By: Charley MacIntosh, Kretz Lumber Company Forester

The town of Nahma Michigan is a very historic and unique lumber town located on Big Bay DeNoc Lake Michigan in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Isaac Stephenson was the first land looker in the area traveling from Oconto. He found enough timber with great river access to start a sawmill on the Sturgeon River. Sturgeon means Nahma in Chippewa. This was 1850 era. Land was purchased from the US government for $1.25/acre. As the years went by BayDeNoc Company built the town of Nahma and purchased many thousands of acres of land. They came north from Oconto (Oconto Company) after depleting the resource there. The company, now BayDeNoc Company, cut their first board in 1881 and had a great run until 1951, where again, the resource was depleted.

My wife and I purchased the old company hotel (Nahma Inn) in 2008. Two years later we bought the old general store mostly for storage, although there was quite a bit of old inventory from back in the days that sparked my interest. Excited to discover all the old items, I came across a box of what seemed to be paper that was going to get discarded. After further review I saw some color and writing. These were all the old company timber maps. Being a forester I was totally excited to see these. They are very accurate and depicted. There are a little over 200, each having their own section. Most were cruised 1895-1896. Each map and cruise was signed and dated by Webster Marble. Webster was a sought after forester and land looker back in the day. Webster put together a survival kit for foresters, trappers and anyone else that would spend countless days and nights out in the woods. The survival kit that Webster had put together took off like wildfire, in fact so much, he started a company to make these kits. This company is called Marble Arms, which is now based in Delta County. Their business makes highly collectable hatchets, knives and gun sights and are known globally. 

Submit your best Wisconsin summer photo!

Get outside and share with us your best summer scenery photo. Enter our contest by uploading your favorite photo to our Facebook page. We’ll compile all entries into an album and fans will then vote on their favorite. The image with the most likes at the end of the voting period will receive a $25 Mills Fleet Farm gift card!

To enter our summer Facebook photo contest:

1. Like Kretz Lumber Company's Facebook page.
   
   
2. Post your submission to our page by 11:59 pm CST on August 6, 2017.
   Only one photo/submission per person. Any photo submitted must be your personal image and cannot be purchased or copyrighted. Image must have been taken in Wisconsin.
   
   
3. All submissions will be added to a Facebook photo album on August 7. Kretz Lumber Facebook fans can then vote by liking their favorite image through August 18. The picture with the most likes as of 11:59 pm CST on August 18 will win one $25 Fleet Farm gift card.
   
   
4. Enjoy the great outdoors and good luck!

Submit your best Wisconsin spring photo!

Get outside and share with us your best spring scenery photo. Enter our contest by uploading your favorite photo to our Facebook page. We’ll compile all entries into an album and fans will then vote on their favorite. The image with the most likes at the end of the voting period will receive a $25 Mills Fleet Farm gift card!

To enter our contest:

1. Like Kretz Lumber Company's Facebook page.
   
   
2. Post your submission to our page by 11:59 pm CST on May 7, 2017.
   Only one photo submission per person. All photos submitted must be your personal images and cannot be purchased or copyrighted. Image must have been taken in Wisconsin.
   
   
3. All submissions will be added to a Facebook photo album May 8, 2017 and then voted on by Kretz Lumber Facebook fans through May 19, 2017. The picture with the most likes as of 11:59 pm CST on May 19 will win one $25 Fleet Farm gift card. We will announce the winner Saturday, May 20.
   
   
4. Enjoy the great outdoors and good luck!

Let’s celebrate Earth Day on April 22 by planting trees all over central Wisconsin!

In the spirit of Earth Day and our commitment to being good stewards of the land, we’d like to give you a free seedling to plant on your property. We’ll be handing out the seedlings to anyone who stops at our main office in Antigo on April 19 or 20.

To claim your free seedling, stop by our Antigo location on either of the following dates:

• Pickup dates: Wednesday, April 19 or Thursday, April 20
• Pickup timeframe: Between 9 am - 3 pm either day
• Location: Our main office, located at W11143 County Highway G, Antigo, Wisconsin. 

We’ll have the seedlings ready and waiting in our reception area. Help yourself!

Please note: Given the nature of the live seedlings, we will not be able to ship them. Giveaway only available to individuals who are able to pickup in person on April 19-20, 2017 from our Antigo, Wisconsin office. One seedling per person, limited to the first 50 people. Kretz Lumber Company reserves the right to change or cancel this giveaway at any time.

In order to do our jobs well, we rely on a lot of different professionals while working in the woods. From loggers, haulers, excavators and more, we pride ourselves on working with some of the best in the business. Not only do great partners make our jobs a little easier, but they also help us meet our customer’s goals, which is our main priority when working in your woods. 

