A PLAN FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF FORESTRY IN 



WISCONSIN 1 



By Donald R. Brewster 

 purpose oe the pivan 



This plan has been prepared by the writer in response to a request 

 of the Committee on Forestry, Madison Section, Society of American 

 Foresters, made at the first meeting of the committee, July 23, 1920. 

 As a result of the discussion at the committee meeting it was decided 

 that the time was ripe to take some positive and constructive action 

 to promote the protection and growth of timber on Wisconsin's 

 millions of acres of idle forest land. The committee conceived it as 

 its proper function to take the lead in making plans for such action. 



The six weeks following the committee meeting were devoted to 

 a study of the forestry situation in Wisconsin and to corresponding 

 or talking with a number of men throughout the country who have 

 been more or less closely and prominently identified with forestry 

 work in the dififerent States. Many interesting facts, experiences, and 

 points of view were brought to light in this study and a considerable 

 amount of valuable and suggestive printed matter was accumulated 

 in the form of bulletins and pamphlets. It hardly comes within the 

 scope of this plan to include a digest of this information. It is all 

 on file for the use of the committee in the working out of its plans. 



THE FORESTRY SITUATION IN WISCONSIN- 



Out of Wisconsin's 35 million acres, 16 million are forest land or 

 stump land. Of the balance, 15 million acres are in cultivated farms 

 and 4 million acres are included in farm woodlands. Estimates by 

 the Forest Service in 1920 place the remaining stand of merchantable 

 timber in Wisconsin at about 2 million acres, leaving 11 million acres 

 of stump and brush land. Most of this stump and brush land lies in 

 the northern half of the State and large areas of it have been shown 

 by a careful soil survey to be fertile, tillable soil well suited to the 



'Read before the Madison Section of the Society of American Foresters, 

 September 23, 1920. 

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