North Central Forest Experiment Station

Forest Service - U.S. Department of Agriculture

1992 Folwell Avenue

St. Paul, Minnesota 55108

Published in 1997

Research Note

NC-372

Pulpwood Production in the

Lake States, 1996

Ronald J. Piva
Pulpwood Production in the Lake

States, 1996

Ronald J. Piva 1

0

In million cords (unpeeled)

2

4

6

8

10

Year

1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996

Roundwood

Residues

Figure 1.—Pulpwood production, Lake States, 1986-1996.

ROUNDWOOD

 Roundwood production totaled 8.7 million cords; Michigan produced 2.8 million cords

and Minnesota and Wisconsin each produced 2.9 million cords (table 1). Seventy-six percent

of the harvested species were hardwoods. Aspen accounted for 47 percent of the total production (4.1 million cords). The other major species groups were pine (1.2 million cords), maple

(1.2 million cords), spruce-fir (0.7 million cords), and birch (0.6 million cords) (fig. 2).

1 RONALD J. PIVA is a Forester with the North Central Forest Experiment 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, 1995,” Research Note NC-370,

1996.

ABSTRACT.—Pulpwood production in the Lake States decreased from 9.6 million cords in 1995

to 9.5 million in 1996. 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 —decreased

to 9.5 million cords in 1996 from 9.6 million cords in 19953.

 Wisconsin produced 3.3 million

cords, and Michigan and Minnesota each produced 3.1 million cords in 1996. Ninety-one

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).
Figure 2.—Distribution of roundwood production by major species group, Lake States, 1996.

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 and Douglas in Wisconsin. These 11 counties contributed 35 percent of the

roundwood pulpwood produced in the Lake States in 1996.

In 1996, whole-tree chips (WTC) supplied 649 thousand cords, a 15-percent increase from

1995. Michigan’s production of WTC increased by 29 percent to 439 thousand cords, while

Wisconsin’s production decreased by less than 1 percent to 134 thousand cords and

Minnesota’s production fell by 15 percent to 76 thousand cords.

MILL RESIDUES

Pulpwood production from mill residues amounted to 810 thousand cords in 1996, less

than a 1/2-percent increase over 1995. Mill residue production increased by 4 percent in

Minnesota, remained the same in Michigan, and decreased by 1 percent in Wisconsin. Softwood residue production decreased 35 percent, and hardwood residue production increased

27 percent. Production from softwood and hardwood residues by State was:

State Softwood Hardwood

(Thousand standard cords,

unpeeled equivalents)

Michigan 88 189

Minnesota 63 105

Wisconsin 75 289

Other 

softwoods

2%

Oak

3%

Other 

hardwoods

5% Softwoods

Hardwoods

Pine

14%

Aspen

47%

Birch

8%

Maple

13%

Spruce-fir

8%

2
Tabel 1. -- Lake States pulpwood production from roundwood by State, Forest Survey Unit, county, and species group, 1996 1/

(In standard cords, unpeeled)

MINNESOTA

Species group

Forest Survey Unit All N. white- Balsam Other

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

Aspen-Birch

Carlton 62,764 -- 9,009 -- 3,710 4,923 -- 35,843 7,946 350 21 961

Cook 70,453 -- 6,624 -- 12,672 31,865 4,505 10,234 4,001 360 -- 192

Koochiching 449,402 -- 49,801 -- 4,679 36,644 4,803 313,330 1,339 -- -- 38,805

Lake 101,999 -- 15,719 -- 3,340 17,193 45 48,013 13,404 1,030 1 3,255

St Louis 636,636 -- 89,959 -- 13,915 66,935 1,872 408,787 31,044 2,767 -- 21,357

 Total 1,321,254 -- 171,113 -- 38,315 157,560 11,225 816,206 57,734 4,507 22 64,570

