters

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Foresters by County
http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/ftax/county.asp

County Foresters
www.wisconsincountyforests.com/wcfa-adm.htm

Consulting Foresters
http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/Private/Assist/coopfor.htm

US Forest Service - Chequamegon - Nicolet National Forest
www.fs.fed.us/r9/cnnf/

UW-Extension Foresters
http://forest.wisc.edu/extension/contacts.htm
 

Other Resource Management Agencies and Organizations

County Extension Agents
www.uwex.edu/ces/cty

County Land Conservation Departments
www.wlwca.org/Pages/LCDWeb.html

Natural Resources Conservation Service - Wisconsin Office
www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/

Resource Conservation & Development  (RC&D) Program www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/rcd.html

Soils

Web Soil Survey - provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey
http//websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app

Water Resources

DNR Water Resources
www.dnr.state.wi.us/environmentprotect/water.html

Wildlife

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wildlife
www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/

US Fish & Wildlife Service
http://midwest.fws.gov/WisconsinPartners/