A storm that tore through northwestern Wisconsin this month killed one person, and left a huge number of downed trees. The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other agencies say they're now trying to help landowners salvage much of the wood.
There have been big blow downs of trees before, but the 109,000 acres affected in Polk, Burnett, Washburn, Douglas and Bayfield counties have triggered one of the larger wood salvage operations in recent memory. The downed acres may have had enough wood to fill about 100,000 logging trucks.
Steve Runstrom, a DNR forestry leader in Cumberland, says it's important to capture the remaining value of the wood. He also says the region is prone to fires, and the dead trees would just add to the fuel. Runstrom says the DNR has set up a web page to help landowners salvage the blown down timber, often by hiring someone from the timber industry.
While salvage operations could take about a year, some wood can be good that long, depending on the tree species and how badly the tree is damaged.
