Wisconsin plants over 10 million trees in 2024 as part of environmental goal

In celebration of Earth Day, Arbor Day and Forest Appreciation Week, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) released the Trillion Trees Pledge 2024 annual report. According to the document, Wisconsin planted around 10.7 million trees and preserved more than 57,000 acres of forest over the past year.

Since joining the global initiative in 2021 through Executive Order No. 112, the state has planted more than 42 million trees – which represents more than 40% of the goal of 100 million seedlings by 2030. In the same period, more than 60% of the forest conservation goal has also been achieved, with the highlight being the protection of more than 67,000 acres of the Pelican River Forest, one of the largest remaining private forest areas in Wisconsin.

According to the report, of the 10.7 million trees planted in 2024, around 6.4 million were provided by the DNR. Of these, 2.5 million were destined for private areas, while another 2.2 million were planted on state, federal, tribal and municipal public lands. The rest was distributed among school forests, county forests and educational actions aimed at students.

The work is carried out in partnership with private nurseries and involves companies, schools, families and volunteers. The initiative covers both urban and rural areas, promoting reforestation, sustainable management and ecosystem conservation.

In addition to supplying seedlings, the DNR also coordinates the implementation of the program with landowners and institutional partners. In 2024, private nurseries supplied around 4.1 million trees for reforestation actions in the state.

More information, the map of tree planting in the state and the full report with the 2024 results are available on the initiative’s official website.