From Central Wisconsin Sunday
By Deb Cleworth
Central Wisconsin residents can help ensure a bright future for state forests - and make some money while they're at it, a local plant nursery manager says.
More than 18 million seedlings are planted to reforest Wisconsin every year. Some seeds that are used to grow the trees come from managed orchards, but many are gathered by state residents and sold to state tree nurseries.
"We buy seed each fall for the state nursery program," said Jim Storandt, nursery manager at the Griffith State Nursery in Wisconsin Rapids, one of three state nurseries in Wisconsin. The others are located in Hayward and Boscobel.
"We grow and distribute about 7 million seeds each spring," Storandt said. The Griffith Nursery has 60 acres used as production fields.
The nursery has an especially strong need for white and red pine cones, since its stockpile is getting low. Ideally, the nursery would have a seven- to 10-year supply on hand, Storandt said, but right now it only has about a two-year supply. The seeds can keep between 10 and 15 years under the right conditions.
In addition to the red and white pine cones, tamarack, black ash, swamp white oak and basswood seeds remains in short supply, said Greg Edge, a forest geneticist with the Department of Natural Resources.
Before picking any seed, collectors should contact the Griffith Nursery for detailed information on seed needs and buying station locations, Edge said.
Collectors should know how to harvest the seeds and when to pick them, Strathe said.
"It's a matter of people picking up the cones at the right stage, so (the nurseries) have the seeds they need," Strathe said.
People collecting the cones get paid for their efforts.
"We pay by the bushel or the pound," Storandt said. The nursery will pay $15 a bushel for white pine cones, and $40 a bushel for the red pine cones.
There are several methods people can use to collect seeds, including hand picking, raking, vacuuming, and gathering fallen seeds or nuts from the ground, depending on the types of seeds collected, according to the state Department of Natural Resources Web site.
Once the seeds are harvested, they can be dropped off at a nursery for processing.
"The seeds are in the cones, and nurseries run them through a seed extraction process, so they can sort out the seeds," Storandt said. About one-half pound of seeds can be extracted from a bushel of pine cones, he said.
Some of the seedlings are then sold to state landowners.
In addition to aiding reforestation efforts, the seed collecting program helps LEAF, a forestry education program for students in kindergarten through grade 12, said Sterling Strathe, LEAF director.
"The funding for our program comes from a surcharge on the seedling program from the nurseries," Strathe said. "It's really a critical program meeting the demand of landowners as they plant trees on new property."
Find out more
The first step is to contact Griffith State Nursery at 424-3700, prior to collecting seeds. For more information, go to the Department of Natural Resources Web site at dnr.state.wi.us and click on the natural resources link to reach the forestry link.
