In his 2015-2017 proposed budget, the governor proposes numerous changes to the way state government should work in the future. Certain items have made headlines (e.g., public authority for the UW System), but the forestry budget has not yet received much attention. A recent e-mail from Paul DeLong, Chief State Forester and DNR Division of […]
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(text of email distributed yesterday) To Those Interested in the Forestry Industry in Wisconsin, At their meeting last week the Council on Forestry (Council) identified four priority goals (see background below) as a result of input received from Forestry Economic Summit participants. The Council will work with interested parties to develop an action plan for […]
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Loggers and logging businesses play key roles in sustaining both Wisconsin’s forests and the wood-using industries that depend on them. Our intent in this summary isn’t to provide a detailed a analysis of the results we’ve posted, as we plan to do that in a separate print publication. However, we would make the following four […]
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After accounting for bad addresses, non-loggers, etc., response rates for both studies were high. The 2003 and 2010 surveys yielded response rates of 59% and 63%, respectively. Of note, the 2003 response rate was for the entire survey, which included both Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The sample size for analysis was 369 for the […]
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In the 2010 survey, we were particularly interested in loggers’ views of the potential of woody biomass and bioenergy to reshape the logging sector. Our data show that woody biomass for pellets or bioenergy constituted about 2% of overall 2010 volume harvested using mechanized harvest systems that use feller-bunchers and/or harvesters, while less than 0.5% […]
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At the last Council on Forestry meeting (14 May), the Council finalized its recommendations for the Legislature to consider in revising the Managed Forest Law. For those familiar with recent efforts to change, update, re-envision, etc. the MFL, you’ll find ideas both old and new.There are 24 specific recommendations for the Legislature and others to […]
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As I mentioned a while back, I am a frequent visitor of The Wheeler Report, a Wisconsin political news aggregator. However, for economic and business news with a green tint, I subscribe to Ken Harwood’s Wisconsin Development GREEN News. Twice a week I receive aggregated news (and Ken’s commentary) on business and economic development that […]
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Wisconsin’s logging businesses produce a diverse array of forest products, but hardwood pulp has been the largest portion of the volume harvested: 44% in 2003 and 49% in 2010. This dominance reflects continued demand from the region’s substantial pulp and paper industry and an abundant hardwood forest resource. Though Perry (2011) indicated a negative percent […]
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Various landownership categories contribute to the state’s timber supply. Where a logging business is located has a big impact on which types of lands they harvest from. However, other factors also figure into the decision, including the different expectations that landowners have for loggers (e.g., certified land can have more requirements, but fill an important […]
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The number and size of timber sales are important measures for understanding both the economics of logging and the effects of harvesting on ecological outcomes such as fragmentation. Economically, smaller timber sales result in higher costs as loggers must move equipment more frequently and spend more time on procuring timber. Ecologically, harvesting operations create new […]
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