Lincoln County Forest Management - Working for You

Lincoln County Forest has an average annual allowable harvest of 2600 acres with 800 acres of aspen, 1600 acres of hardwoods and 200 acres of pine, fir/spruce and other cover types. The actual acres of timber harvests vary from year to year due to size of sales set up and which sales get cut during the representative year. Lincoln County also allows evergreen bough cutting and firewood cutting by permit only.

Why Manage a Forest?

1. Provides products that YOU use daily
2. Improves habitat for various wildlife and plant species
3. Generates revenue and jobs
4. Creates a healthy forest
5. Provides various recreational activities
6. Proper management ensures future forests

Annual Gross Timber Sales Revenues

This yearly revenue is distributed as follows: 10% to townships with County Forest Lands, 20% to the county general fund, 50% to the County Forestry fund and 20% to forestry undesignated fund for the next year’s use.

Aspen

Throughout Lincoln County, there are young, middle aged and old-mature aspen areas. We actively manage our aspen by clearcutting mature aspen to regenerate new aspen. Aspen, as a cover type, is decreasing in acreage in the state and the country. Aspen provides too many benefits for grouse, bear, deer and a variety of other wildlife to allow it to become a rare cover type. Clearcutting is the ONLY successful management technique to maintain and regenerate aspen.

Hardwoods

The majority of the hardwood cover type acreage in Lincoln County is still in developmental stages and is fairly young. The hardwood type is mainly composed of sugar maple, basswood, birch and some oak. These types are managed on a 15-20 year thinning cycles by selectively removing the poor quality, diseased or high-risk trees to improve the health of the forest. Selective thinning also gives the remaining trees more room to grow. This type regenerates naturally by seed from the mature trees in the forest.

Pine and Spruce

Pine and spruce plantations dot the Lincoln County Forest, with the highest concentration in the north west part of the county. Since the 1940’s, hand crews have planted the majority of these trees. The plantations are selectively thinned every 8-15 years to provide pulpwood, sawtimber and sometimes cabin logs. These plantations will eventually be clearcut and replanted to provide another generation of wood products. The Forestry Department plants an average of 50,000(?) trees annually.

Caring for Nature

A bond exists between the forester and the forest. This bond is formed when a person chooses a career in forestry, well before the first seedling is planted or tree is cut. Throughout the management of the forest, that bond strengthens.