Northern Pine

Aitkin 98,469 -- 5,583 -- 2,615 1,568 -- 83,811 3,165 164 -- 1,565

Becker 90,233 -- 763 -- 1,864 716 -- 85,357 1,157 -- -- 377

Beltrami 152,821 -- 4,820 -- 2,945 1,243 -- 127,053 7,514 -- -- 9,248

Cass 197,536 -- 7,373 -- 12,571 940 10 164,722 9,645 -- -- 2,274

Clearwater 94,118 -- 2,328 -- 1,697 73 -- 84,479 3,942 -- -- 1,599

Crow Wing 72,798 -- 69 -- 8,707 123 -- 61,346 2,532 -- -- 22

Hubbard 114,752 -- 831 -- 9,107 599 -- 97,262 5,722 -- -- 1,230

Itasca 321,012 -- 50,539 -- 6,987 32,240 2,161 209,926 10,999 501 -- 7,658

Lake of the Woods 37,751 -- 2,302 -- 237 5,246 78 28,981 122 -- -- 785

Mahnomen 15,440 -- -- -- 74 -- -- 15,248 111 -- -- 8

Roseau 14,683 -- 523 -- 673 1,157 -- 11,603 5 -- -- 721

Wadena 22,088 -- -- -- 3,641 48 -- 18,302 75 -- -- 22

 Total 1,231,702 -- 75,130 -- 51,117 43,953 2,250 988,090 44,988 665 -- 25,510

Central Hardwood

Benton 621 -- -- -- 412 -- -- 208 -- -- -- -- 

Chisago 7,166 -- -- -- 4,999 443 -- 1,290 210 134 22 70

Douglas 509 -- -- -- -- -- -- 508 -- -- -- 1

Goodhue 382 -- -- -- -- -- -- 382 -- -- -- -- 

Isanti 3,790 -- -- -- 3,760 -- -- 30 -- -- -- -- 

Kanabec 13,118 -- -- -- 661 -- -- 11,966 419 43 -- 28

Mille Lacs 59,202 -- 131 -- 1,130 104 -- 57,812 -- -- -- 24

Morrison 21,867 -- -- -- 3,989 394 -- 17,352 109 -- -- 22

Otter Tail 33,416 -- -- -- 32 -- -- 33,106 29 -- -- 249

Pine 140,689 -- 6,072 -- 7,780 1,536 -- 115,688 5,496 3,208 22 887

Rice 14 -- -- -- 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Sherburne 2,612 -- -- -- 2,548 31 -- 31 -- -- -- 1

Stearns 611 -- -- -- -- -- -- 611 -- -- -- -- 

Todd 7,875 -- -- -- 98 -- -- 7,743 -- -- -- 34

Wabasha 441 -- -- -- 440 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Washington 1,571 -- -- -- 1,494 -- -- 11 35 20 -- 9

Winona 1,550 -- -- -- 1,024 98 -- -- 229 125 11 63

Wright 693 -- -- -- 693 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

 Total 296,127 -- 6,203 -- 29,078 2,606 -- 246,738 6,527 3,530 55 1,388

Prairie

Clay 49 -- -- -- -- -- -- 49 -- -- -- -- 

Kittson 8,918 -- 11 -- -- -- -- 8,902 -- -- -- 4

Marshall 10,401 -- -- -- -- -- -- 10,109 9 -- -- 282

Norman 6,715 -- -- -- -- -- -- 6,715 -- -- -- -- 

Pennington 7,497 -- -- -- -- -- -- 7,358 103 -- -- 36

Polk 10,819 -- -- -- -- 17 -- 10,758 10 -- -- 34

Red Lake 3,452 -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,410 39 -- -- 3

 Total 47,849 -- 11 -- -- 17 -- 47,300 162 -- -- 359

State total 2,896,932 -- 252,458 -- 118,511 204,136 13,474 2,098,335 109,412 8,701 77 91,828

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

2/ Includes only those counties that supplied pulpwood in 1995.
(Table 1 continued)

