Forest Education Center Takes Root

The seed of an idea planted more than two decades ago to educate urban residents on forestry issues that affect daily life now is firmly rooted as a non-profit organization that will operate a state-owned forest in Wauwatosa. 

The Forest Exploration Center will operate a 67-acre tract of state-owned forest land just east of Highway 45 and north of Swan Boulevard, and edged on the east by the newly completed detention basins on the Milwaukee County Grounds.

The of the detention basins project created new momentum for the non-profit to move forward with plans to create an urban forest education center first envisioned in the early 1990s, according to Thomas Gaertner, a director on the FEC board.

Urban disconnect with forests fuels project 

The idea for such a project was seeded after two statewide public surveys, the first about 20 years ago and the second conducted 10 years later, which revealed that Milwaukee area residents lack a connection with the state's forest resources, said Kirsten Held, forestry outreach specialist with the Department of Natural Resources' forestry division.

Yet, urban residents are just as dependent on forests as those in northern Wisconsin who have a strong connection, awareness and appreciation for forests, Held said.

"Whether they know it or not," she said, "they depend on that (forestry) resource every day of their lives."  

The goal of the FEC is to bridge that disconnect and bring the role of forests to life for urban residents. The center also will create an opportunity for people of all ages to learn about sustainable forestry by hands-on experience, Gaertner said, "that touch experience instead of iPod Touch." 

The site is within easy access for urban area students and residents to learn about the state's fifth largest industry and the environmental role forests play in cleaning air and water, providing homes for wildlife and contributing to healthy ecosystems.

The FEC site is expected to benefit more than 150,000 students within a 50-mile radius. Many of those students are in the metropolitan Milwaukee area, Gaertner said, or about 15 minutes away from experiencing a full-day field trip on site.

Public-private hybrid 

The state purchased the land from Milwaukee County in 2003, and in 2009 the non-profit was formed. The FEC will be a hybrid public-private endeavor, Gaertner said, with the non-profit responsible for operations of the state forest site. 

Fundraising for the project to date has generated about $130,000, according to Gaertner. The state in June agreed to put up $140,000 in seed money for the project, with three caveats: the FEC by June 30, 2012, match the state funding, hire a full-time executive director and present a written land management plan to the DNR forestry division, Held said. 

Gaertner said the FEC expects to launch its search for an executive director within two weeks. Once an executive director is on board, a fundraising campaign and drafting a land management plan to care for and manage the forest can follow. 

Although the DNR will be involved in crafting the forest management plan, Held said, the state otherwise will be hands off. She said the Wauwatosa state forest will be unlike other state forests, with the non-profit FEC in the driver's seat to move the project forward and to staff the center, drive its public access operations and perform forestry management.  

FEC vision 

The construction staging area for the detention basin project on the north side of Swan Boulevard will serve as the footprint for the center's parking and building site, Gaertner said. A 60,000-square-foot facility is planned and will be built in phases, with the first portion of the building to be up to 30,000 square feet. That project, however, is years away, according to Gaertner. 

In the interim, he said, the FEC hopes develop interpretive trails and outdoor programming. 

"The lack of a building does not prevent us from doing education out there," Gaertner said. 

Once the center is built, the DNR will negotiate a long-term lease with the FEC for the land that houses the facility, Held said. Although the facility will likely have an admission fee to generate revenue for the non-profit's operations, she said, the intent is to retain free public access to the outdoor forest land.  

The Wauwatosa state forest is the fourth state park in Milwaukee County, and will be the second to include more formal public educational programming, said Judy Klippel, superintendent of the Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee at 6141 N. Hopkins St. The other two state parks in Milwaukee are the Lakeshore State Park and Hank Aaron State Trail. 

Klippel said the FEC is not expected to duplicate Havenwoods offerings, as Havenwoods focuses on nature education and the FEC focus will be sustainable forestry management. 

Gaertner describes the FEC vision for the site as being a working woodland.

"Nature manages (forests) with fire, wind and other destructive forces," Gaertner said. "Now, we suppressed fire, so it needs to managed" by human might. 

The FEC will create public access to that forest management process, with a focus on sustainable forestry management. Other education programs will center on  the forestry industry, forestry career opportunities and forests as a renewable resource that help provide clean air, water, wildlife habitat and carbon storage. 

"It has been a long, long process," Gaertner said, due to delays in the detention basin project and the challenges of launching a new non-profit in the midst of recession.

Now, he said, "we are at phase one. We've got the property, money in the bank and we're excited ... about (sharing) the unique role of forests in our lives."