About Us
About Us
Extension’s forestry educators lead classes and build programs to engage landowners in the sustainable stewardship of Wisconsin’s privately owned forests.
Sign up to receive our email newsletter, event announcements, and timely updates about woodland stewardship:
Connect with us on social media:
Wisconsin’s forests—which cover nearly half of the state—provide a multitude of economic, environmental, and social benefits. When stewarded sustainably, our forests can:
- Ensure continued productivity for the state’s $42 billion forest products industry
- Protest water, air, and soil quality
- Create habitat for both game and non-game wildlife
- Offer recreation opportunities like hiking, snowmobiling, hunting, foraging, fishing, and birding
- Improve people’s physical and mental health
- Strengthen local community ties and cultural traditions
- And more!
Of that forestland, 57% is privately owned by individuals and families, meaning that private woodland owners are central to the stewardship and future prosperity of Wisconsin’s forest-based economy.
The Extension Forestry & Wildlife Program is part of the Natural Resources Institute at the UW–Madison Division of Extension. In partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the US Forest Service, and UW–Stevens Point, we provide outreach and education to Wisconsin’s forestry community, including landowners, foresters, other natural resource professionals, and wood products industry workers, among others.
This website focuses on our programs for private woodland owners and includes many educational resources for folks who want to better steward their woodlands. For information about the Extension Forestry & Wildlife Program’s work with other audiences, explore the websites of our partners linked below. To learn about other Extension programs in your county on natural resources, agriculture, youth development (including 4-H), health, community development, families, and finances, contact your local Extension office.
Wildlife Outreach
Based in the Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology at UW–Madison, our wildlife specialists conduct research and outreach related to wildlife ecology and damage management, urban coyotes and foxes, the role of hunting in conservation, and more.
Wood Products Extension
Based in the Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology at UW–Madison, our wood products specialist focuses on wood products manufacturing in the Wisconsin and global forest products industry. Topics include hardwood grading, dry kiln processes, and more.
Wisconsin Forestry Center
Based in the College of Natural Resources at UW–Stevens Point, the Center focuses on partner-driven professional development, workforce recruitment and development, applied research, and community outreach initiatives.
Wisconsin Center for Wildlife
Based in the College of Natural Resources at UW–Stevens Point, the Center engages students, landowners, professionals and the public in sustainable wildlife management through research, education and outreach.
Our staff
Our team of forestry educators primarily works with private individual and family woodland owners. We offer in-person and virtual classes and other opportunities to learn about woodland stewardship and take action on your land. Each forestry educator has a home Extension office but works statewide.
Johanna Desprez
Natural Resources Educator
johanna.desprez@wisc.edu
Madison, WI
Johanna runs the Wisconsin Stewardship Plan Project, which connects Wisconsin landowners with foresters to develop forest stewardship plans in partnership with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Prior to joining UW–Madison Extension in 2020, she led the creation and launch of the Assessing Vegetative Impact of Deer citizen science project with University of Minnesota Extension. While earning her master’s degree in forestry, her research focused on spatial temporal changes of tree species in the Eastern United States, and the impacts of climate change.
Scott Hershberger
Forestry Communications Specialist
scott.hershberger@wisc.edu
608-263-5804
Madison, WI
Scott creates content for the Extension Forestry & Wildlife website, social media, and newsletter and develops communication strategies for the forestry team’s projects.
Scott holds an M.S. in Life Sciences Communication from UW–Madison with a focus on communicating about the changing climate. During grad school, he worked part-time for Extension, and he joined Extension full-time in 2024. Prior to that, he was a science writer at Scientific American, Fermilab, and the American Mathematical Society.
Tony Johnson
Working Lands Forestry Educator
anthony.johnson@wisc.edu
608-386-8900
Horicon, WI
Tony specializes in working lands forestry outreach, including agroforestry practices like forest farming. He coordinates Maple Syrup outreach and the Farms Branching Out program.
Prior to joining Extension in 2020, Tony worked for the National Park Service, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, and in private sector conservation. Tony earned a biology degree from UW–Milwaukee and a master’s in natural resources from Cornell University.
Olivia Kovacs
Natural Resources Educator
olivia.kovacs@wisc.edu
Portage, WI
Olivia specializes in programming on Learn About Your Land and getting started with stewardship; Your Land, Your Legacy; and chainsaw safety.
Before joining Extension in 2023, she worked for the USDA implementing Farm Bill programs across southern Wisconsin and worked for private environmental outreach and education centers. She studied Natural Resources and Ecological Restoration at Northland College.
Keith Phelps
Working Lands Forestry Educator
keith.phelps@wisc.edu
920-840-7504
Appleton, WI
Keith develops statewide programs and outreach to improve forest resilience, promote ecological stewardship, and increase informed decision-making around forest carbon markets in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Prior to joining Extension in 2024, Keith worked in ecological restoration and wetland consulting. He holds a master’s in forest resources from Clemson University.
Kris Tiles
Forestry and Wildlife Program Manager
kris.tiles@wisc.edu
715-261-1254
Wausau, WI
Kris’s work covers the areas of forestry outreach to woodland owners and water quality improvement through soil health. She has been part of the team leading a program of broader outreach called Learn About Your Land, for new and beginning woodland owners. She has also worked with communities to facilitate dialogue around sense of place and the environment.
Prior to joining Extension in 2004, Kris worked for Cooperative Development Services working with private forest owners. She also worked for Oregon State University as a researcher looking at spotted owl habitat and in the Peace Corps as an agroforestry volunteer in Haiti.
Affiliate faculty
The UW–Madison Extension Forestry & Wildlife Program includes several affiliate faculty at UW–Madison and UW–Stevens Point.
Jamie Nack
Extension Senior Wildlife Outreach Specialist
Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, UW–Madison
jlnack@wisc.edu
Madison, WI
David Drake
Professor and Wildlife Extension Specialist
Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, UW–Madison
ddrake2@wisc.edu
Madison, WI
Scott Bowe
Honorary Associate, Professor, and Wood Products Extension Specialist
Kemp Natural Resources Station, UW–Madison
sbowe@wisc.edu
Woodruff, WI
Jason Riddle
Extension Wildlife Specialist and Douglas R. Stephens Chair in Wildlife
Wisconsin Center for Wildlife, UW–Stevens Point
jason.riddle@uwsp.edu
Stevens Point, WI
Additional photo credits:
- Sugar maple canopy in Peninsula State Park: Scott Hershberger, CC BY-NC 4.0
- Red fox on UW–Madison campus: Urban Canid Project
- People in hard hats looking at clipboards: Wisconsin Forestry Center
- Jason Riddle looking through binoculars: Heike C. O’Day