North Central Forest Experiment Station

Forest Service - U.S. Department of Agriculture

1992 Folwell Avenue

St. Paul, Minnesota 55108

Published in 1998

Research Note

NC-374

Pulpwood Production in the

Lake States, 1997

Ronald J. Piva
Pulpwood Production in the Lake States,

1997

Ronald J. Piva1

ABSTRACT.—Pulpwood production in the Lake States in 1997 remained at the 1996 level of

9.5 million cords. Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin pulpwood production is shown by

county and species group.

KEY WORDS: Residue, roundwood, whole tree chips, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin.

Pulpwood production2 in the Lake States—Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin—remained at 9.5 million cords in 1997, only 34 thousand cords less than in 19963. Michigan

produced 3.3 million cords, Wisconsin produced 3.2 million cords, and Minnesota produced

3.0 million cords in 1997 (table 1). Ninety-two percent of the pulpwood produced came from

roundwood (including chips from roundwood); the remainder came from mill residues such

as slabs, edgings, veneer cores, and chips from these materials (fig. 1).

0

In million cords (unpeeled)

2

4

6

8

10

Year

1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997

Roundwood

Residues

Figure 1.—Pulpwood production, Lake States, 1987-1997.

ROUNDWOOD

Roundwood production totaled 8.8 million cords; Michigan produced 3.1 million cords,

Minnesota produced 2.9 million cords, and Wisconsin produced 2.8 million cords. Seventytwo percent of the harvested species were hardwoods. Aspen accounted for 47 percent of the

total roundwood harvested (4.1 million cords). The other major species groups were maple

(1.4 million cords), pine (1.2 million cords), spruce-fir (0.6 million cords), and birch (0.6

million cords) (fig. 2).

1 RONALD J. PIVA is a Forester with the North Central Research Station in St. Paul, Minnesota.

2 Includes logs, bolts, and wood residue used in manufacturing particleboard, engineered wood products, oriented strand board, hardboard, and medium density fiberboard. 3 Previous year’s data are from “Pulpwood Production in the Lake States, 1996,” Research Note NC-372,

1997.
Figure 2.—Distribution of roundwood production by major species group, Lake States, 1997.

Counties harvesting more than 150 thousand cords each were Houghton, Iron, Marquette, and

Ontonagon in Michigan; Beltrami, Cass, Itasca, Koochiching, and St. Louis in Minnesota; and

Bayfield, Douglas, Sawyer, and Vilas in Wisconsin. These 13 counties supplied 37 percent of the

roundwood pulpwood produced in the Lake States in 1997.

In 1997, whole tree chips (WTC) supplied 728 thousand cords, a 12-percent increase from

1996. Michigan’s production of WTC increased by 6 percent to 467 thousand cords, Wisconsin’s

production increased by 20 percent to 160 thousand cords, and Minnesota’s production rose by 32

percent to 101 thousand cords. WTC in 1997 contained 43 percent aspen, 43 percent other

hardwoods, and 14 percent softwoods.

MILL RESIDUES

Pulpwood production from mill residues amounted to 735 thousand cords in 1997, a drop of 9

percent from 1996. Mill residue production increased by 5 percent in Wisconsin, decreased by 11

percent in Michigan, and decreased by 38 percent in Minnesota. Hardwood residue production

decreased by 4 percent, and softwood residue production decreased by 24 percent. Production

from softwood and hardwood residues by State was:

State Softwood Hardwood

(Thousand standard cords, unpeeled equivalents)

Michigan 39 208

Minnesota 38 66

Wisconsin 96 287

Other 

softwoods

2%

Pine

14%

Spruce-fir

7%

Aspen

47%

Birch

6%

Maple

15%

Oak

3%

Other 

hardwoods

6%

Softwoods

Hardwoods

2
Table 1. -- Lake States pulpwood production from roundwood by State, Forest Survey Unit, county, and species group, 1997 1

(In standard cords, unpeeled)

MINNESOTA

Species group

Forest Survey Unit All N. white- Other

and county 2 species cedar Balsam fir Hemlock Pine Spruce Tamarack Aspen Birch Maple Oak hardwoods

