Forest Resource in Geographical Management Units
- Overview & State Map
- Explanation of GMUs
- BadAxe - LaCrosse
- Black - Buffalo - Trempeleau
- Central Wisconsin
- Grant - Platte - Sugar - Pecatonica
- Headwaters
- Illinois Fox
- Lakeshore
- Lake Superior
- Lower Chippewa
- Lower Fox
- Lower Rock
- Lower Wisconsin
- Milwaukee River
- Mississippi River
- Root Pike
- Sheboygan
- St. Croix
- Upper Chippewa
- Upper Fox
- Upper Green Bay
- Upper Rock
- Wolf
St. Croix GMU
Below are statistics, charts and general information on the St. Croix GMU. All chart and map links open in a separate window.
The northern half of the St. Croix GMU is heavily forested, especially in Washburn, Burnett, Douglas and Polk counties.
Forest acreage
Aspen is the most common forest type, accounting for 22% of all timberland acreage, with oak-dominated types (mainly northern pin oak, white oak and northern red oak) making up about 21% and red and jack pine accounting for another 13% of timberland area.
View bar chart: Timberland acreage in the St. Croix GMU
Forest types
Hard maple-dominated types, mainly sugar maple/beech/yellow birch and hard maple/basswood, account for 41% of timberland acreage and bottomland forest types, such as sugarberry/hackberry /elm/green ash, northern white-cedar, cottonwood/willow, and black ash/American elm/red maple, make up another 31% of acreage. View bar chart: The most important forest types in the St. Croix GMU
Growing stock volume
Total growing stock volume in the St. Croix GMU is 1.6 billion cubic feet. Northern red oak, quaking aspen, and red pine are the dominant tree species by volume accounting for about 12% each of total growing stock volume.
Ratio of growth to removals
Net annual growth of trees (59.7 million cubic feet) in the St. Croix GMU exceeds annual removals (33.8 million cubic feet) by about 77%. Quaking aspen accounts for the largest volume of removals (36%) followed by northern red oak which accounts for 11% of removals.
Habitat type
There is a wide range of habitat types in the St. Croix GMU. While, almost a quarter of the timberland is classified as very dry to dry, another 22% is either mesic-wet mesic or lowland. View pie chart: Major habitat types in the St. Croix GMU
Much of the lowland timberland is located in southwest Douglas and southern Bayfield counties while the drier forestland is located in the northwest sands region of southern Douglas, northern Washburn and Burnett counties.
View map: Major habitat types in the St. Croix GMU
Timberland ownership
The majority of timberland (60%) in the St. Croix GMU remains in private hands but public ownership, especially by county and municipal governments, is also high.
View pie chart: Ownership of Timberland in the St. Croix GMU