Blog Articles

Kenneth Sondalle, Neshkoro – passed away Saturday, August 19, 2017.

Cave-dwelling bat populations in Wisconsin are rapidly declining due to a fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome.  Some species may soon be listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). In preparation for this listing, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is teaming up with the Michigan and Minnesota DNRs to develop a large-scale Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).

What would you plant on a cleared 50 acre parcel? A veneer plantation? Well, that’s what WWOA member, Jack Rasmussen of St. Croix County, did, with a little push from his older brother, of course. Jack purchased the property in 1993. It was an open piece of land after having been enrolled in CRP following years of agriculture.

The WI DNR Reforestation Program continues to purchase seed from private collectors. Over the years, our seedling demands have changed; thus, so does our need for seed.  In 2017, WI DNR will be purchasing seeds for the following species: american hazelnut, american plum, black cherry, bitternut hickory, black walnut, butternut, shagbark hickory, sugar (hard) maple, and the following oaks – bur, red, swamp white, white.

Eric Johnson, Clinton NY – passed away July 18, 2017.  Eric was editor of Wisconsin Woodlands magazine starting with the Spring 2011 issue through Summer 2017 issue.  His leadership and advice to the WWOA Publications Committee will be missed!  He was looking forward to moving back to the family tree farm in Coloma and continuing his work on Wisconsin Woodlands.

Carson Gotham, Holmen – passed away July 20, 2017.  Carson had been a life member of WWOA.

From: WI DNR Forestry News As part of the DNR Strategic Alignment, the Division of Forestry has consolidated the tax law programs (Managed Forest Law and Forest Crop Law) and associated work into fewer positions under a new Tax Law section.  This section will focus on the tax law programs, allowing us to better meet our customers’ needs.  Within the new section, six staff are located in Madison:  Tax Law Section Chief, Tax Law Administration Specialist, Tax…

Bobbi Freitag first heard of WWOA when she and her husband, Rick, attended a woodland owners conference in Ashland in the early 1990s. They had recently purchased their land in the Birchwood pothole lake area and decided to attend the conference to learn more about their northern woodlands. The conference opened Bobbi’s eyes up to sustainable forestry and enlightened her to the vast amount of information available.

According to the Center for Disease Control, there were roughly 28,500 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2015; but the actual number of cases may be 10 times greater. Lyme used to be confined to a few localized areas, particularly around Connecticut and the Northeast, but warmer winter temperatures and urban sprawl-which has reduced natural predators that kill tick-hosting rodents and deer-have caused populations to explode and spread across the country.

June 6, 2017              To: Stakeholders and Industries Associated with Hemlock The Michigan Department of  Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is implementing an interior state quarantine to protect Michigan’s native and cultivated hemlock populations from hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). HWA has not been found in Michigan until recently where it has been detected at multiple sites in four counties in western Michigan.