MICHIGAN

Species group

Forest Survey Unit All N. white- Balsam Other

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

Eastern Upper Peninsula

Alger 105,051 742 4,131 4,643 11,368 8,064 536 12,988 13,447 42,181 381 6,570

Chippewa 110,838 675 4,952 2,860 29,359 3,890 488 30,143 8,460 21,117 342 8,552

Delta 124,403 824 5,080 4,343 18,365 4,054 596 27,884 16,750 38,609 340 7,558

Luce 66,370 134 1,163 6,423 15,761 2,513 97 8,153 6,958 21,905 190 3,073

Mackinac 96,734 338 2,678 1,105 13,051 2,048 182 30,063 10,678 26,916 243 9,431

Menominee 72,474 562 2,997 2,685 4,775 1,550 406 22,094 11,058 21,139 204 5,001

Schoolcraft 113,618 768 4,054 3,124 32,873 4,410 589 20,765 9,820 31,280 266 5,672

 Total 689,489 4,043 25,056 25,183 125,551 26,530 2,895 152,090 77,171 203,147 1,966 45,857

Western Upper Peninsula

Baraga 102,440 170 1,586 13,792 4,067 3,075 123 22,505 13,778 34,045 1,482 7,817

Dickinson 108,061 682 5,386 2,905 11,549 8,193 504 43,696 11,854 16,772 918 5,601

Gogebic 88,396 11 1,930 1,303 894 1,936 58 19,395 16,059 35,834 3,592 7,383

Houghton 178,830 202 3,003 3,540 8,802 4,041 312 35,056 27,532 72,830 3,318 20,195

Iron 196,334 866 10,399 4,311 17,500 12,150 808 58,310 25,509 51,248 2,558 12,674

Keweenaw 28,320 62 560 1,183 485 1,689 45 2,870 6,727 12,371 760 1,568

Marquette 295,125 1,846 12,029 17,194 52,423 11,652 1,335 75,719 28,348 75,659 2,094 16,823

Ontonagon 219,384 78 2,642 1,376 10,302 7,215 57 76,051 14,433 71,701 2,696 32,833

 Total 1,216,889 3,918 37,535 45,604 106,023 49,952 3,241 333,602 144,241 370,458 17,420 104,896

