Forest Resource in Geographical Management Units
- Overview & State Map
- Explanation of GMUs
- BadAxe - LaCrosse
- Black - Buffalo - Trempeleau
- Central Wisconsin
- Grant - Platte - Sugar - Pecatonica
- Headwaters
- Illinois Fox
- Lakeshore
- Lake Superior
- Lower Chippewa
- Lower Fox
- Lower Rock
- Lower Wisconsin
- Milwaukee River
- Mississippi River
- Root Pike
- Sheboygan
- St. Croix
- Upper Chippewa
- Upper Fox
- Upper Green Bay
- Upper Rock
- Wolf
Upper Chippewa GMU
Below are statistics, charts and general information on the Upper Chippewa GMU. All chart and map links open in a separate window.
The Upper Chippewa GMU is heavily forested with 66% of land in timber. Four counties account for 66% of all forestland: Sawyer, Price, Rusk and Vilas.
Forest acreage
The area of timberland in the Upper Chippewa GMU has decreased by about 27,000 acres or 1% over the past decade. The most recent survey (2001-2005) indicates that productive forest land makes up about 2.6 million acres or 66% of the total land area of the GMU.
View bar chart: Timberland acreage in the Upper Chippewa GMU
Forest types
Aspen is the most common forest type, accounting for 23% of all timberland acreage, but hard maple-dominated types, sugar maple/beech/yellow birch and hard maple/basswood, make up 34%. View bar chart: The most important forest types in the Upper Chippewa GMU
Growing stock volume
Total growing stock volume in the Upper Chippewa GMU is 3.3 billion cubic feet. Sugar maple, red maple and quaking aspen are the dominant tree species by volume accounting for 16%, 13% and 11% of total growing stock volume, respectively.
Ratio of growth to removals
Net annual growth of trees (86.5 million cubic feet) in the Upper Chippewa GMU exceeds annual removals (49.7 million cubic feet) by about 74%. Sugar maple accounts for the largest volume of removals (20%) followed by aspen, red maple, basswood and white pine at about 12% each.
Habitat type
Almost half of the timberland in the Upper Chippewas is classified as either mesic-wet mesic or lowland and is located predominately in Ashland, Iron, Price and eastern Sawyer counties. View pie chart: Major habitat types in the Upper Chippewa GMU
View map: Major habitat types in the Upper Chippewa GMUTimberland ownership
The majority of timberland (59%) in the Upper Chippewa GMU remains in private hands with but public ownership is high. The national forests, county, municipal, and state governments own the remaining 41% of forestland.
View pie chart: Ownership of Timberland in the Upper Chippewa GMU