Considered by many as the father of wildlife management and the United States’ wilderness system, Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast who spent much of his life in Wisconsin. In 1935, he and his family initiated their own ecological resotration experiment on a worn-out farm along the Wisconsin River outside of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Planting thousands of pine trees, restoring prairies, and documenting the ensuing changes in the flora and fauna further informed and inspired Leopold.

Leopold’s respect for the land motivated him and his family to plant thousands of trees on a farm ravaged by the Dust Bowl. Leopold did not live to see the trees mature, but those pines have yielded strong and beautiful building material - a harvest we owe to Leopold’s foresight, persistence and patience. In 2003, foresters determined that the leopold pines were overcrowded and were suffering from competition, drought, disease, wind throw, or an insect outbreak could kill large numbers of them.

A careful thinning of the smallest trees was recommended, in order to allow a slow but steady improvement in the health of the forest. The white pines could survive another 150 years or more, providing many future generations with a living connection to the life and work of Aldo Leopold.

The harvest met the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). FSC is a world - wide program that sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way.

The white pine was used to build the Platinum LEED * Certified Aldo Leopold Legacy Center just outside of Baraboo, WI. The remaining supply was genersouly donated by the Aldo Leopold Foundation to be used in the building of the UW-Milwaukee’s Solar Decathlon entry, Meltwater.

sustainably harvested lumber 113 miles

windows + doors 186 miles

plumbing fixtures 55 miles

folding glass door 1250 miles

s.i.p. panels 273 miles

polycarb 72 miles

11 years to break even.

Wisconsin total tax exemptions $3,951.

0 net operating income

fedreal tax break in dollars from Solar Energy = $9437

$375 average annual payback from electric company

10,000 dollar grant from Wisconsin Focus On Energy. Electrical energy consumtpoin in agriculture has been steadily rising due to increases in mechanization use of confinement housing, and farm size. The State of Wisconsin has recognized that individuals and business owners can reduce costs by adopting energy saving technologies.*

*http://www.soils.wisc.edu/foe/login