Northern Lower Peninsula

Alcona 42,138 -- 15 -- 5,322 10 -- 26,646 2,212 4,927 187 2,817

Alpena 33,148 39 354 -- 2,637 114 -- 20,751 1,597 6,082 158 1,416

Antrim 10,133 1 12 -- 194 3 -- 3,060 1,015 4,096 885 867

Arenac 6,025 -- -- -- 53 -- -- 4,001 495 1,117 73 285

Bay 1,450 -- -- -- 107 -- -- 1,168 78 98 -- -- 

Benzie 9,680 -- -- -- 1,152 -- -- 3,473 604 2,014 1,407 1,030

Charlevoix 4,443 -- -- -- 117 -- -- 972 67 1,849 60 1,378

Cheboygan 53,129 34 294 -- 10,309 156 -- 27,643 2,076 10,595 467 1,555

Clare 34,661 -- -- -- 4,975 -- -- 19,771 962 7,798 808 349

Crawford 71,509 2 11 6 35,424 4 1 20,922 2,115 9,315 2,581 1,129

Emmet 31,213 8 62 -- 3,842 15 -- 11,202 1,932 11,351 144 2,660

Gladwin 22,085 -- -- -- 296 -- -- 15,760 1,026 4,511 57 434

Grand Traverse 13,548 -- -- -- 4,827 -- -- 4,936 578 1,863 570 773

Iosco 13,153 -- -- -- 1,248 -- -- 8,272 1,109 1,847 182 494

Isabella 22,536 -- -- -- 369 -- -- 13,626 240 7,860 13 428

Kalkaska 20,702 -- -- 56 6,375 -- -- 7,035 535 4,636 846 1,219

Lake 19,284 -- -- -- 552 -- -- 5,523 1,476 4,672 4,165 2,896

Leelanau 1,090 -- -- -- -- -- -- 714 27 289 7 53

Manistee 27,085 -- -- -- 32 -- -- 9,849 1,694 7,751 4,716 3,043

Mason 17,507 -- -- -- -- -- -- 8,537 1,181 3,642 2,466 1,682

Mecosta 27,581 -- -- -- 1,274 -- -- 13,847 265 8,504 1,633 2,058

Midland 13,956 -- -- -- 54 -- -- 7,462 638 3,987 885 930

Missaukee 29,212 3 16 11 2,966 7 2 16,636 1,119 6,351 1,064 1,038

Montmorency 46,788 -- -- -- 5,693 -- -- 28,079 1,657 7,164 114 4,081

Newaygo 25,490 -- -- -- -- -- -- 9,615 484 10,152 3,444 1,794

Oceana 11,034 -- -- -- -- -- -- 4,877 407 2,656 1,978 1,115

Ogemaw 28,560 -- -- -- 10,206 -- -- 11,671 817 3,042 2,140 682

Osceola 36,953 -- -- -- 165 -- -- 17,891 834 12,225 3,137 2,700

Oscoda 28,204 -- -- -- 8,316 -- -- 13,322 1,298 3,310 855 1,104

Otsego 38,371 -- 276 -- 3,477 28 -- 17,706 1,969 10,270 244 4,401

Presque Isle 49,453 82 1,082 76 7,552 534 10 23,247 2,092 12,848 248 1,680

Roscommon 50,994 46 366 -- 18,876 87 -- 18,999 1,269 7,066 3,210 1,077

Wexford 19,821 -- -- -- 4,553 -- -- 8,361 755 3,742 1,101 1,311

 Total 860,937 215 2,488 149 140,960 958 14 405,572 34,628 187,628 39,846 48,479

Southern Lower Peninsula

Allegan 14,360 -- -- -- -- -- -- 3,244 -- 3,046 8,018 53

Barry 1,130 -- -- -- -- -- -- 272 -- 236 623 -- 

Berrien 583 -- -- -- -- -- -- 131 -- 125 327 -- 

Branch 2,104 -- -- -- -- -- -- 472 -- 449 1,182 -- 

Calhoun 1,081 -- -- -- -- -- -- 236 -- 225 597 23

Cass 1,244 -- -- -- -- -- -- 279 -- 266 699 -- 

Gratiot 5,884 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,865 -- 2,492 -- 527

Huron 20 -- -- -- -- -- -- 20 -- -- -- -- 

Kalamazoo 1,497 -- -- -- -- -- -- 429 -- 245 757 65

Kent 7,240 38 366 -- -- 87 -- 2,317 12 1,584 2,668 167

Montcalm 8,285 -- -- -- 229 -- -- 4,388 11 2,365 979 312

Muskegon 7,514 -- -- -- -- -- -- 2,001 -- 1,531 3,983 -- 

Ottawa 3,506 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,043 -- 709 1,754 -- 

Saginaw 33 -- -- -- -- -- -- 18 -- -- 15 -- 

Sanilac 1,351 -- -- -- 143 -- -- 796 96 316 -- -- 

St Joseph 2,156 -- -- -- -- -- -- 470 -- 447 1,178 61

Tuscola 1,246 -- -- -- 29 -- -- 1,195 -- 22 -- -- 

Van Buren 7,449 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1,671 -- 1,590 4,187 -- 

 Total 66,684 38 366 -- 401 87 -- 21,848 119 15,648 26,968 1,210

State total 2,833,999 8,214 65,444 70,936 372,935 77,527 6,149 913,112 256,159 776,880 86,199 200,444

