Wisconsin' Multi-Owner Forest Stewardship Program

Wisconsin Family Forests, Inc. will define and pilot a multi-owner planning and management program for landscape-level, sustainable management on fragmented, family forestland; develop a business plan that identifies a realistic mix of public funding and participant fees that will encourage long-term survival and growth of sponsors that host the program; and evaluate the project as a statutory program for countering forest fragmentation, improving forest health and generating certified forest products.

Efforts will focus on the three pilots in the first phase. Two are being administered by Wisconsin Family Forests in the Baraboo Bluffs and Door County. A third is located in the central sands area (near Wisconsin Rapids) as part of the Stora Enso Family Forest landowner assistance program. The initial phase includes establishing the operational elements of the sustainable forestry plans and coordinated harvests, developing an effective marketing strategy, recruiting participants, providing them with management assistance, developing a tracking system, etc. The second phase (concurrent with follow through on the pilots) will be to shape future public policy toward family forest management in Wisconsin, thus institutionalizing multi-owner forest management. We will collect data on results from the three pilots, write and present reports to evaluate the project, complete the scoping assessment and organize public forums to discuss the projects future potential.