Forest Facts

Your Own Forest As Minnesota private forest landowners, you have access to a variety of educational and technical assistance programs to help you manage forested properties for timber, wildlife, recreation, soil conservation, water quality and many other benefits. This fact sheet contains information about those resources, including where to buy your own trees. Private Sources…

What’s in a Tree? It’s More Than Just Paper. Just about everyone knows that paper is made from trees. But paper is only the beginning. Almost every part of a tree can be used to make something useful. When you add them all up, there are more than 5,000 products made from paper and paper-making…

Minnesota Logger Education Program The more we know about our forests, the better we can take care of them. Every day, forest professionals make decisions based on experience and backed by science. That’s because continuing education has become such an important part of our industry. The Minnesota Logger Education Program (MLEP) was established as a…

Sustainable Forest Resources Act Ways the Sustainable Forest Resources Act Helps Minnesota’s Forests A significant Forestry LawIn 1995 the Minnesota Legislature adopted the Minnesota Sustainable Forest Resources Act (SFRA), one of the state’s most significant forestry laws. The act established policies and programs to ensure sustainable use and management of our state’s forests. Sustainability means…

School Trust Land What is school trust land, and how much does Minnesota have?Our forests and our children are both renewable resources, and growing one helps the other grow as well. How? By harvesting forests on designated School Trust Land in Minnesota, money is generated and used to benefit Pre-K-12 public education. This isn’t a…

Providing Habitat Hunter’s Benefit from Effective Management by the Forest Products Industry.Many of the 36,000 people who work in Minnesota’s forest products industry share your love of hunting, so it’s gratifying to know our work is also helping improve recreational opportunities. In fact, more than 800,000 acres of Minnesota woodlands are owned and managed by…

Northern Long-Eared Bats Northern Long-Eared Bats die in large numbers every winter – in some caves, their mortality rate is 99% – due to a fungal disease known as White Nose Syndrome. But rather than focusing on disease prevention and treatment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to make ill-conceived changes to the bats’…

Lyme Disease What is Lyme Disease?Lyme disease is a bacterial disease that is transmitted to humans and animals by the bite of an infected deer tick (also called the black-legged tick). The illness may affect the skin, joints, nervous system, heart and other areas of the body. Minnesota’s Forests Have Beauty, Wildlife.. And Lyme Disease…

Jobs Do Grow On Trees More than 30,000 people in Minnesota’s forest products industry make paper for books, magazines, brochures, computer printers and more. We make lumber and engineered wood products for building homes, including oriented strand board. We also make industrial packaging for many commercial applications. Whether working in the forest or making forest…

Harvest vs. Fire Which is Better for the Future of Our Forests?Fires impact how our forests evolve over time. So does harvesting. So which approach is better for the future of our forests? The same approach that is better for you and me. How Fire Affects the Regrowth of a Forest.When a fire occurs, the…