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

WISCONSIN

Species group

Forest Survey Unit All N. white- Balsam Other

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

Northeastern

Florence 78,667 40 2,347 3,490 12,453 1,303 120 29,616 10,332 9,779 2,941 6,246

Forest 108,263 -- 7,087 2,763 7,009 2,909 129 40,166 13,741 20,599 3,335 10,524

Langlade 115,718 -- 8,567 1,312 3,996 2,192 306 48,162 14,191 23,355 3,441 10,195

Lincoln 135,092 -- 4,036 511 6,845 1,508 710 63,686 13,025 22,852 5,410 16,509

Marinette 114,173 -- 2,886 581 37,965 1,404 296 44,228 9,877 8,106 3,043 5,787

Menominee 81,895 384 2,107 10,063 13,150 858 278 26,811 3,358 18,390 537 5,958

Oconto 52,453 -- 487 409 10,292 604 -- 23,765 6,350 5,149 1,724 3,672

Oneida 149,884 -- 8,930 595 19,301 3,531 2,700 44,905 23,269 21,055 7,894 17,703

Shawano 31,981 -- 224 778 3,567 133 264 13,956 2,403 7,463 554 2,639

Vilas 134,687 -- 4,180 295 42,952 1,203 127 31,507 23,379 15,417 6,245 9,381

 Total 1,002,814 423 40,852 20,798 157,530 15,646 4,930 366,803 119,926 152,166 35,126 88,614

Northwestern

Ashland 72,410 -- 3,640 220 3,849 2,748 319 35,806 7,395 13,045 1,833 3,555

Barron 27,330 -- 14 -- 1,635 255 -- 19,710 1,546 2,540 803 826

Bayfield 170,989 -- 4,055 160 53,422 1,250 32 67,349 18,514 17,737 3,789 4,682

Burnett 67,254 -- 37 -- 32,517 451 152 25,667 2,551 3,592 1,157 1,129

Douglas 184,260 -- 23,675 -- 58,535 4,991 274 65,181 17,530 11,738 759 1,577

Iron 134,907 3 7,154 631 2,450 2,143 147 73,075 12,718 19,033 5,360 12,192

Polk 43,720 -- 19 22 14,986 22 29 22,202 2,190 2,879 544 825

Price 121,267 -- 4,219 150 8,260 2,513 2,078 55,276 13,262 20,990 4,484 10,037

Rusk 63,954 -- 287 32 1,584 470 182 27,526 8,890 16,707 2,413 5,862

Sawyer 145,460 -- 3,506 204 10,234 2,585 213 64,508 25,036 28,777 3,667 6,731

Taylor 69,458 -- 2,435 1,313 1,179 393 372 35,746 7,716 12,047 2,119 6,137

Washburn 109,073 -- 1,435 17 42,364 272 845 46,548 6,018 8,589 1,089 1,895

 Total 1,210,081 3 50,474 2,750 231,012 18,093 4,643 538,594 123,367 157,675 28,019 55,450

