Annual Meeting

Have you marked your calendar yet for September 17-20, 2026? Won’t you join WWOA members from around the state at WWOA’s 47th-year anniversary at the Holiday Inn & Suites Wausau/Rothschild in Rothschild just south of Wausau at the Rothschild exit off of I-39/Highway 51?

Book your hotel room now by calling 715-355-1111 to receive WWOA’s special room rate.  Remember to reference either Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association or our group code WOA to receive our special room rate of $101.00/night plus tax. Check in time is 3 p.m. and checkout is 11 a.m. Make your reservation by August 16, 2026 to receive our special rate of $101.00/night plus tax. The Holiday Inn & Suites requires notice of cancellation 24 hours prior to the day of arrival for individual reservations. Failure to cancel prior to 4 pm the day prior to arrival will result in a charge of one night’s stay.

The Holiday Inn & Suites hotel rooms offer King or Double Queen beds and include Keurig coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator, hair dryer and wifi. Complimentary parking is available surrounding the hotel. The onsite restaurant, Cedar Creek Grill House, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner but is closed on Sundays. The hotel has a pool, whirlpool and fitness center and is dog friendly. The surrounding area offers restaurants, movie theater, gas station and grocery store.

A variety of meeting registration options are available so that you can register for a tour, a day, the weekend, or the full 4-day event. WWOA’s Annual Meeting weekend offers a variety of group tours of nature-based facilities or woodlands, member presentations, silent auction and raffles, awards banquet, professional presentations, exhibitors, and a field day. It is the perfect place to meet like-minded people who care about their woodlands. Members learn as much from each other as they do from the professionals throughout the weekend. Consider bringing your next generation and get them started in caring for the family woodlands. Join us to make new woodland friends and learn more about your woodland.

Thursday, Sept 17

On Thursday, September 17, the WWOA Board of Directors will hold their quarterly meeting at the Hotel.

Thursday, we will be offering two interesting and fun tours.

Tour A – Birds in Art & Orchard Tour with lunch… meet at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in downtown Wausau for a guided tour of the 51st juried Birds in Art exhibition. This is an annual art exhibit featuring new paintings, sculptures, and works on paper created by contemporary artists, all themed around the wonders of the avian world. Docents will provide insights into the exhibit. Then drive to Rock Ridge Orchard near Edgar where they grow 30 varieties of apples. Enjoy a pizza lunch and an afternoon wagon ride tour of the 1200 tree apple orchard. You will also receive a 1/4 bag of apples to take home. The Orchard has a bakery and gift shop. Tour is handicapped accessible. Round trip is 56 miles.

Tour B – Forest Industry Tour with lunch… meet at Domtar’s paper mill, which produces high-quality commercial printing paper, and their biomass power plant in Rothschild for a tour. The tour will take participants through the paper mill where mixed hardwood pulp is processed into coated paper. The mill tour will also look at the power plant where biomass is used to generate power for the paper mill. Lunch will be at Sam’s pizza followed by a tour of nearby Wausau Homes where they utilize a custom panelized construction method of building personalized homes. At Wausau Homes, see a short presentation of their history and then tour the plant where manufactured custom homes are built. Long pants and closed toed shoes/boots with a low heel are required for this tour. Other safety items will be provided. Tour is not handicapped accessible. Round trip drive is 9 miles.

Thursday evening, join us for Sharing Experiences where three WWOA members will share their experiences.

My Timber Frame Education, Rich LaValley of Merrill – When I bought land in 2011 it came with an old log cabin nestled on the banks of the Prairie River in Lincoln County. In 2018 the top half of a 37-inch white pine landed on the cabin and put an end to it. I plan to talk about how and what I learned to be able to build a timber frame replacement. I plan to show pictures of the buildings as I constructed it (mostly by myself). My hope is to show folks that they could do this if they have the desire.

Our Off the Grid Journey, Geary & Kay Searfoss of Ojibwa – We have lived off the grid on our tree farm for 21 years now. The first year and a half, before our solar system came online, we lived with kerosene and LP gas lights. Our original system was fairly small, so over the years, we have added solar panels for additional capacity. This year (2026) we embarked on a major upgrade to our system, adding more capacity and modernizing our inverter and battery storage components.

How to make and use Biochar and Protecting young trees, Past President Don Hoffman of Black River Falls – The use of biochar is increasing in agriculture, I will discuss experiments for forestry use. I will also discuss several experiments to protect young trees from squirrels, deer, etc.

 

Friday, Sept 18

Friday, we will be offering four interesting tour options.

Tour 1—High Ground Tree Farm & History of the Prairie River Tour with lunch… meet at the High Ground Tree Farm just east of Merrill for a tour. WWOA members, David and Brenda Black, are second generation, fulltime Christmas tree growers and more! They wholesale trees all over the country and retail Christmas trees in Chicago. They also do custom tree planting for private landowners. David is a certified commercial pesticide applicator for forestry. They have a primitive maple syrup set up at the farm at this time and are managing their maple woods to promote growth for this purpose. They also have a conifer seedling nursery at a different location than the main farm. Topics to be covered on the wagon tour include farm transition to 2nd generation, planting, spraying, field work, and Christmas tree culture. David has a degree from UW-Stevens Point in Biology and Wildlife Management with a minor in Forestry. Brenda has a Bachelor of Science degree in Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University.

