Cooperating Foresters are consulting foresters or industrial foresters who voluntarily enter into a cooperative agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). As part of the agreement, Cooperating Foresters agree to adhere to the principles of sound forestry and implement sustainable forestry practices in all forest management guidance and assistance they provide to private forest landowners.

To become a Cooperating Forester, you must meet specific academic requirements. Cooperating Foresters are required to have a bachelor’s or higher degree in forestry from a school with a curriculum accredited by the Society of American Foresters or an equivalent degree, as determined by the Chief State Forester, under the definition in s. NR 1.21(2)(e), Wis. Adm. Code.

To join the project, please email johanna.desprez@wisc.edu. After you sign up, a project staff member will give you a call to talk about your availability and expectations of being a project forester. After the conversation, you will need to submit a W-9 and signed agreement. The project pays $500 per plan, and $9 per acre.

Once you have joined the project, as landowners sign up for a Forest Stewardship Plan, we will share their contact information with you, and ask you to confirm if you are available to write a plan for them. Forest Stewardship Plans will be assigned based on the counties you have identified you will work in and the number of plans a year you have agreed to. Plans are due December 1 of the year assigned.

You will need to complete the plan in the WISFIRS database with Wisconsin DNR using the DNR template. Payment is dependent upon plans being approved by the DNR. After the plan is approved, submit an invoice by emailing it to johanna.desprez@wisc.edu.

Since the project is grant-funded by the USDA Forest Service, the plan is required to include the parts and follow the format of a DNR Forest Stewardship Plan. You must create the plan in WisFIRS. The plan must follow these Forest Stewardship Plan Standards and Guidelines.