Aspen-Birch

Carlton 42,186 -- 1,122 -- 1,638 2,376 32 26,292 7,953 1,319 276 1,175

Cook 53,414 -- 2,492 -- 3,037 6,490 319 39,034 2,043 -- -- -- 

Koochiching 337,022 -- 31,276 -- 8,399 41,294 5,713 221,850 2,904 156 -- 25,430

Lake 93,158 -- 11,589 -- 4,251 18,219 990 34,641 12,219 1,405 -- 9,843

St. Louis 520,144 -- 59,406 -- 17,319 54,491 5,296 327,578 35,181 6,218 10 14,645

 Total 1,045,923 -- 105,885 -- 34,644 122,869 12,350 649,397 60,299 9,099 287 51,092

Northern Pine

Aitkin 98,683 -- 4,874 -- 2,323 2,239 1,266 81,099 5,794 108 -- 980

Becker 82,974 -- 730 -- 404 9 -- 78,682 2,154 -- -- 996

Beltrami 209,566 -- 5,053 -- 5,565 3,721 1,076 164,648 9,661 540 -- 19,302

Cass 212,375 -- 6,019 -- 15,080 3,294 1,183 171,118 10,753 -- -- 4,927

Clearwater 92,017 -- 2,121 -- 1,296 1,405 56 79,275 2,786 -- -- 5,078

Crow Wing 90,740 -- 871 -- 9,907 848 50 74,661 3,334 -- -- 1,070

Hubbard 143,903 -- 567 -- 3,281 407 120 129,220 7,099 48 -- 3,162

Itasca 393,028 -- 54,440 -- 12,173 21,364 1,689 273,602 12,808 236 -- 16,719

Lake of the Woods 114,396 -- 3,608 -- 6,060 7,409 1,217 87,937 33 -- -- 8,131

Mahnomen 13,789 -- -- -- -- 60 -- 13,646 14 -- -- 69

Roseau 25,181 -- 336 -- 2,816 2,146 1,371 15,850 8 -- -- 2,653

Wadena 24,410 -- -- -- 7,047 -- 29 17,168 95 -- -- 71

 Total 1,501,063 -- 78,621 -- 65,951 42,902 8,056 1,186,905 54,539 932 -- 63,157

Central Hardwood

Anoka 5,590 -- -- -- 3,887 104 -- 1,079 259 102 109 50

Benton 7,420 -- 7,231 -- 73 -- -- 116 -- -- -- -- 

Chisago 3,571 -- -- -- 1,996 159 -- 64 338 414 276 322

Douglas 10 -- -- -- -- -- -- 10 -- -- -- -- 

Goodhue 531 -- -- -- 456 -- -- 75 -- -- -- -- 

Isanti 6,015 -- -- -- 5,160 219 -- 623 -- -- 13 -- 

Kanabec 15,674 -- -- -- 695 -- -- 14,646 276 44 -- 13

Mille Lacs 56,402 -- -- -- 868 11 -- 55,421 17 82 -- 2

Morrison 24,154 -- -- -- 3,911 682 731 18,659 125 -- -- 45

Olmsted 151 -- -- -- 151 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Otter Tail 28,369 -- -- -- 25 -- -- 27,831 84 -- -- 429

Pine 119,939 -- 2,692 -- 5,590 1,333 -- 98,269 6,544 4,039 279 1,191

Sherburne 1,653 -- 411 -- 1,047 50 -- 101 24 13 -- 6

Stearns 1,470 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,470 -- -- -- -- 

Todd 3,224 -- -- -- 68 -- -- 3,132 -- -- -- 24

Wabasha 960 -- -- -- 621 -- -- 339 -- -- -- -- 

Washington 265 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 202 41 -- 21

Winona 1,243 -- -- -- 1,050 142 -- 13 14 21 -- 5

 Total 276,641 -- 10,335 -- 25,599 2,701 731 221,847 7,883 4,757 677 2,110

Prairie

Kittson 9,794 -- -- -- -- -- -- 9,619 -- -- -- 175

Marshall 17,371 -- -- -- -- -- -- 16,128 2 -- -- 1,242

Norman 8,644 -- -- -- -- -- -- 8,639 -- -- -- 5

Pennington 5,361 -- -- -- -- -- -- 5,277 -- -- -- 84

Polk 7,191 -- -- -- -- -- -- 7,012 -- -- -- 179

Red Lake 3,434 -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,392 28 -- -- 15

