Tornadoes and forest fires naturally create disturbance, but natural occurences cannot be controlled. Mike and his staff work to keep the forests healthy through controlled cutting and timber sales. Typically, a potential harvest area is made up of about 20 to 30 acres, but the harvest areas can be as small as five acres, and as large as 300 acres. After an area has been cut for a timber sale, Mike and his team are responsible for regeneration of the area. Each year, the Tower Area team artificially regenerates about 600 to 1,000 acres of cut forests.
Regeneration is accomplished either by helicopter or by hand.
If an area is difficult to get to, the area will be seeded using a helicopter. The helicopter has hoppers on each side that spray the seed over the land. Some of the trees come from the DNR's own nurseries, and some come from private nurseries. The seedlings are planted by hand, and it can take one to two days to plant an area of 20 acres. Mike and his staff check on those areas every two to three years, until they reach a specific size.