Division of Forestry

To be effective, sustainable forest management practices must be grounded in a thorough, science-based understanding of the forest resource. For this reason, the Division of Forestry employs a variety of technologies, systems and inventories to assess many different aspects of Wisconsin's forestlands, including their ecology, composition, health and spatial distribution.

• Aerial Photography Provides aerial photo coverage of the entire state, including photos and other products for purchase.
• Ecological Land Classification Describes a system for distinguishing lands based on their ecological characteristics and ecosystem potential, which is used to inform future land use planning.
• Forest Inventory and Analysis Presents the results of Wisconsin's most recent forest inventory, which quantifies the composition, maturity, and overall health of the state's 16 million acres of forest.
• Forestry GIS Information Offers Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and services that support decision-making and program operations within Forestry, as well as those of other public and private organizations.
• Forest Resources in GMUs Provides a look at Forest Resources in the Geographical Management Units (GMUs) and presents a wealth of information in the form of statistics, charts and general description for each GMU section of the state. A link to an explanation of GMU terminolgy is also provided.
• Silviculture Trials Document efforts of DNR foresters to test new silvicultural approaches in a variety of forest cover types.
• Tree and Shrub Identification Provides a simple key that can be used to identify many of Wisconsin's forest trees and shrubs.