Forests of the Menominee - A commitment to sustainable forestry

Menominee Tribal Enterprises (MTE Ltd., Keshena, WI) forest products were certified as sustainably managed in 1992 in recognition of their past performance and commitment to sustained-yield community based forestry. Their forestry operations are planned and coordinated at the Menominee Forestry Center and ret,resent the cooperative efforts of three agencies: (1) Menominee Tribal Enterprises, (2) Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and (3) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. After 140 years of harvesting, about 63% of the productive forest land (55,850 ha) within the Menominee reservation is thought to be fully stocked today and includes many impressive stands of large white pine, sugar maple and red oak. In October 1995, Menominee foresters organized a tour of the Reservation forests and explained their forest management practices. In this paper, some highlights of what was observed and learned during the lour are described, including the Menominee's approach to forest management and their main forest management activities.