In an effort to improve forestry standards and increase the availability of certified wood products, CFRC is involved in two related projects in the Upper Mississippi Coulee Region.

The private forestland of Greg Erickson is the site of CFRC’s demonstration of high-quality forestry that balances ecology and economics and provides social benefits to the local community.

Greg’s 200+ acres lie along the Kinnickinnic River—a priority watershed area in Wisconsin. The land is being managed for wildlife habitat, restoration of rare plant communities and long-term ecological integrity. CFRC has coordinated horse logging, a commercial harvest, and buckthorn control to encourage oak regeneration as the first stage in the active management of the Erickson land.

Partners and stakeholders in this project include the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust; Stora Enso, a major international paper company; Cedar River Horse Logging; and Xylos Gallery, a cooperative of furniture makers in the Twin Cities.

The second part of CFRC’s work in the Coulee Region connects the high quality of certified forest management to the marketing of wood products. A group of local landowners, wood processors, retailers, builders, and others interested in utilizing certified, sustainably harvested wood is exploring ways to form connections at all levels of the supply chain to provide local sources and local markets for sustainable wood products.

Jace Luedtke, Eric Forward and IATP's Jedd Ungrodt discuss the progress of the Erickson harvest

The Kinnickinnic River Valley

Horse logger Tim Carroll and his team at work in the Erickson woods