Utilization and Marketing Program
The DNR's Utilization and Marketing Program provides technical assistance to public and private individuals and organizations to:
- Help "stretch" the timber resource.
- Help wood manufacturers be more efficient users of wood residue and more efficient product manufacturers by providing them with information on the latest technology.
- Aid in decision making that results in sustainable economic development.
- Harness market forces to provide enhanced opportunities for sustainable forest management.
Sustainable timber harvest and efficient and wise utilization of our wood resources are crucial elements in maintaining a healthy economy and ecology because most forest management is done through commercial timber harvesting activity, and because wood-using industries are an important element of Minnesota's economy. Figures for 2006 indicate that about 40,000 Minnesotans are employed in the forest products industry with an annual value of forest products manufactured in the state close to $6.9 billion.
What's New- Ash Listening Sessions Reports
Available Resources from U& M program
- Wood Industry Directories
- Minnesota Woody Biomass Information
- Twin Cities Wood Utilization Information
- Marketing Assistance for Wood Based Business
- Information and Reports on Forest Resources and Wood Use
- Special Forest Products Information
- More Information - National Level
- Utilization and Marketing staff
Wood Industry Directories
Minnesota Primary Forest Products Producer Directory - lists sawmills, pulp and paper mills, Oriented Strand Board mills, veneer mills, and dry-kiln facilities in Minnesota.
Minnesota Secondary Forest Products Producer Directory - lists wood-product manufacturing companies, including those that make furniture, cabinets, doors, fixtures, and log homes.
Twin Cities Wood Utilization Information
Markets for Urban Wood With an Emphasis on Ash 
(445Kb) Tips for finding markets for urban trees to reduce costs of removals.
Twin Cities Sawmill & Dry Kiln Listing- 2010 (41Kb) Lists sawmills and dry kilns that serve the Twin Cities metro area, some of whom utilize small volumes of urban wood.
Is My Yard Tree Valuable as Timber? (100 Kb) This handout was developed to help landowners determine the value of their yard tree.
Marketing Assistance for Wood Based Businesses
The Market Place is a quarterly newsletter published as a service to Minnesota's forest industry. It features articles of general interest to foresters and those in the wood industry. It also includes free ads for buyers and sellers of forest products.
The Wood Product Business Assistance Directory (184 Kb) is published by the DNR's Utilization and Marketing staff to help Minnesota's small- to medium-sized wood product businesses find available sources of technical assistance in marketing, financing, and general business areas.
Information and Reports on Forest Resources and Wood Use
Ash Listening Sessions - Necessitated by the arrival of the exotic Emerald Ash borer, Minnesota DNR is leading development of an ash Utilization and Marketing Plan to help minimize negative ecological and economic impacts. In order to gather input and set priorities for inclusion in the plan, two ash “stakeholder listening sessions” were held this spring. Executive summary (172 Kb)| Full report (347 Kb)
Minnesota's Forest Resources is an annual publication with information on Minnesota's forest resources and forest industry, and trends impacting them.
- 2009 Report (1.32 Mb)
- 2008 Report (870 KB)
- 2007 Report (757 KB)
- 2006 Report (875 KB)
- 2005 Report (889 KB)
- 2004 Report (1 Mb)
Value Added Economic Impact of Timber Harvest in Minnesota (2.13 Mb) Forest product manufacturing industries are an important piece of Minnesota's economy. This brochure includes information from a study of the total economic impact per dollar of harvested timber. For example, there is approximately $41.60 in value-added in forest product manufacturing industries for every $1 in timber harvested.
Minnesota Wood Waste Studies—1994 (3.4 Mb) is a report that identifies volumes of wood wastes generated in a number of categories and quantifies how these wastes are currently disposed of or utilized.
A Report on West Central Minnesota's Red Cedar Resource 2004 thru 2006 (55.7 Kb) This report presents an analysis of the Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) resource and potential markets in west central Minnesota.
Minnesota Residential Fuelwood Survey is a study that is part of a long-term effort to monitor trends in the use of fuelwood by residential households and the impact of fuelwood on timber harvest levels.
Special Forest Products Information
What are Special Forest Products (SFPs)?
