In 2019, RGS began a partnership with the Board of Commissioner of Public Lands (BCPL). BCPL manages 77,000 acres of school trust lands across northern WI. Because of their unique nature, being managed in trust to benefit public education, these lands largely get ignored from a wildlife habitat perspective and public funding perspective. Working with BCPL Foresters, a 10-year backlog of forest inventory was identified across the ownership. Simply put, without forest inventory, forest management doesn’t happen. Looking beyond the small dot on the map habitat projects that don’t lend well to landscape level impacts, RGS/AWS decided to do something about this backlog that was hindering forest management and timber harvesting. In the summer of 2019, RGS funded 2 part-time foresters that made a 6,000 acre dent in the backlog of inventory work. One of those foresters, Kevin Bolder, is a now graduate of the Wildlife Management program at UW-Stevens Point and an active RGS chapter member who can commonly be seen volunteering at both the Stevens Point and Tomahawk Banquets. Part of Kevin’s internship assignment was planning a Ruffed Grouse Management Area on BCPL lands in Ashland Co and help to fold this 77,000 acre public land manager into wildlife habitat management, growing a landscape level impact. More about BCPL can be found at: https://bcpl.wisconsin.gov/Pages/Home.aspx The included map designates the cutting strategy on the 200 acre BCPL Ruffed Grouse Management Area in Ashland Co WI with timber harvesting starting this year.
