Foresters often encounter stand trees that have been “degraded” by past land use practices, whether that is destructive cutting, over-grazing, invasive species, insects and disease, or other impactful disturbances. How do foresters begin to manage these stands in a way that restores productivity and function? What are some of the silviculture techniques to consider in these highly variable forests with mostly low-quality growing stock? And how do you motivate a landowner to make these long-term investments in the health of their forest? Today we talk with Tom Hill, a Wisconsin DNR forester who has worked on both public and private forest lands in southern Wisconsin for more than two decades, to find out some approaches he has tried to put these stands on a better track.