 Total 51,796 -- -- -- -- -- -- 50,067 30 -- -- 1,699

State total 2,875,422 -- 194,841 -- 126,195 168,472 21,137 2,108,216 122,750 14,788 964 118,060

1

 Table may not add due to rounding. (Table 1 continued on next page) 2

 Includes only those counties that supplied pulpwood in 1997.
(Table 1 continued)

MICHIGAN

Species group

Forest Survey Unit All N. white- Balsam Other

and county species cedar fir Hemlock Pine Spruce Tamarack Aspen Birch Maple Oak hardwoods

Eastern Upper Peninsula

Alger 111,445 530 3,255 2,783 12,960 1,553 355 12,638 9,793 57,220 612 9,747

Chippewa 95,528 577 4,008 2,686 29,805 2,713 369 24,259 5,897 21,942 113 3,159

Delta 91,489 602 3,876 3,584 18,483 2,020 403 22,836 6,726 26,806 184 5,969

Luce 69,239 94 1,013 5,187 16,723 1,355 63 6,247 4,726 28,903 284 4,644

Mackinac 89,355 296 3,196 2,153 10,258 2,379 160 28,547 9,272 28,001 174 4,920

Menominee 65,059 157 1,457 728 2,405 3,060 105 16,021 8,385 26,259 397 6,088

Schoolcraft 110,878 482 3,442 2,784 40,328 4,694 323 14,206 6,593 32,003 208 5,813

 Total 632,994 2,739 20,246 19,905 130,962 17,774 1,777 124,753 51,391 221,133 1,972 40,340

Western Upper Peninsula

Baraga 125,184 345 3,222 10,149 14,422 3,375 287 20,228 12,679 48,869 758 10,851

Dickinson 113,541 451 2,915 2,430 9,916 3,375 368 53,963 8,459 21,220 545 9,899

Gogebic 92,087 4 1,120 4,768 602 805 70 16,019 6,564 49,398 2,110 10,628

Houghton 186,406 132 2,785 4,207 7,722 3,577 269 51,343 11,230 78,152 1,293 25,697

Iron 175,001 758 8,526 4,207 16,982 6,900 972 53,591 12,206 55,024 849 14,989

Keweenaw 47,494 65 390 1,975 655 143 43 6,353 5,338 26,969 385 5,177

Marquette 290,741 1,469 9,254 20,875 44,076 7,564 1,561 67,705 24,276 92,432 625 20,902

Ontonagon 162,049 18 1,091 1,938 2,604 1,495 51 69,935 6,196 57,813 1,271 19,637

 Total 1,192,502 3,241 29,303 50,550 96,978 27,232 3,622 339,138 86,949 429,877 7,836 117,775

