ADRC County Email Office 365 GoTime

Forestry Management

Sustainable forest management is an integral part of the Vernon County Forest’s long term mission. Vernon County Forest uses periodic timber sales to manage its forest resources for optimal growth, vigor, and wildlife habitat while providing income form the sale of forest products. Generally, income generated from the sale of forest products is divided three (3) ways. 70% is kept in the county for future forest management projects such as tree planting, pruning, wildlife habitat enhancements, timber stand improvement, equipment purchases, or property acquisitions. 20% is used to payback the Wisconsin DNR project loan, which has been utilized in the past for property acquisitions at Duck Egg and Esofea. The remaining 10% is provided to the townships with Vernon County Forest acreage (currently Towns of Jefferson, Union, Franklin, Christiana, and Clinton).
FM1   FM2   FM3
Each year the Vernon County Forester plans for the annual harvest goals and designates stands due for harvest based on age, vigor, health, and stocking (competition level). The trees to be harvested are marked with paint, their volumes estimated, and the total sale estimation is tallied up at the end of each marking day. A contract is developed to protect the county’s interest as well as lay out restrictions on time of entry, access roads, harvest specifications, and locations of skid trails / landings. The sale is then advertised through the local newspaper and a registered list of timber buyers. The winning bidder will pay for the timber prior to cutting in one “lump-sum” payment or a “scale” system can be developed to pay for the products as they are trucked out. As the harvest is ongoing, the Vernon County Forester periodically checks on the sale to ensure contract compliance, evaluate progress, and to tally cut forest products. Upon completion of the harvesting operations, skid trails and landing are shaped and seeded with a logging road seed mix to prevent soil erosion.
FM4
Timber sales are not the only practices implemented at Vernon County Forest properties. Every year thousands of tree seedlings are planted at County Forest properties. The seedlings will eventually provide wildlife habitat and timber products. Trees can be planted by hand on steeper, less accessible terrain or can be planted on flat, gentle terrain using a tree planting machine. All trees planted require some follow-up release or maintenance treatments to ensure health and room to grow. Since 1999, Vernon County has planted over 23,000 seedlings on its County Forest properties. Another forest management practice used in the Vernon County Forest is timber stand improvement (TSI). This practice focuses on eliminating trees that cannot be utilized commercially, whose removal will benefit a more desirable and higher value tree. An example of this is removing a small diameter elm or ironwood tree that is competing with a red oak, thereby allowing more sunlight, water, growing space, and nutrients for the red oak tree’s future growth. TSI also includes pruning existing trees to improve form or wood quality.

Some areas within the Vernon County Forest are omitted from the timber management scheduling because of their value as a natural community or habitat for endangered / threatened species. One example is scattered “goat” prairies, typically found on steep and rocky south-facing slopes. While growing conditions typically render tree quality on these sites very poor, they can be overrun with undesirable tree species such as elm, red cedar, birch, and aspen. Cutting these trees and implementing periodic prescribed burns into a “goat” prairie, allows the native prairie to flourish while slowing the invading forest.

For more information on the Vernon County Forest, please contact Vernon County Forester, Nick Gilman at (608) 637-5476.
Firewood permits can be acquired by Contacting the Forest Administrator at (608) 637-5476.  Firewood permits are limited to two cords per individual at $15.00 per cord. 

Annual Work Plans                                
 2018
 2019
 2020
 2021
 2022
 2023

Vernon County 15 Year Comprehensive Land Use Plan                                                                                                         

15 Year Comprehensive Land Use Plan (2021-2036) Link
15 Year Table of Contents