Tom Hittle, Forestry and GIS Operations Director at Steigerwaldt Land Services, was part of a panel of guest speakers addressing the Governor’s Council on Forestry on September 27, 2012, regarding Working Forest Conservation Easements. Tom serves as a representative for the Wisconsin Society of American Foresters as a member of the Governor’s Council Managed Forest Law (MFL) sub-committee.
The presentation centered on SLS’s first-hand experience managing three different properties (totaling about 93,000 acres) that are under a conservation easement held by the state of Wisconsin. Tom covered all of the day-to-day land management activities that occur on these lands, including reforestation efforts, timber harvesting, forest inventory, and road maintenance for public access. He also spoke of the importance of timber harvesting in working conservation easements not only for the landowner but also for the state’s timber industry.