Travel to Merrill for lunch and a presentation from John Meachen of WI River Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited about the history of the Prairie River. An old sign on Highway 17 North just South of Bloomville, Wisconsin boldly proclaims the 44 mile long Prairie River, transecting Langlade and Lincoln counties, as the world’s epicenter of trout fishing. While that claim and sign made by a group of elementary students in 2001 may be up for rigorous debate, the river and its watershed hold claim to an interesting history. Its waters flow with the history of early settlements, logging towns, lumber practices both good and bad, conflicts over water rights, and work done to make it free flowing and whole.
Tour is handicapped accessible. Drive is 61 miles round trip.

Tour 2—Fromm Brothers Fur Farm & Marathon County Historical Center Tour with lunch…meet at the Fromm Brothers Fur Farm for a 1.5 mile walking tour of the historical fur farm and ginseng operation. Learn the history of how the four Fromm brothers impacted both the fur and ginseng business. This is a walking tour with uneven ground of up to 1.5 miles. They do have a few golf carts for those unable to walk long distances. Please note on your registration form if you will need a golf cart. The buildings are not handicapped accessible. Then travel to downtown Wausau to the Marathon County Historical Center for lunch. Ben Clark of the Marathon County Historical Society will give a presentation on The Great Wisconsin Pinery. The Great Pinery of the upper Wisconsin River was probably the most important factor that shaped how this region developed. This presentation will take a look at the historical growth from the early logging days through to the present. Morning of tour is not fully handicapped accessible. Drive is 59 miles round trip.

Tour 3—Forest Management Tour with lunch…board the bus with WDNR forester Jeff Sorenson to hike 1.7 miles of the Plover River segment of the Ice Age Trail in eastern Marathon County. Learn about hardwood and aspen management in the woods adjacent to the trail. Discussion will include timber harvests that were implemented in the previous few years. Enjoy lunch at the Dells of the Eau Claire County Park on the way back to the hotel.

Tour 4— Rib Mountain Geological Tour with lunch…meet at a Rib Mountain State Park shelter for the day—did you know this geological feature is not Wisconsin’s highest point? This billion-year-old hill is one of the oldest geological formations on earth. In the morning there will be a presentation by Dr. Keith Montgomery on the geology and cultural history of Rib Mountain. After lunch, Lisa Siewert of UWSP’s Department of Geography and Geology will lead a beautiful fall hike in the Park. Tour is not handicapped accessible and drive is 15 miles round trip. Tour participants will need to have or purchase a State Park sticker-either an annual sticker or daily sticker – for this tour.

Friday evening share your day with fellow WWOA members at our Friends & Exhibitors Social while visiting exhibitors, purchasing Gift Shop items or Raffle tickets, or bidding on interesting Silent Auction items.  Help us celebrate the 250th year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and enjoy a buffet dinner of baked cod and roasted chicken. After dinner, tickets will be drawn for WWOA’s Friday evening raffle.  WWOA’s 2025-2026 AmeriCorps member, Aaron Ballak, will share highlights of his year with WWOA.

 

Saturday, Sept 19

Saturday, September 19, starts bright and early with the opening of the exhibit hall areas with (of course) exhibits, WWOA’s Gift Shop, silent auction, fundraising raffle tickets, and refreshments. Don’t forget to pre-register for your choices of Sunday field stations too.

Saturday morning’s keynote presentation will start the day followed by the Association’s Annual Membership meeting. Saturday afternoon concurrent sessions will cover a variety of topics. There will also be a Sit & Stitch craft session on Saturday afternoon. Bring your craft project and perhaps a good light to spend the afternoon visiting with members while working on your project. The Landowner Café will also be open with tables staffed by experts on the topics being covered.

Saturday evening’s Awards Banquet kicks off with a cash bar, delicious dinner, and time to discuss the day’s presentations with friends.  After dinner, tickets will be drawn for the Annual Fundraiser prizes. Thank you to the WWOA Black Hawk Chapter for donating a new prize – a $500 gift card for the Annual Fundraiser!  Then help us recognize the WWOA’s Forestry Leader Scholarship recipient, Hunter Howland, Wisconsin Tree Farm Committee award winners, and fellow WWOA members award recipients who have given so much of their time and energy to WWOA, WWOA chapters, and our mission.

Keynote Presentation
Update of Chip Mill in Tilleda, Dennis Schoeneck, President of Timber Professionals Cooperative Enterprises – Learn more about the Timber Professionals Cooperative Enterprises, as the first member-owned cooperative in the country to purchase a facility of this kind. The current focus at the Tilleda mill is improving efficiency, expanding the customer base, and exploring opportunities for higher-value products.

Landowner Café – food for thought and your woodlands …come and go as you please to learn more about a topic or get your questions answered by experts.
Timber Professionals Cooperative Enterprises, Managed Forest Law program, Natural Resources Conservation Service programs & cost-share, nontimber goods, ticks and their diseases, and biochar and protecting young trees!

