The Suring School Board on Jan. 14 hired a forestry consultant to help manage its school forest. The district contracted with a private service after first considering working with the Department of Natural Resources.
Forest management previously had been provided by the DNR free of charge, but state budget changes and manpower cuts meant that option was no longer available.
Kelly Casper, Suring’s district administrator, and Greg Jaeger, Suring’s director of building and grounds, met with DNR supervisor Ryan Severson to discuss options for forestry management.
According to Jaeger, Severson said the DNR would no longer provide administrative duties. Severson said the DNR would mark trees for cutting but could not guarantee when that would be completed.
As a result, the district decided to pursue other avenues.
“We have a plan to maintain our forest, and we didn’t want to put it off for another year or two,” Jaeger said.
The district received three bids for forestry, tree marking and logging management last fall. The board reviewed them before its January meeting and agreed to contract with Wolf River Forestry, of Cecil.
For $4,300, Wolf River Forestry will mark trees to be cut, estimate the volume of harvest, and help the district write and send bid requests to logging firms. Jaeger expected logging to take place this year and anticipated receiving $90 per cord for red pine.
“Pine thinning is required about every 10 years. We have about seven or eight stands (of pine) in that 160 acres,” Jaeger said.
The DNR will inspect tree marking to be sure that step is done correctly and update the forestry plan, which happens every 10 years, Jaeger said.
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