Northern Lower Peninsula

Alcona 30,868 -- -- -- 3,320 -- -- 16,365 2,700 6,705 116 1,663

Alpena 14,712 -- 124 -- 252 164 -- 9,244 1,048 3,783 -- 98

Antrim 13,051 -- -- -- 1,037 -- -- 4,749 706 3,860 1,118 1,580

Arenac 5,071 -- -- -- 302 -- -- 3,874 379 508 -- 8

Bay 2,641 -- -- -- 8 -- -- 2,124 82 425 -- 1

Benzie 31,381 -- -- -- 2,328 -- -- 9,008 814 9,135 5,968 4,130

Charlevoix 4,751 -- -- -- 804 -- -- 1,744 160 931 647 464

Cheboygan 43,144 39 591 -- 9,347 281 -- 20,812 1,665 9,615 219 574

Clare 54,969 -- -- -- 3,908 -- -- 26,821 1,829 11,319 8,588 2,504

Crawford 48,748 -- -- -- 24,481 -- -- 16,631 609 5,024 1,332 673

Emmet 31,366 7 54 -- 3,043 13 -- 10,375 2,145 14,874 125 727

Gladwin 52,281 -- -- -- 3,135 -- -- 24,721 3,097 12,604 5,540 3,183

Grand Traverse 22,922 -- -- -- 5,314 -- -- 9,082 573 3,927 2,339 1,688

Iosco 17,615 -- -- -- 9,678 -- -- 5,414 824 1,252 131 317

Isabella 28,729 -- -- -- 284 -- -- 15,946 1,258 7,931 1,031 2,278

Kalkaska 54,277 34 206 178 17,142 76 23 19,283 1,455 11,794 1,134 2,951

Lake 70,112 -- -- -- 1,907 -- -- 27,046 1,336 14,905 21,341 3,575

Leelanau 1,893 -- -- -- 504 -- -- 303 38 744 -- 303

Manistee 46,035 -- -- -- 1,742 -- -- 18,585 1,312 11,987 9,159 3,251

Mason 13,889 -- -- -- -- -- -- 5,198 347 5,049 1,581 1,714

Mecosta 54,309 -- -- -- 1,689 -- -- 33,834 972 13,970 1,372 2,472

Midland 23,390 -- -- -- 41 -- -- 9,795 985 5,600 5,194 1,775

Missaukee 48,985 -- -- -- 5,269 -- -- 21,810 1,602 12,977 4,171 3,156

Montmorency 48,338 34 371 -- 8,543 196 -- 27,210 1,531 6,535 2,158 1,761

Newaygo 66,093 -- -- -- 162 -- -- 33,275 1,063 16,150 12,571 2,872

Oceana 18,392 -- -- -- -- -- -- 9,583 304 4,456 3,260 789

Ogemaw 20,279 -- -- -- 7,347 -- -- 6,539 279 2,621 3,181 312

Osceola 80,730 -- -- -- 907 -- -- 48,583 1,734 20,663 4,393 4,450

Oscoda 30,321 -- -- -- 8,088 -- -- 15,409 1,384 3,731 1,157 553

Otsego 67,939 -- -- -- 23,054 -- -- 25,420 3,141 11,234 2,349 2,741

Presque Isle 43,043 7 441 -- 4,472 440 -- 20,194 2,572 13,940 470 507

Roscommon 47,652 69 553 -- 10,537 132 -- 22,781 1,188 7,684 3,779 929

Wexford 39,963 -- -- -- 4,242 -- -- 17,978 980 10,506 3,627 2,631

 Total 1,177,890 190 2,341 178 162,884 1,302 23 539,736 40,112 266,439 108,051 56,635

Southern Lower Peninsula

Allegan 15,945 -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,955 22 3,448 8,442 78

Barry 3,920 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,304 22 932 1,584 77

Calhoun 1,649 -- -- -- -- -- -- 370 -- 352 926 -- 

Cass 2,271 -- -- -- -- -- -- 509 -- 485 1,277 -- 

Clinton 1,073 -- -- -- 878 -- -- 100 24 64 -- 7

Gratiot 8,412 -- -- -- -- -- -- 4,808 240 2,564 400 400

Huron 1,647 -- -- -- -- -- -- 935 205 364 -- 143

Ionia 641 -- -- -- -- -- -- 144 -- 137 361 -- 

Jackson 1,100 -- -- -- -- -- -- 442 14 218 376 50

Kalamazoo 1,223 -- -- -- -- -- -- 291 4 269 652 6

Kent 14,241 -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,949 84 2,322 7,675 212

Lapeer 100 -- -- -- 22 -- -- 78 -- -- -- -- 

Monroe 922 -- -- -- -- -- -- 323 110 351 -- 138

Montcalm 16,205 -- -- -- -- -- -- 9,122 441 4,931 976 735

Muskegon 14,353 -- -- -- -- -- -- 5,985 140 3,371 4,520 336

Ottawa 5,611 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,932 86 1,574 716 303

Sanilac 1,563 -- -- -- 165 -- -- 692 103 591 -- 12

St Joseph 1,404 -- -- -- -- -- -- 315 -- 300 790 -- 

Tuscola 1,585 -- -- -- 550 -- -- 1,025 -- 10 -- -- 

Van Buren 1,541 -- -- -- -- -- -- 346 -- 329 866 -- 

 Total 95,405 -- -- -- 1,615 -- -- 37,626 1,495 22,610 29,562 2,497

State total 3,098,792 6,170 51,889 70,633 392,439 46,308 5,422 1,041,253 179,946 940,059 147,421 217,250

