Habitat Projects

Below, private landowners tell their stories. Scroll down to read about projects on public lands, where interested citizens can see young forest, learn how to make this vibrant and important habitat, and hunt and observe the diverse, abundant wildlife attracted to those places.

Oneida County, Northcentral Wisconsin

First Steps Toward Improving a Property for Wildlife

Curt Klade, of Brookfield, owns a wooded tract in Oneida County near where he grew up. He and his family and friends often make the 250-mile drive north to spend time on the 74-acre parcel, where they can soak in nature, through hunting, hiking, and looking out for wildlife.

Recently, a mailing from the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership got Klade thinking about what he could do to attract more wild animals to his land.

Price County, Northcentral Wisconsin

Helping Wildlife While Improving a Recreation Property

Thirteen years ago, Les Strunk bought 77 acres 250 miles north of his Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, home. The property is in northcentral Wisconsin’s Price County near the town of Prentice. Strunk characterizes his land as “a recreation property” and has enrolled it in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Managed Forest Law Program.

Langlade County, Northern Wisconsin

“Accelerated Management” Refreshes an Alder Stand

Peter Ourada and his brother Paul own 80 wooded acres near Antigo in Langlade County. “The property has a 30- to 35-acre swamp grown up with tag alder brush,” Ourada says. “The soil is really wet. I’ve seen grouse in there; they hide out along the edges of the tag alders. I’ve kicked deer out of the swamp in hunting season. I’ve also spotted fishers and woodcock there.”

Price County, Northcentral Wisconsin

Young Forests Take "Initiative"

(The following is by Todd and Veronica Berg, from Minocqua, Wisconsin. The Bergs belong to the Ruffed Grouse Society; the article below is adapted from the fall 2015 Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society magazine and is used by permission.)

Rusk County, Northcentral Wisconsin

Openings and Alders for Wildlife

Mike Gardner owns a small farm in northern Wisconsin about 100 miles south of his home along Lake Superior. The 42-acre parcel is “small enough that I can manage it intensively,” Gardner says. In 2012, he got help from the Ruffed Grouse Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to improve the habitat on his land for woodcock and other young forest wildlife.

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Northern Wisconsin

Bringing Back Aspen

Aspen shows its beauty in all seasons, from pale green spring foliage to quaking yellow leaves in autumn. It yields valuable forest products from pulp for paper to chips for strandboard to biomass for generating electricity. Especially when it’s young, aspen provides food and homes for a broad range of wildlife. There are all sorts of reasons for keeping aspen a major component of our northern woodlands, and on Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, conservationists are working to do just that.

Navarino Wildlife Area, Shawano and Waupaca Counties, Wisconsin

About Navarino Wildlife Area

Navarino Wildlife Area lies 30 miles west of Green Bay where prairie and agricultural land meet northern forest. The 15,000-acre area has sandy uplands and ridges with intervening marshy depressions. The West Branch of the Shioc River and the Wolf River run through the tract. Fifteen dikes impound water on 1,400 acres, creating open water areas fringed with wetlands.

Ackley Demonstration Area, Langlade and Marathon Counties, Wisconsin

About Ackley Demonstration Area

The Langlade and Marathon County Forests lie in rolling to hilly terrain in northern Wisconsin. Langlade County Forest totals 130,003 acres; Marathon County Forest is 28,623 acres. The Ackley Demonstration Area includes part of both of these forests, as well as the Ackley State Wildlife Area.

Lake Tomahawk Demonstration Area, Oneida County, Wisconsin

About Lake Tomahawk Demonstration Area

This demonstration area is part of the Northern Highland-American Legion (NH-AL) State Forest, at 236,575 acres the largest state forest in Wisconsin. Established in 1925, the forest protects the headwaters of the Wisconsin, Flambeau, and Manitowish rivers in the northern part of the state. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources manages the land.