Explore the history of forestry in Minnesota
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1821
The federal government constructs the first sawmill at St. Anthony Falls to supply timber to build Fort Snelling.
1837
Minnesota's first logging camp was at the junction of the Snake and St. Croix rivers when John Boyce carried on logging with 11 men and 6 oxen.
1838
The first commercial mill was built to saw white pine lumber at Marine on St. Croix, and it continued to operate for three-quarters of a century.
1840
When the second commercial sawmill was erected at Stillwater, Minnesota's lumbering boom began.
1858
The legislature passed a law requiring that all log marks must be recorded before the logs bearing them could be moved.
1862
The first railroads reach Minnesota.
1871
The first law pertaining in any way to forestry in Minnesota was passed. It provided for paying a bounty to plant trees on the prairies.
1889
Lumber production topped 1 billion board feet with the rapidly growing railroad systems.
1894
On September 1 in the slash-strewn cutover region of Pine County, a group of small, unattended fires were swept into a roaring inferno which destroyed the town of Hinckley and killed 418 people.
1895
The Minnesota Legislature created the office of the Chief Fire Warden, who was to organize a state-wide system to suppress wildfires. General C.C. Andrews, a long-time forestry pioneer, became Minnesota's first chief fire warden.
1899
Minnesota's lumber industry reaches its peak. The average annual cut of pine was 2.3 billion board feet.
1908
Wildfires burn the city of Chisholm and 20,000 acres of land. No lives were lost.
1910
Wildfires burn more than 300,000 acres of land near the towns of Baudette and Spooner, killing 42 people.
1911
The Minnesota Forest Service is created to preserve forests, manage reforestation, and prevent and suppress wildfires. William T. Cox becomes Minnesota's first state forester.
1918
Cloquet-Moose Lake fire destroys 38 communities and kills 453 people.
1919
The legislature passes Burning Permit Laws to regulate the best season and weather-related conditions to permit open fires in certain portions of the state.
1927
The first law for the regulation of Christmas tree cutting was passed to stop the willful trespass cutting of Christmas trees.
1931
Department of Conservation is created to unite conservation efforts. The Minnesota Forest Service becomes the Division of Forestry.
1931
The Badoura State Forest Nursery is established when the legislature authorized the state to produce tree planting stock, limited to native coniferous trees for planting on only state-owned lands.
1933
The first State Forest Service camp is established in the Cloquet Valley State Forest for Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers.
1939
The General Andrews State Forest Nursery is established near Willow River.
1943
Minnesota's first minimum cutting regulation is established to regulate the size of cut trees and to provide for leaving trees that can naturally reseed logged areas.
1943
Minnesota's Tree Farm program is inaugurated..
1944
Keep Minnesota Green movement is organized in Minnesota.
1947
The Division of Forestry is authorized to produce planting stock of all species for use on private lands, causing tree production to skyrocket.
1947
The first laws were enacted to allow the Division of Forestry to serve and advise private forest landowners about how to manage, select and market timber, and protect forests.
1949
The legislature mandates that tax-forfeited land may be designated as a School Forest to encourage educators to use nature as an outdoor classroom.
1953
The legislature designates red pine as Minnesota's official state tree.
1965
The last Friday in April is designated as Arbor Day.
1971
The Department of Conservation is renamed the Department of Natural Resources.
1978
Project Learning Tree curriculum is introduced to Minnesota.
1982
The legislature passes the Forest Management Act, which requires the Division of Forestry to reforest an amount of state land equal to the amount harvested each year.
1995
Minnesota's Sustainable Forest Resource Act is passed to ensure that all Minnesotans can enjoy our forest resources while balancing environmental and economic considerations.
2001
Minnesota adopts Firewise, a national program to help communities reduce the risk of loss due to wildfires.
2005
4.9 million acres of DNR state forestlands get certified under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forests Initiative (SFI). Minnesota becomes the largest FSC certificate holder in the U.S. and among top ten in the world.
2008
The one-billionth tree seedling is harvested from the state nurseries.
2008
Minnesota Forests for the Future Program was established by the legislature to identify and protect private working forests for their timber, economic, recreation, and habitat values using conservation easements, fee title, and other tools.
2010
Each year more than 15 million seedlings are planted in Minnesota.
2010
Forests cover roughly one-third of Minnesota (33percent or 16.3 million acres). Quaking aspen is the most abundant tree in Minnesota, equal to 3.5 billion trees. Less than 4 percent of the original forests remain untouched.