Central

Adams 79,505 -- 20 -- 62,391 10 6 6,363 381 888 9,056 389

Chippewa 30,315 -- 36 103 2,117 15 170 20,127 2,269 3,121 902 1,456

Clark 105,422 -- 1 96 10,714 25 67 51,375 9,061 16,131 11,903 6,049

Eau Claire 31,956 -- -- -- 10,031 16 -- 10,354 2,049 3,634 4,659 1,211

Jackson 83,679 -- 126 43 37,288 160 30 15,101 4,028 13,215 10,716 2,973

Juneau 57,663 -- -- -- 36,806 4 -- 3,036 1,198 2,620 13,146 853

Marathon 54,704 -- 281 791 6,766 196 -- 21,302 4,008 12,870 2,066 6,426

Marquette 12,558 -- -- -- 10,966 -- -- 304 195 380 540 174

Monroe 31,804 -- -- -- 17,820 -- 100 4,755 862 2,352 5,112 802

Portage 42,997 -- 37 388 25,122 156 169 9,387 996 2,803 2,837 1,103

Waupaca 17,723 -- -- 112 6,888 25 -- 5,327 785 2,490 747 1,349

Waushara 28,590 -- 1 14 25,121 43 12 1,067 300 677 1,087 270

Wood 40,756 -- -- 13 12,092 239 -- 21,037 1,205 2,448 3,117 608

 Total 617,671 -- 503 1,558 264,121 889 554 169,534 27,335 63,628 65,885 23,666

Southwestern

Buffalo 6,505 -- -- -- 829 60 -- 4,756 202 341 160 156

Crawford 990 -- -- -- 624 22 -- 67 13 20 203 41

Dunn 18,159 -- -- -- 9,015 66 -- 5,222 1,297 1,404 630 526

Grant 2,575 -- -- -- 2,202 -- -- 23 45 81 196 29

Iowa 3,354 -- -- -- 2,742 66 6 269 15 26 224 6

La Crosse 4,630 -- -- -- 3,494 -- -- 389 113 180 315 137

Lafayette 13 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3711

Pepin 3,261 -- -- -- 655 156 -- 1,337 271 364 232 244

Pierce 1,499 -- -- -- 374 38 -- 849 95 52 29 62

Richland 2,181 -- -- -- 2,069 5 -- 21 1 2 80 3

Sauk 9,568 -- 3 -- 6,806 47 -- 337 319 613 1,150 292

St Croix 9,641 -- -- -- 1,269 251 -- 7,612 307 152 29 23

Trempealeau 12,137 -- -- -- 7,945 -- -- 2,734 308 497 339 314

Vernon 823 -- -- -- 749 -- -- -- 9 13 43 9

 Total 75,334 -- 3 -- 38,774 710 6 23,615 2,999 3,753 3,632 1,843

Southeastern

Brown 11,083 -- -- -- 1,461 22 -- 8,243 19 125 17 1,194

Calumet 21 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 4755

Columbia 7,227 -- 32 -- 5,753 131 -- 108 78 226 849 47

Dane 557 -- -- -- 358 13 -- -- 29 53 73 31

Dodge 46 -- -- -- -- -- -- 25 -- -- 21 -- 

Door 3,788 -- 105 11 1,179 383 -- 883 1,009 125 35 57

Fond Du Lac 468 -- -- -- 72 -- -- 82 30 57 212 14

Green 355 -- -- -- 346 -- -- -- -- -- 9 -- 

Green Lake 2,742 -- -- -- 2,087 50 -- 89 21 36 423 36

Jefferson 1,259 -- -- -- 1,233 15 -- -- -- 8 -- 1

Kenosha 24 -- -- -- 24 -- -- -- 1 -- -- -- 

Kewaunee 126 -- -- -- 113 -- -- -- 2 9 -- 2

Manitowoc 1,419 -- 15 14 1,199 98 -- -- 9 73 -- 12

Milwaukee 29 -- -- 14 16 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Outagamie 3,858 -- -- 11 1,207 104 -- 1,085 188 1,019 42 202

Ozaukee 28 -- -- -- 28 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Racine 508 -- -- -- 290 206 -- -- 2 9 -- 1

Rock 1,513 -- 16 -- 1,460 38 -- -- -- -- -- -- 

Sheboygan 644 -- 30 -- 393 25 -- 131 1 8 -- 56

Walworth 2,190 -- -- -- 2,089 39 64 -- -- -- -- -- 

Washington 566 -- -- 29 245 66 -- 28 24 141 6 26

Waukesha 972 -- -- -- 824 96 -- -- 6 40 -- 6

Winnebago 86 -- -- -- 74 -- -- -- -- -- 11 -- 

 Total 39,508 -- 197 79 20,448 1,284 64 10,675 1,422 1,939 1,706 1,693

State total 2,945,409 427 92,028 25,184 711,885 36,623 10,197 1,109,221 275,049 379,160 134,369 171,266

Total Lake States 8,676,340 8,640 409,931 96,120 1,203,331 318,286 29,821 4,120,667 640,620 1,164,741 220,645 463,538