(Table 1 continued on next page)
(Table 1 continued)

WISCONSIN

Species group

Forest Survey Unit All N. white- Balsam Other

and county species cedar fir Hemlock Pine Spruce Tamarack Aspen Birch Maple Oak hardwoods

Northeastern

Florence 51,793 14 1,084 5,209 7,603 797 114 16,705 4,840 11,159 487 3,784

Forest 121,110 -- 4,153 1,714 5,856 2,948 85 35,111 14,458 38,852 3,080 14,851

Langlade 126,500 -- 7,333 994 4,124 2,529 582 44,303 19,457 30,730 3,403 13,045

Lincoln 125,302 -- 2,992 758 9,271 1,008 232 53,574 12,847 21,457 4,811 18,351

Marinette 102,599 -- 1,414 232 41,051 468 387 32,160 7,442 12,934 1,595 4,916

Menominee 75,860 448 2,799 9,071 14,925 1,127 300 23,888 5,463 10,874 560 6,405

Oconto 59,718 -- 1,550 282 10,852 2,536 12 29,515 3,964 7,378 250 3,379

Oneida 133,914 -- 6,310 375 22,215 4,727 609 42,787 17,018 16,885 5,495 17,492

Shawano 23,687 -- 106 983 3,506 61 82 13,291 1,756 2,129 205 1,568

Vilas 159,890 -- 4,517 752 53,230 1,629 343 36,233 19,005 25,615 4,501 14,065

 Total 980,373 462 32,257 20,369 172,632 17,832 2,746 327,569 106,251 178,011 24,386 97,857

Northwestern

Ashland 72,784 -- 5,177 218 3,056 7,334 433 31,642 6,197 13,032 1,377 4,315

Barron 16,812 -- 11 71 1,610 53 26 9,907 1,851 2,127 468 687

Bayfield 177,236 -- 4,927 82 51,960 2,403 559 76,121 16,669 13,327 4,616 6,573

Burnett 64,324 -- 259 27 31,655 303 11 25,217 2,653 2,457 1,017 723

Douglas 185,356 -- 12,514 14 61,818 2,893 104 67,814 22,308 13,472 1,210 3,210

Iron 108,616 -- 4,071 391 2,153 1,975 168 59,458 8,012 23,095 1,577 7,715

Polk 24,861 -- 66 -- 8,021 159 -- 11,770 1,279 1,808 1,020 737

Price 116,409 -- 7,338 978 10,542 1,725 2,416 37,819 15,180 23,153 5,553 11,706

Rusk 71,432 -- 644 73 1,360 527 360 36,933 8,195 14,213 2,215 6,911

Sawyer 157,092 -- 5,815 384 8,355 4,012 528 60,356 26,075 36,397 5,043 10,125

Taylor 64,411 -- 2,520 885 1,514 513 503 24,831 6,764 16,473 1,788 8,620

Washburn 74,653 -- 1,142 -- 23,010 194 36 38,972 3,938 5,340 650 1,368

 Total 1,133,985 -- 44,484 3,124 205,057 22,090 5,145 480,840 119,120 164,896 26,535 62,692