In this Q&A, we get to know Rickert’s Excavating Company, based out of Birnamwood, WI. They provide logging and excavating services to individuals throughout Central and Northeastern Wisconsin. We’ve worked with them for over four years and are grateful to have such experienced loggers in the woods with us. 

It’s no secret that tree cutting strategies play a big role in the log’s ultimate value. But unless you spend your days in the woods around loggers, you may not know some of the strategies we use to cut trees to their highest value. Here are a few examples:

This first image shows blocks that were cut from the end of the tree. By cutting these blocks, this particular log lost volume, however, its grade was improved. With that grade jump, the overall value of the log increased. Should the log have been cut shorter to begin with? It may have been miss cut because of the flair or bulge on the bottom left side of the butted piece. But by removing those blocks, even though volume was decreased, the grade improved, and consequently, its value.  

Do you have a mandatory thinning or harvest due for your property enrolled in the MFL program? Could you benefit from talking to an experienced forester about managing your cut? We can help!

As a landowner, you no doubt have goals for your property. As experienced foresters, our team can ensure your land objectives and MFL program requirements are met. Whether increasing wildlife and recreational opportunities or creating income, utilizing a forester’s skills before, during and after a harvest can help ensure the health and productivity of your woodlot. 

What can our team of foresters do for you?

• Setup and administration of your MFL harvest, from filling notices, timber marking, boundary setup, harvesting operations, to prompt payment
• Maximize long term financial returns from your forest, improve wildlife and recreational opportunities
• Provide professional forestry management plans that are completed precisely to your expectations and goals
• Deliver expert guidance on timber harvesting and sustainable forestry practices

To take advantage of our free offer to MFL program participants:

1. Call 715-623-5410 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
2. Mention the MFL program offer. There is no obligation or fee due for this basic service.

Get outside and share with us your best winter scenery photo. Enter our contest by uploading your favorite photo to our Facebook page. We’ll compile all entries into an album and fans will then vote on their favorite. The image with the most likes at the end of the voting period will win a $25 Mills Fleet Farm gift card!

To enter our contest:

1. Like Kretz Lumber Company's Facebook page.
   
   
2. Post your submission to our page by 11:59 pm CST on January 31, 2017.

   Only one photo/submission per person. All photos submitted must be your personal images and cannot be purchased or copyrighted. Image must have been taken in Wisconsin.
   
   
3. All submissions will be added to a Facebook photo album February 1 and then voted on by Kretz Lumber Facebook fans through Friday, February 10. The picture with the most likes (within the official voting album) as of 11:59 pm CST on February 10, 2017 will win one $25 Fleet Farm gift card.
   
   
4. Enjoy the great outdoors and good luck!

This past summer our head forester Al Koeppel took to the woods with Kretz Forest Family member and landowner Jim Brandt to record a tour of his property. What transpired was hours worth of educational, and at times comical, video sharing land management strategies that have helped Jim and his wife Yvonne improve their 480 acre Shawano County property.

While each landowner has different goals, here is a short list of some common goals we often hear when talking with property owners:

• Wildlife management (attract or deter certain species)
• Improve recreational usage
• Increase timber production
• Safeguard property from disease and invasive species
• Create income opportunities
• Increase land value

This first video in our Brandt family property series gives a brief introduction to how Jim’s family acquired their property and talks about a few of the strategies Jim and Al have have used to improve wildlife habitat and produce higher quality hardwoods.

Throughout the next few months, we’ll be highlighting different segments of our tour with Jim and Al, with the goal of sharing strategies you may be interested in using on your own property. Watch the first video now and let us know if you have questions related to your property by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 1-800-352-1438.

Written by: Andy Roelse, Kretz Lumber Company Forester

It can be very alarming to see galls forming on a tree on your property, but in most instances they appear to be more formidable than they really are. Galls can be formed by insects, fungi, mites and bacteria. Some may only form on leaves, while others form on branches and even the main leading branches of trees. Here we will touch upon the few most common galls seen throughout Northern Wisconsin.

Oak Galls

These blister-like gall formations can often girdle stems and can cause branch dieback.  In spring, adult female wasps emerge from branch galls to lay eggs in oak leaves.  The eggs hatch and larvae begin feeding along the leaf veins.  The tree then produces blister-like galls due to the blocking of nutrients by feeding larvae.  By mid-summer, the adults fly from leaf galls to lay eggs in twigs.  Eggs hatch inside the twigs and larvae start feeding and developing.  Galls begin to form on twigs soon thereafter.  Larvae often remain in twigs for two to three years until adults emerge.

How can we mitigate this problem? Examine oak trees annually for galls. If found, prune branches holding the gall. Branches should then be burned or buried. Consider harvesting your oak tree if overall health is dwindling.