For Certified Plan Writers
This page is intended for professional foresters who are certified plan writers or interested in becoming certified plan writers. To learn more about what a certified plan writer can do for you as a landowner, go to the about certified plan writers page.
Reasons to become certified
Becoming a certified plan writer enables you to write management plans for the Managed Forest Law (MFL) program. A certified plan writer is a private consultant or industrial forester certified by the DNR to write MFL plans. Certification is granted to individual foresters, not the company or organization they work for.
Becoming certified
A forester can become certified by fulfilling the following three requirements.
- Become a cooperating forester with the DNR educational requirements [PDF].
- Attend the three-day Certified Plan Writer training course. Contact R.J. Wickham at Richard.Wickham@wisconsin.gov to sign up for the next training.
- Submit two MFL management plans for review within 120 days of the basic training course. One plan is prepared during the course and the other after the course on an area of land the department assigns. You will have one opportunity to correct any errors found in the plans.
Maintaining certification
To maintain certification, a certified plan writer must:
- prepare at least one MFL plan every two years;
- attend an MFL update training session each year;
- maintain cooperating forester status;
- submit cost data for MFL plans each year; and
- comply with the guidelines and directives of the DNR and prepare MFL plans consistent with those guidelines and directives.