Special, or Non-timber Forest Products include many of species of plants that can be used for a variety of products including botanical and medicinal (like ginseng, and goldenseal), wild foods (such as mushrooms and berries), decoratives and floral greens (like boughs, spruce tops birch bark and ferns), wild native seeds (for restoration and nursery stock), and some specialty items, such as diamond willow sticks and stem burls from several tree species.
Minnesota's Special Forest Productsis a report on marketing opportunities in special forest products including: decorative greenery, dried florals and ornamentals, herbs and medicinals, decorative woods, cones, and smokewoods and flavorwoods.
Download sections of the Minnesota's Special Forest Products report (all PDF files)
- Table of contents (408 Kb)
- Introduction and Research Methods (611Kb)
- Research Findings (7.5Mb)
- Policy Recommendations (1.9 Mb)
- Exhibits (2.6 Mb)
Minnesota Special Forest Products Harvest To Market Directory- 2010 (152 Kb) Descriptive language follows: This is a listing of some harvesters and purchasers of Special (non-timber) Forest Products in Minnesota. This directory was prepared in order to better connect the harvesters and purchasers of Special Forest Products including boughs, spruce tops, seeds, berries, decoratives and other non-timber raw materials gathered from Minnesota's forests and adjacent lands.
Developing Red Cedar Essentail Oil Market in Minnesota: Economic Opportunity for Rural Development? (98kb)
The focus of this study was to explore the possibility of developing market for redcedar essential oils and other by products for this species given its moderate presence in the Prairie Country RC&D area in west central Minnesota.
Birch Top, Cedar and Willow Careful Harvest Fact Sheets (1.59 Mb) This publication contains information on careful harvesting considerations for 3 more Minnesota Special Forest Products.
Balsam Bough, Lycopodium and Birch Bark Careful Harvest Fact Sheets (336 Kb) This publication contains information on careful harvesting considerations for 3 of Minnesota's most common Special Forest Products.
Balsam Boughs in Minnesota - A Resource and Market Study (2.19 Mb) Balsam bough wreaths and decoratives are a $23 million plus annual industry in Minnesota. This report contains basic information on sustainability of the balsam bough resource and industry in Minnesota, including current resource amount and condition, ongoing measurements of resource condition, and annual statewide harvest levels.
- Taking Balsam Boughs- Minnesota's Balsam Bough Industry (3.3mb) 13.88 x 8.5 Brouchure on how to havest balsam bough and permit requirments.
- Balsam Bough Regulations: A pocket guide (1.8mb) 3.5 x 4.5 pocket guide to balsam bough regulations for the state of Minnesota.
Minnesota Logged Area Residue Analysis (404 Kb)
Logged area residue is the wood material remaining on a site after merchantable timber has been harvested. The type of material typically left is the tops of harvested trees, branches, leaves; standing trees too small to harvest or reserved clones within the harvest area; and wood that has an underdeveloped market or is a poor form and thus not marketable.
2003 Minnesota Decorative Spruce Top Production and Market Survey (153 Kb) This study examined the market for decorative spruce tops in Minnesota in 2003.
Links to additional SFP information
Links to additional Utilization & Marketing
For more information, check these sites:
- Minnesota Forest Industries
- U.S. Forest Service, State and Private Forestry, St. Paul Field Office
- Wisconsin Primary and Secondary Wood Industry Dababases
- Michigan DNR Primary and Secondary Forest Products directories
Utilization and Marketing staff
- Keith Jacobson, U&M Program Leader, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155, 651-259-5270; e-mail: keith.jacobson@state.mn.us
- Rick Dahlman, St. Paul U&M Staff, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155, 651-259-5257; e-mail: rick.dahlman@state.mn.us
- Mohammed Iddrisu, RC&D Forestry Coordinator, 2008 Mahogany Street #3, Mora MN 55051, 320-679-2215, email: mohammed.Iddrisu@state.mn.us
- Lance Sorensen, Southern/Central Region U&M Staff, Silver Lake Road, Rochester, MN, 507-206-2837 Email: lance.sorensen@state.mn.us
- Mimi Barzen, Northern MN U&M Staff (R1 & R2) 1201 E. Hwy 2, Grand Rapids, MN 55744, 218-327-4119, email: mimi.barzen@state.mn.us
Contact the program by e-mailing keith.jacobson@state.mn.us.