Concurrent Sessions, no preregistration necessary, just attend the ones of your choosing
Cultivation for Conservation: Growing American Ginseng in Private Woodlands, Tony Johnson, UW-Madison Extension, Horicon — American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a highly valued non-timber forest product, but decades of over-harvesting have pushed wild populations into decline. Join this session to learn how you, as a private woodland owner, can grow high-value, wild-stimulated ginseng on your own property. We will cover everything you need to know to decide if this iconic native plant is right for your forest understory, plus practical tips for getting started.

Understanding the past and predicting the future of American martens in a recovery network of Wisconsin, Dr. Jonathan N. Pauli, UW-Madison Dept. of Forest & Wildlife Ecology, Madison — The American marten is endangered in Wisconsin, with fewer than 300 individuals in three isolated populations threatened by habitat simplification, competition with fishers, and climate-driven snow loss. Modeling suggests that limited immigration could improve persistence, through natural dispersal is limited and this isolation further complicates their conservation. Management practices that promote forest complexity and landscape heterogeneity can be used to improve conditions for marten persistence and recovery.

Wound Response in Trees, Dr. Les Werner, Professor Emeritus, Forestry, UW-Stevens Point, Stevens Point — Examination of the strategies trees use to mitigate the impact of external injuries.

Three years of tick citizen science…what have we learned?, Dr. Jennifer K. Meece, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield — In 2024, we launched our first year of the Tick Inventory via Citizen Science study in Wisconsin. We ambitiously hoped for a few hundred ticks to be submitted by engaged citizens who with us, wanted to know more about ticks, their range expansion, new species introductions and about the diseases they carry. Three years in, we have collected nearly 18,000 ticks and have a deeper understanding of the impact of the diseases they carry. We also have learned about what motivates our citizens to be active partners in this research against our common enemy…ticks.

Sit & Stitch Craft Session, bring your needlework or other craft project to work on (no supplies provided) and enjoy some good conversation. The craft area will be open all afternoon. We recommend if additional lighting is needed that you bring a battery powered light source.

 

Sunday, Sept 20

Join us at the Wausau School Forest for an autumn day of fun in the woods and fields with your WWOA friends and where you will have the opportunity to learn from natural resource professionals about a variety of topics while getting your questions answered. The Wausau School Forest is located 11 miles southwest of Wausau on the banks of the Wisconsin River in Mosinee.

The School Forest has been a part of the District’s curriculum since 1942. An entry on their facebook page shares the history of the property and their programs. The school forest started in 1942 on land donated by Arthur and Edwin Prehn, Mosinee Paper Mill and Marathon County. Hugh Curtis was hired in 1956 as the first full time employee. He was the director for 33 years. Jack Scharraschmidt an elementary and junior high teacher help start school camping. Bill Paul and Arlyn Parks were the first to use the school forest in their curriculum. Mr. Johnson an industrial Arts teacher helped build many of the buildings with assistance from students. The current Bannerman Hall was built in 1973. In 2023, the Wausau School Forest Environmental Learning Center was completed. It is over 9,000 square feet and has wildlife displays, classrooms, large meeting room and outdoor amphitheater. Currently the School Forest covers over 400 acres with a diversity of habitats such as the Wisconsin River shorelands, bottomland hardwoods, wetlands, pine plantations, prairie restoration, food plots, northern hardwoods, and aspen. All Wausau School District students have the opportunity to attend special learning experiences on the school forest. This is not a Wausau School District sponsored activity and the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the school district or its personnel.

Sunday registration includes a breakfast buffet at the hotel, catered lunch, field day activities, and handouts. As station topics are confirmed they will be added to the website page. During the Annual Meeting a more detailed description of the stations will be available and you will be able to preregister for the Sunday stations of your choice. If you stay for the whole day you will be able to attend four (4) stations. Tentative station topics include (more will be added):
• forest health issues—oak wilt, pine pocket decline
• American drone demonstration
• Wisconsin Trappers Association—dealing with nuisance wildlife, learning about trapping
• identification of branches and twigs taken from common Wisconsin native trees in winter

 

WWOA’s 2026 Annual Meeting will offer a variety of registration options. Come for a tour, a day, or the whole weekend. If you do not have an email address, you will receive a packet in the mail. If you prefer a packet mailed to you, contact the WWOA office or call the office at 715-572-4223 to let us know.

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Don’t Miss Out on the Annual Meeting Fun!

Why should you consider attending if you’ve never come before?
Hear what our members have said on their Annual Meeting evaluations:

  • “After attending this year, I regret missing the earlier years. I knew before attending I needed to learn more. I was surprised at how much more I need to learn, but that’s OK. I was also impressed about how I was welcomed and included by other members…”
  • “Connect with others who have a passion for woodlands.”
  • “Very informative and friendly atmosphere.”
  • “They don’t know what they don’t know!”
  • “The interactive opportunities with both specialists and people, offers a wealth of information.”
  • “Because there’s a lot to do, see, and learn. Just being with others who share a love for the woods- it’s a learning experience like no other.”
  • “The family member may inherit the land. Get that person involved and it may spark interest, they could love the land more.”