Call Before You Cut
218-879-5100
Call Before You Cut is a free program for all of Minnesota’s woodland owners who want guidance on determining if a timber harvest is the right for them. Landowners are provided with up to a half-day walkthrough of their woods by a professional forester at no cost.
Get to Know Your Trees
Woody Plants Catalog
A list of Coniferous Trees, Deciduous Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines.
All About MN Trees
A book from the MNDNR - All About Minnesota’s Forests and Trees: A Primer.
Native Trees
A list of coniferous and deciduous trees native to the state of Minnesota.
Tree ID Cards
View or download ID cards to assist you as you practice tree identification.
Woodland Handbooks
To help woodland owners know when to help their woods or "let nature take its course" the MN DNR has produced a series of Woodland Handbooks to help you understand the issues facing your woods and how to manage them. These handbooks contain information on the past and present condition of land in each region, insight into some of the biggest challenges local woodland owners face, tips for making and accomplishing goals for your woods, and a workbook to help you envision what your legacy will be.
Forest inventory plays a crucial role in good forest management.
More plots on private woodlands are needed to increase the precision and accuracy of new forest inventory models and maps. The fieldwork needs to be representative of all sorts of forested conditions to produce the best models across entire landscapes. Until now, PBI has been collected primarily on public lands. Expanding PBI to private woodlands will provide valuable information to increase the accuracy of forest inventory models statewide.
By enrolling in the PBI program, select landowners will voluntarily agree to have forest inventory plot data collected by a private forest inventory contractor on their land. Importantly, there are no other obligations.
There is a PBI Data Collection Tutorial video available here that will give you an idea of how foresters gather this type of data.
Consider having a plot measured on your land and volunteer today! Questions? Email MFA (info@minnesotaforestry.org) or MN DNR Resource Assessment (ForestInventory.dnr@state.mn.us).
Family Forest Owner Characteristics
This document from the USDA Forest Service provides detailed insights into the characteristics of forest landowners, and answers questions such as:
Who owns Minnesota’s forests?
What concerns do landowners have?
What are the reasons for owning land?
What kind of management activities are being done?
New Issue of Minnesota Woodlands!
The latest issue of Minnesota Woodlands, MFA’s seasonal newsletter, has been published.
The Minnesota Forest Carbon Dashboard
In 2021, the Minnesota Forest Resources Council funded the University of Minnesota, Department of Forest Resources to synthesize forest carbon resources in Minnesota and develop a scoping document that outlines the current status and future opportunities of forest carbon in the state. This team was made up of researchers and Extension professionals at UMN with experience in forest management, silviculture, forest biometrics, and remote sensing. The scoping document Carbon in Minnesota’s forests: current status and future opportunities. A report prepared for the Minnesota Forest Resources Council was published in 2022 (Russell et al. 2022). This dashboard presents a summary of key statewide and regional forest carbon data.
New DNR Map and Contact Information
The DNR Forestry Department has issued a new map and contact information for foresters responsible for working with private woodland owners.
Cost Share Funds – DNR Forestry
Here is more information. And here is a map showing DNR CFM Foresters who can help you apply for the funds. Also, here is a webinar covering all DNR service options for private woodland owners.
My Minnesota Woods
This is a great source for woodland-related discussion and information! MyMinnesotaWoods is brought to you by the University of Minnesota Extension forestry team. Learn about sustainable forest management and achieving forest stewardship goals through timely articles and videos.
