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School Forest Registration

Benefits Forest Management Plan
Registration Criteria Education Plan Procedure
Registration Process Registered School Forests

Benefits

Registered school forests are eligible to:
  • Receive free forest management assistance from Department of Natural Resources (DNR) county foresters. DNR foresters are available to help school forests develop and implement management plans. Foresters can incorporate educational goals into the plan and enhance the educational value of the school forest. For a list of foresters in your county, visit: DNR's Forestry Assistance Locator 
  • Obtain free seedlings for planting in the school forest from the DNR's nurseries. The nurseries grow a variety of species suitable for planting in your school forest. Orders are accepted beginning the first Monday of October and should be placed by January 15th. For more information visit: http://dnr.wi.gov/Forestry/Nursery/index.htm 
  • Apply for WEEB school forest grants. The Wisconsin Environmental Education Board (WEEB) supports environmental education in the state by funding a variety of efforts. WEEB has established a school forest grants program that is currently funded at approximately $200,000/year. Only registered school forests are eligible to apply. For more information visit the WEEB Grant Program website
  • Receive assistance from Gretchen Marshall, the Wisconsin Outdoor Forestry Education Specialist. She serves as a resource to school forests in the state. Contact her with any questions or to request information or assistance with a school forest project. Gretchen.Marshall@uwsp.edu
NOTE: In the future, access to seedlings and seed from the state nurseries, resources from the Wisconsin Outdoor Forestry Education Specialist, and WEEB school forest grants will be limited to school districts that have an updated school forest management plan and education plan or use these resources to develop these plans.

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Registration Criteria

To be eligible to register a school forest, the following criteria must be met:
  1. Property must be owned or under legal control (e.g., lease, easement) of a municipality or school district. Many options exist for acquiring land other than buying property. Land use agreements with other municipalities, leases from private landowners, and conservation easements are examples. Here are an example land use agreement from the Superior School Forest Example Land Use Agreement (PDF) and an example conservation easement from the Tri-County School Forest Example Conservation Easement (PDF).
  2. The school board or governing body of the municipality must adopt a resolution to dedicate a parcel as a school or community forest. Butternut SF Dedication Resolution(PDF)
  3. Wisconsin statutes do not establish a minimum acreage or productivity requirement for school or community forests. However, considering the criteria below, the property should contain at least one acre of forest.
  4. The municipality or school district must indicate intent to actively manage the forest, where applicable.
  5. School districts must indicate intent to provide sustainable forestry education as a component of their education programs.
  6. A management plan or property description must be completed and approved. (Conditional acceptance can be granted prior to completion of a management plan based on forester recommendations.)

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Registration Process

Application Procedures for Registration of a School or Community Forest
  1. Owner (or an authorized property representative) completes an application form (download the application HERE), attaches minutes of meeting dedicating property as school or community forest, and submits it to the local DNR forester. Assistance in completing the application is available from your area DNR forester http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/ftax/county.asp or from the school forest education specialist at gmarshall@uwsp.edu 
  2. DNR forester visits site to ensure property meets criteria.
  3. DNR forester completes recommendation sections of the application.
  4. DNR forester sends applications meeting criteria to Wisconsin Outdoor Forestry Education Specialist.
  5. If land does not meet criteria, forester sends letter of explanation to the property representative and to the Wisconsin Outdoor Forestry Education Specialist indicating why it may not be registered.
  6. Outdoor Forestry Education Specialist conditionally approves acceptance based on forester recommendations.
  7. Upon conditional approval, both a management plan and an education plan, where applicable, will be completed. If possible, these plans should be developed together and should be interrelated.

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Forest Management Plan Procedure

A management plan must be completed and approved within one year of acceptance. Typically a DNR forest completes the management plan; however, any individual, group, or organization can be involved in developing the plan. If a DNR forester does not develop the plan, it will be submitted to a DNR forester for review. For a list of foresters in your county, visit: DNR's Forestry Assistance Locator

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Education Plan Procedure

  1. School district or municipality (if using property for education purposes) develops an education plan utilizing guidelines supplied by the Wisconsin School Forest Education Specialist. For information on the educational plan, visit the SF Education Resources pages.
  2. School district or municipality sends the completed education plan to the Wisconsin Outdoor Forest Education Specialist.

For a more detailed overview of the administration of the school forest program including, legislative requirements, entry criteria and process, and guidelines for forest management and education plan, read the document School and Community Forest Administration. (PDF)

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Registered School Forests

School forests are a specific kind of community forest - those owned or controlled by schools. Wisconsin has over 450 registered community forests. Of these, 357 are registered as school forests. This includes public school districts, private schools, universities, and tech schools.

Ownership breakdown:
  • (342) Public school districts (204 different school districts)
  • (7) Private schools
  • (5) UW System (UW-Superior, UW-Marinette Center, UW-Milwaukee, UW-River Falls)
  • (3) Tech schools (Blackhawk Tech, Mid-State Tech, North central Tech)
School Forests are located in 66 of 72 Wisconsin counties and cover over 25,000 acres in total. The parcels range in size from 3 to 740 acres. The largest acreage registered by a single school district is 1,211. About 35% of the school forests are 10 - 40 acres while approximately 15% are greater than 120 acres.

Is your school forest registered? Is the information included in the database accurate? Check the lists to find out! Click here for the PDF.

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