Skip to main content

Sugarbush Management

Gresham, Wis.

Sugarbush Management

May 8, 2025 | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Managing maple stands for sustainable sap production presents unique challenges. The sentiment that you “don’t cut sugar maple” could use some critical thinking and review. In this workshop, we will explore maple sugaring, state and federal policies regarding sugarbush management, and timber marking for sugar maple stand improvement. This workshop will begin at The Club House Function Suite at Pine Hills Golf Course. Registration deadline extended!

Register by Friday, May 2

WORKSHOP DETAILS

Workshop Fee: $35

Registration now open! Register by Friday, May 2, 2025.

Funding is available to reimburse Tribal members and Tribal staff members from Tribes in Wisconsin for registration fees through the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council. Eligible participants interested in registration reimbursement will be contacted by WTCAC to arrange payment.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellation requests received in writing by Fri., May 2, 2025 will be granted a full refund. No refunds will be granted on or after Sat., May 3, 2025. Please send all cancellation requests to the Wisconsin Forestry Center.

Continuing Education Credit

This program has been pre-approved for the following:

                

Funding is available to reimburse Tribal members and Tribal staff members from Tribes in Wisconsin for travel expenses through the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council. Reimbursement for mileage can only be offered for participants living in Wisconsin or neighboring states. Eligible participants interested in travel reimbursement will be contacted by WTCAC to arrange payment.

Target Audience

This workshop is for foresters and sugarbush managers interested in optimizing sap yield and sustainability in sugar maple stands.  Although the workshop is designed for foresters, any natural resources or agricultural professionals and/or woodland owners are welcome to attend.

WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

Mike Demchik, Ph.D.

Professor of Silviculture, UW-Stevens Point

Michael Demchik is a professor of forestry at UW-Stevens Point. He teaches a range of courses and is involved in research that addresses using silviculture to reach landowner goals. He is particularly obsessed with developing methods to teach students to mark timber better, faster, and with more confidence in their decisions. He has had several jobs across federal, state, and private natural resource management in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Tony Johnson

Forestry Outreach Specialist, Maple Syrup Program Manager, UW-Madison Division of Extension

Tony Johnson is a university extension educator working to support Wisconsin woodland owners. He provides statewide forestry and agroforestry outreach and runs Extension’s Maple Syrup Program. Prior to joining UW-Madison Extension, Tony worked on conservation and ecological restoration projects for the USDA, Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service and in the private sector.

Dan Meyers

Area Forester, Resource Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Dan Meyers is an Area forester for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). He provides forestry guidance to the northeastern portion of Wisconsin working with landowners and NRCS conservationists to best address resources concerns and achieve property goals. He was born and raised in the driftless portion of the state where his family operated a logging operation eventually leading to pursuing a career in natural resources and earning his bachelor’s and master’s at UW-Stevens Point. He has had several jobs across federal, non-profit, private and academic systems in Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Mississippi.


Violet Thielke

Shawano County Private & Public Lands Forester, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Violet is a DNR Forester out of the Gresham Ranger Station. For forestry guidance on privately owned land her coverage area is the Menominee Reservation and the eastern townships in Shawano County. She is also the Forester for all state land properties in Shawano County. Prior to hire with the DNR in 2023, Violet worked for Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association (WWOA), a private forestry consultant, and operated grapple skidder for her father’s in-woods whole-tree wood chipping business while growing up and throughout college.

Skya Murphy

Forest Tax Law Policy Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

In her role with the Division of Forestry at the Wisconsin DNR Skya Murphy supports the development of statute, administrative code and program guidance for administration of the Managed Forest Law (MFL) and Forest Crop Law (FCL) programs. Skya routinely evaluates the compatibility of MFL’s required timber production management objectives with other goals such as maple syrup production. She grew up in Madison and has degrees from UW Madison (Bachelor’s in Conservation Biology and Spanish) and Florida International University (Masters in Environmental Science emphasizing Forest Management), and completed the Working Forests in the Tropics Fellowship program at the University of Florida. Before joining the DNR five years ago she was Program and Policy Analyst at the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Jacob Crawford

Forest Ecologist, Audubon Upper Mississippi River

Jacob joined Audubon Upper Mississippi River in 2025 as a Forest Ecologist, where he leads the implementation of Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Maple Project in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Previously, he worked as a Forest Conservation Intern with Audubon Vermont, helping to advance the same initiative in his, and the project’s, home state. Jacob holds a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont, where his passion for bird conservation and sustainable forest management took root.

Thomas Prestby

Wisconsin Conservation Manager, Audubon Great Lakes

Tom Prestby is the Wisconsin Conservation Manager at Audubon Great Lakes. He leads Audubon’s wetland restoration, bird monitoring, and working lands conservation initiatives in Wisconsin including Audubon Conservation Ranching in grasslands and Bird Friendly Maple in forests. He also helps partners deliver conservation to Important Bird Areas in the state. From childhood Prestby has been driven by a passion for birds, which has fueled a career focused on bird conservation. He has a B.S. degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.S. degree from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he researched shorebirds and terns for his thesis. Prestby has researched and monitored birds across the state of Wisconsin for about 20 years and now lives just outside of Green Bay with his wife, 2-year-old son, and dog.

WORKSHOP PARTNERS