Forest Certification

State Forest Certification

Wisconsin's ten State Forests shine among the gems of our public land holdings. DNR manages over 500,000 acres in the State Forest system for multiple benefits including scenic beauty, recreation, wildlife, clean water and timber.

Find a Forest

Information on Wisconsin's State Forest

WI State Forest Certificate [PDF, 442KB]
#SCS-FM/COC-00070N
©1996 Forest Stewardship Council
FSC certification means that the forest is managed according to strict environmental, social and economic standards.

WI State Forest Certificate [PDF, 115KB]
#NSF-SFIS-1Y941-S1
Wisconsin DNR is a participant in the Sustainable Forest Initiative® program.

In 2004, State Forests led the way in the forest certification initiative directed by the Governor with dual Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) assessments. Auditors from Scientific Certification Systems and NSF-International Strategic Registrations found the Wisconsin State Forest program conforms to the rigorous FSC/SFI principles and criteria for responsible management. A second five-year recertification began in January 2009 when State Forests were joined by 1 million acres of other DNR-owned state lands.

While the independent auditors found DNR State Lands meet or exceed the criteria in the certification standards, they also identified areas of improvement. Part of DNR's obligation under certification is to disclose the auditors' Corrective Action Requests and to follow through with annual reviews showing progress on the issues. The audit reports are available through the following links.