Headwaters GMU

Below are statistics, charts and general information on the Headwaters GMU. All chart and map links open in a separate window.

About ¾ of the land in the Headwaters GMU is located in 4 counties: Oneida, Forest, Lincoln and Langlade with lesser amounts in Vilas, Florence, Taylor and Price counties. This GMU is heavily forested (74%) with timberland evenly distributed among the counties.

Forest acreage

The Headwaters has the second highest percentage of land in timberland of all management units. The amount of land in forests has increased by about 15,500 acres or 1% over the past decade. The most recent survey (2001-2005) indicates that productive forestland makes up about 2.5 million acres or 74% of the total land area of this GMU.
View bar chart: Timberland acreage in the Headwaters GMU

Forest types

Aspen is the most common forest type in the Headwaters GMU, accounting for 25% of all timberland acreage. Sugar maple-dominated types (sugar maple/beech/yellow birch and hard maple/basswood) together make up 34% of timberland area.
View bar chart: The most important forest types in the Headwaters GMU

Growing stock volume

Total growing stock volume in the Headwaters GMU is 3.3 billion cubic feet, higher than all other management units in Wisconsin. Sugar maple, quaking aspen and red maple are the dominant species accounting for 23%, 12% and 9%, respectively, of total growing stock volume.

Ratio of growth to removals

Net annual growth of trees (98.0 million cubic feet) in the Headwaters GMU exceeds annual removals (54.5 million cubic feet) by about 80%. Quaking aspen accounts for the largest volume or 36% of all removals. Northern red, pin and bur oak together make up another 25% of growing stock removals.

Habitat type

Over one third of all timberland in the Headwaters GMU is classified as either mesic-wet mesic or lowland and another 1/3 is classified as mesic.
View pie chart: Major habitat types in the Headwaters GMU

Wetter soils are widespread throughout the Headwaters GMU while the drier timberlands are located mostly in central Oneida and Vilas counties and eastern Florence County.
View map: Major habitat types in the Headwaters GMU

Timberland ownership

Only 57% of timberland acreage in the Headwaters GMU is owned by private entities but public ownership is fairly high. The national forests, county, municipal and state governments own the remaining 43% of forest land. The Headwaters GMU has the highest acreage of national forest timberland.
View pie chart: Ownership of Timberland in the Headwaters GMU