Wisconsin DNR invites public comment by May 8 on forest resource management plans for 18 state-owned properties, interim plan will allow harvested timber to continue to be certified as sustainably managed

Wendy Lisney

MADISON, Wisconsin , April 25, 2014 (press release) – Interim plans guiding the management of forest resources on 18 state-owned properties are now available for review and comment through May 8, 2014. 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 Craig Thompson, a land program manager with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in La Crosse.

The 18 properties with interim forest management plans listed by county are:

• Adams County
    ◦Colburn Wildlife Area

• Bayfield County
    ◦Totagatic Lake Wildlife Area

• Douglas County
    ◦Pattison State Park
    ◦Frederic Tower Site 
    ◦St. Louis/Red River Streambank Protection Area

• Dunn County
    ◦Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area

• Langlade County
    ◦Evergreen River Fishery Area

•Langlade and Lincoln Counties
    ◦Langlade and Lincoln Counties Miscellaneous State Lands

•Marinette County
    ◦Town Corner Wildlife Area and SNA

• Oconto County
    ◦Lakewood Fish Hatchery

•Oneida County
    ◦Squirrel River Pine Sate Natural Area

•Pepin County
    ◦Lake Pepin Wildlife Area
    ◦Maiden Rock Bluff State Natural Area

•Pierce County
    ◦Morgan Coulee and Trenton Bluff Prairie State Natural Areas

•Portage County
    ◦Richard Hemp Fishery Area

•Portage and Waupaca Counties
    ◦Little Wolf River Fishery Area

•Shawano County
    ◦Welder Statewide Wildlife Habitat Area

•Washington County
    ◦Holy Hill Ice Age Trail Property

"These interim plans are very important for forest certification, which in turn is very important for business," Thompson says. "People want to know we are managing their lands well, and consumers are increasingly preferring products from sustainably managed forests. A guaranteed stream of certified wood means sawmills and other forest products companies will have the competitive edge they need to do well in domestic and global markets."

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 p.m. May 8, 2014.

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