The Wisconsin Quarter is now in circulation, showing the people of the US our State's pride and joy - a dairy cow, ear of corn, and a piece of cheese.....??

I ask all my farmer friends how many bushels of corn their fields produce each year, how much milk their dairy cows give each day, how many tons of hay their hillsides yield.....  They all know exactly what each of their crops make them each year - in great detail.

I ask all my farmer friends how many board feet of lumber their forests produce each year, how much timber they own, what their forest income is...... 
They all look confused and can't answer a single question with any confidence.

Wisconsin's most important and abundant and valuable agricultural crop is not managed!  Forest owners don't have a clue what their trees are worth, what they produce, or how to manage timber for their own benefit.

In fact, most of Wisconsin's forest lands are grossly mis-managed.  Our forests are neglected until enough timber has grown to justify a commercial harvest, then the resource is quickly plundered for the instant profit of a short-sighted logging job.  Then the forest is neglected again, hoping that Nature will replenish what has been taken.

And no one at all seems to care....  'Forest Destruction Goes On As Before.'

All the Sustainable Forestry Propaganda distributed these days by our government foresters and Industry tell a different story - "Everything is just fine in our woodlots"  "Everyone is doing great work for the forest" 

Take a real walk in the woods and talk with a dozen forest owners and the truth comes out - "Forest Destruction Goes On As Before..."

Forest Owners must take responsibility for their resource and do what is right for the future - the forestry profession has failed to bring about significant      responsible management of our most important crop.

Birky - 2005                                                                back