Fond du Lac SF-Rogers Lake Area

Often with modern forestry practices young regenerating forests are largely composed of aspen. While aspen is good wildlife habitat, it is abundant on the landscape. This project will improve the diversity of future stands creating unique wildlife habitat that is otherwise lacking. Specifically, it will encourage mixed stands that have a good conifer component. This will increase winter cover available to wildlife. It will also greatly increase the oak component in future stands. As the oaks mature they will provide mast (acorns) that are a valuable food source for deer, bear, turkeys, squirrels, blue jays, wood ducks, etc. Older oak trees also provide excellent den trees for cavity nesting wildlife. The site to be treated was harvested mostly during the winter of 2007-2008. It is a mixed hardwood stand. The harvest was a group selection removing most of the aspen and birch to favor regeneration of red oak and to perpetuate the stand as a northern hardwood stand in an area surrounded predominantly by aspen type. Most of the mature red oak was reserved in the harvest to provide seed source for regeneration. Some maple and basswood were also harvested but these species still make up the majority of the trees in the residual stand. Current basal area averages approximately 60 square feet. Several small clearcut openings were marked out and some areas are more densely stocked. There is good oak regeneration, averaging more than 400 stems per acre on 80% of the site at this point. The greatest competition for the oak is the aspen regeneration. Other tree and brush species also are competing. There was a planting of white spruce and white pine to restore a long lived conifer component to the site. The red oak and the white pine and white spruce are the species that would be targeted for release.