UW-Madison Extension Forestry

Current woodland topics, classes, webinars, publications, and more to help you meet your goals.

Current Topics

Forest in fall

Forest Carbon and Carbon Markets

Wisconsin forests hold over a billion metric tons of carbon—that’s equivalent to the annual carbon emissions from the energy use of nearly 500 million homes. Forest carbon credit programs are increasingly marketing to landowners with as little as 30-40 acres of woodlands, so now is a great time to learn about the science of forest carbon and the economics of carbon markets. 

Mushroom growing from a log

Growing Mushrooms on Logs Using Sawdust Spawn

You can produce edible mushrooms on your property easily using hardwood logs and mushroom spawn (the “seeds” for growing mushrooms). If you follow the right process, you can harvest mature mushrooms over several years from one inoculated log. Read our step-by-step tutorial and watch the accompanying video tutorial.

A man holds up a large balsam fir wreath

Beyond Timber: Growing and Gathering in Your Woods

Timber is far from the only product you can harvest from your woods. If you know what to look for, you can find and foster edibles, materials for crafts, seeds for plant propagation, and more. These non-timber forest products can be for personal use or for additional income. Learn about berries, nuts, firewood, and more.

Current Events

Getting Started with Stewardship – Field Day

Saturday, July 19

Calling all new and prospective landowners, and anyone getting started with land stewardship in Wisconsin. You are invited to the Sauk County Farm on Saturday, July 19th, to connect with peers and conservation professionals. We are coming together to look at conservation in action and discuss ways to achieve your goals for your land. Many […]

Maple Hour: Bird-Friendly Maple

Wednesday, October 15

Jacob Crawford, forest ecologist with Audubon Upper Mississippi River, joins the Maple Hour to talk about the Bird-Friendly Maple Project in Wisconsin. We’ll look at what makes a sugarbush bird-friendly and how Wisconsin maple syrup producers can participate in Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Maple Project. The Maple Hour is a webinar series for Wisconsin maple enthusiasts. Each program […]

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