October 27, 2017 at 3:43 p.m.
Rhinelander survives selection process to get state forestry HQ
Johns: 'It's a beautiful thing to happen to us'
Rhinelander survives selection process to get state forestry HQ
Also present was a contingent of area forestry representatives who will benefit from being closer to the people who make decisions involving their industry.
"It is one of the nicest things that has happened to this area," said Rhinelander Mayor Dick Johns. "It's an area thing that is happening and Rhinelander lucked out in having it located in Rhinelander. It's a beautiful thing to happen to us."
As part of the 2015-17 state budget, the legislature directed the DNR to develop a proposal to move the State Division of Forestry headquarters to a location north of U.S. Highway 10. In May 2016, both the Rhinelander City Council and the Oneida County Board of Supervisors passed resolutions in support of locating the office either in Rhinelander or another municipality in the county.
As the process progressed, Hayward, Wausau and Rhinelander were identified by the DNR as the "preferred locations" out of the over 40 communities that sought the office, but after the notification there was no further word, the mayor said.
"We thought it was a dead issue, it kind of died out after they first notified us," he said.
According to published reports, questions were raised by members of the state's Natural Resources Board regarding the cost of moving the headquarters to the northern part of the state.
At Wednesday's announcement, Walker said the push to move the forestry headquarters came from a desire to get state government out of Madison and closer to the people with whom it has to work. With the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association located in Rhinelander, and the concentration of state and national forests in the area, Walker said Rhinelander was the perfect place to locate the office, which will be housed in the Rhinelander DNR Service Center on Sutliff Avenue.
Walker said the goal is to have state forester Fred Souba, Jr. relocated to Rhinelander by Dec. 1, "if not sooner," with the key members of the management team to follow by the end of the year."
The goal is to have the entire headquarter's staff relocated here by the end of 2018.
"We have a number of people here, based in this part of the state, that work in forestry, but we want the whole division to be here and the focal point to be here so that we can be better partners," Walker said, adding that the timber industry is an important part of the state's economy with 65,000 jobs and about $3.7 billion in trade over the past year in paper and other forest products.
"We're proud of the great tradition that we have here in the state of Wisconsin, so we want it to continue to flourish," Walker said. "We want to do it in a way that is sustainable, and we have great partners that can help us do that in a way that can help the industry.
Flying into the Rhinelander airport and seeing all the forests surrounding the city and its paper mill, Walker said he was reminded him of how connected the area is to the timber industry and how the woods also provide tourism opportunities.
"That's all what makes Wisconsin great, particularly northern Wisconsin great, we want that to continue to flourish," Walker said. "We're proud to make this announcement today, forestry is here to stay, it's not just a branch office, it is the office; the leadership will be here, the team will be here, our partnerships are going to be here."
New DNR secretary Dan Meyer said Souba believes the Sutliff Avenue location has enough available space to accommodate the headquarters operation.
"We don't have that many people in Madison," Meyer said. "But what it (the move) does is show the commitment to the industry, having the chief forester here. And as we're looking for more people to fill these key positions (as vacancies arise), they'll come from the area here."
Souba said he does not foresee a need to expand the service center to accommodate the forestry division.
"We don't anticipate there will be any new construction, but we may do some reworking of the current Rhinelander service center to accommodate the headquarters," Souba said. "The transition period will be, as the governor said, over the course of a year, but the goal is to have about half of my leadership team up here by the first of January."
Interim city administrator Keith Kost, who has been working on the forestry office relocation as a member of the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation, said the announcement was a "win-win" for Rhinelander and Oneida County.
"This is something that has been worked on for the past several years," Kost said. "Senator (Tom) Tiffany really worked hard on this, Representative (Rob) Swearingen worked hard on this, as well as some other representatives in the area."
Kost noted that Rhinelander is the heart of the timber industry for northern Wisconsin, with the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association located just outside the city limits.
"One would think that it would make great sense that those people dealing with forestry would be located in a forest area and not in a city area," Kost said.
Both Kost and Johns said the estimated 40 full-time jobs that will likely be relocated to the Rhinelander office will do a lot for the area's economy with housing sales and could increase enrollment in the School District of Rhinelander.
"Hell yes, how can you put a label on something like that? And that's here to stay, for a long time, anyway," Johns said. "That's a beautiful thing to happen to a community. When you look at the crowd yesterday, the county board was involved in it, the city of Rhinelander is involved in it, the timber users are involved in it and people from throughout the area are involved in it. It's something to be proud of to be involved in that."
School District of Rhinelander superintendent Kelli Jacobi said the district was excited by the announcement and the possibility that more school-age children will be accompanying the employees relocating to the area.
"We will work very hard to be accommodating and welcoming," Jacobi said.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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