Central

Adams 69,881 -- 11 -- 55,794 100 79 5,239 732 3,422 3,820 681

Chippewa 25,690 -- 22 89 2,926 58 -- 14,783 2,278 3,125 673 1,734

Clark 92,225 -- -- -- 10,767 119 16 45,940 7,465 14,261 9,611 4,047

Eau Claire 27,899 -- -- -- 13,210 47 17 6,957 1,507 2,330 3,007 824

Jackson 66,750 -- 23 28 28,143 145 15 15,035 2,869 5,651 12,657 2,185

Juneau 63,938 -- -- -- 45,313 -- -- 2,611 751 2,084 12,577 603

Marathon 55,617 -- 235 1,840 7,896 957 11 21,711 4,009 10,698 1,915 6,343

Marquette 17,958 -- -- -- 15,431 10 22 310 277 503 1,169 236

Monroe 30,237 -- -- -- 18,258 -- 39 3,897 820 2,266 3,923 1,036

Portage 36,342 -- 261 221 23,211 69 23 7,393 897 1,844 1,537 884

Waupaca 18,447 -- -- 11 6,346 125 -- 4,955 1,350 2,180 1,567 1,913

Waushara 27,498 -- -- 11 25,648 73 -- 582 163 121 749 150

Wood 44,181 -- 28 149 16,582 777 -- 19,481 1,116 2,510 2,861 677

 Total 576,664 -- 581 2,348 269,523 2,481 221 148,895 24,235 50,995 56,066 21,318

Southwestern

Buffalo 5,499 -- -- -- 1,041 -- -- 3,746 188 306 92 127

Crawford 175 -- -- -- -- -- -- 8 10 15 133 7

Dunn 16,057 -- 14 -- 9,442 76 -- 3,390 807 1,375 513 440

Grant 7,836 -- 11 -- 7,409 378 -- -- 8 20 2 7

Iowa 18,099 -- -- -- 3,282 16 -- 2,541 2,378 3,398 2,519 3,965

La Crosse 2,421 -- -- -- 1,810 9 -- 398 33 47 87 35

Pepin 1,018 -- -- -- 122 -- -- 577 72 66 25 155

Pierce 546 -- -- -- 374 38 -- 52 36 19 11 16

Richland 1,574 -- -- -- 871 3 -- 270 49 78 147 154

Sauk 6,905 -- 14 7 5,723 -- -- 277 87 135 520 142

St Croix 9,166 -- 69 9 3,340 282 -- 2,756 1,180 1,029 219 284

Trempealeau 9,903 -- -- -- 4,919 196 -- 3,195 293 457 476 368

Vernon 1,140 -- -- -- 605 63 -- 239 20 35 32 147

 Total 80,340 -- 107 17 38,939 1,060 -- 17,448 5,160 6,983 4,778 5,846

Southeastern

Brown 1,529 -- 14 -- 1,228 -- -- 243 1 3 -- 40

Calumet 9 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2322

Columbia 11,433 -- -- -- 8,877 116 -- 676 128 205 1,342 90

Dane 1,485 -- -- -- 729 13 -- 52 78 301 241 72

Dodge 39 -- -- 11 -- -- -- 9 -- -- 13 5

Door 6,572 -- -- 15 282 97 -- 2,519 868 1,874 89 829

Fond Du Lac 1,106 -- -- -- 402 68 -- 282 90 90 21 152

Green 198 -- -- -- 198 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Green Lake 1,497 -- -- -- 880 -- -- 289 53 45 62 167

Jefferson 1,947 -- 80 14 1,144 61 -- 239 63 151 31 166

Kenosha 14 -- -- 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Kewaunee 375 -- -- -- 183 -- -- 158 16 4 -- 14

Manitowoc 2,392 -- 17 -- 365 -- -- 232 442 1,038 13 287

Outagamie 1,470 -- -- -- 400 -- -- 507 200 102 65 194

Ozaukee 43 -- -- -- 33 -- -- -- 5 -- -- 4

Racine 188 -- -- -- 113 75 -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Rock 521 -- -- -- 501 -- -- -- 5 10 2 2

Sheboygan 483 -- -- -- 393 60 -- 14 2328

Walworth 2,630 -- -- -- 2,127 32 -- 239 28 36 21 147

Washington 1,900 -- -- -- 1,734 96 -- -- 14 16 27 12

Waukesha 3,304 -- 15 -- 2,811 202 -- -- 13 62 190 12

Winnebago 434 -- -- -- 424 -- -- -- 5 -- -- 4

 Total 39,567 -- 125 53 22,826 820 -- 5,459 2,013 3,945 2,121 2,204

State total 2,810,929 462 77,555 25,911 708,978 44,284 8,112 980,212 256,780 404,829 113,886 189,920

Lake State total 8,785,143 6,632 324,285 96,544 1,227,612 259,064 34,671 4,129,681 559,476 1,359,676 262,271 525,230