North Central Research Station

Makes up 45 percent of the state area Ranks 14th out of 50 states Comprises 29 percent public ownership Hardwoods account for 84 percent of the total timberland area.

Growing stock volume in Wisconsin is increasing.
	The growing stock volume has increased by 19 percent since 1983, rising to 18.5 billion cubic feet.. For all species, volume harvested is 69 percent of current annual net growth.

More than half of the timberland (57 percent) in Wisconsin is privately owned.
That private ownership is spread among 230,600 individuals.
National Forests comprise 10 percent of timberland and forest industry ownership is 7 percent.
Ownership by timber tract size

	66 percent own 10 acres or more
	8 percent own 100 acres or more

The forest-related industries contribute $19 billion annually to Wisconsin's economy.
The state's forest products industry includes

	355 sawmills
	15 veneer mills
	17 pulp mills
	4 particleboard mills
	2 cooperage/stave mills
	2 post, pole, and piling mills
	28 other mills

More than half of the timberland (57 percent) in Wisconsin is privately owned.
That private ownership is spread among 230,600 individuals.
National Forests comprise 10 percent of timberland and forest industry ownership is 7 percent.
Ownership by timber tract size

	66 percent own 10 acres or more
	8 percent own 100 acres or more

The forest-related industries contribute $19 billion annually to Wisconsin's economy.
The state's forest products industry includes

	355 sawmills
	15 veneer mills
	17 pulp mills
	4 particleboard mills
	2 cooperage/stave mills
	2 post, pole, and piling mills
	28 other mills

Issues and Opportunities for Wisconsin Forests
Wisconsin's aspen forests are undergoing significant change. Removals exceeded growth during the most recent inventory. However, such harvesting can encourage natural regeneration of aspen which would not otherwise occur. Industrial pressure on the shrinking aspen resource could be offset by wider use of an increasing soft maple volume.

Urban and suburban development is decreasing timberland area in southern Wisconsin.

Harvest of mature oak in southwestern Wisconsin has raised public concern about oak regeneration and harvesting.

Exotic insect pests are threatening Wisconsin's forests. Gypsy moth, a tree defoliator, has arrived in the eastern part of the state. Asian long-horned beetle, a boring insect that kills hardwoods, has been found in Chicago and would be a serious threat if it spread to Wisconsin's forests.

The increasing dominance of the maple-beech-birch forest type is increasing the opportunities to managed Winconsin's timberland for the production of high-quality hardwoods.

Our Contributions
Every year, the North Central Research Station's field crews inventory sample plots on public and private lands in Wisconsin. That information feeds our annual report of forest conditions and timber product outputs. Additional information about Wisconsin's forests is available in the following North Central publications.

Wisconsin Forest Statistics, 1996 (Resource Bulletin NC-183)

North Central Partners in Wisconsin
In addition to forest inventory and analysis, we engage in research with an array of partners in Wisconsin. A sample of those partners is listed below.

	Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
	University of Wisconsin
		Applied Population Laboratory
		Department of Forest Ecology and Management
		Department of Rural Sociology
	Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
	University of Wisconsin-Extension Walworth County
	Walworth County, WI
	1000 Friends of Wisconsin
	Central Lake Superior Watershed Partnership
	Central Lake Superior Land Conservancy·

USDA Forest Service - North Central Research Station
Last Modified: Tuesday, 08 April 2003