Fire number- W10097 Koltes Rd. The school forest is approximately 40 acres in the Town of Lodi. The forest is located at the intersection of County J and Koltes Road. Approximately 10 acres of the property is on the east side of County J, adjacent to Smokey Hollow. The remaining tract of land is in the southwest corner of the intersection of County J and Koltes Road. 

The forest is largely pine, with a higher section of land on the west side of the property of mixed oak and hardwood. Data collection on the forest was recently taken in January 2023. Data collected from Wisconsin DNR foresters included the following recommendations for forest health management to be acted on within the next 5 years (See Forest Management Plan for full details)

• Final harvest (clearcut) of Red Pine

• Thinning of White Pine

• Shelterwood harvest of Black Oak

• Removal of invasive species (buckthorn and honeysuckle) that have overrun sections of the property

• Hand planting white oak, black cherry, white pine, aspen, and birch

To get to the Forest from the city of Lodi, drive north on county J towards Harmony Grove. Continue on County J by taking a right where J diverges from County V. Parking is a current barrier. Current parking is pulling off on a relatively flat spot on the west side of J. 

The school forest property was originally granted to the town and village of Lodi in 1936 by Julia Fish, of La Crosse County. Language in the land deed states the property is donated with “the premise to be used as a school forest and to advance and support the instruction of students and the residents of the school district in agricultural and conservational programming practices.” The image at left depicts the property from an aerial photo taken in 1937, showing both forest and field on the property. In 1945, the property was officially registered as a Wisconsin School Forest.

Over the next several decades, the forest was managed primarily by work done with agricultural classes at Lodi High School. The forest was planted with pine and managed as a pine plantation. In the spring of 1957, roughly 25 FFA students from the high school hand-planted red, white and jack pine along what is now Koltes road. Records indicate a published forest management plan from 1961. Recommendations from this management plan included: removing white oak from the lower elevation areas, planting open areas with pine, pruning and thinning older pine, and progressively thinning out oak in the higher elevation to be underplanted with white pine. Records note that in 1980, a pine sale was conducted on the property and oak was marked for removal. Maintaining the property as a pine plantation continued to be the overall management plan. The property was once again harvested in 2003. This harvest was a thinning of pine on the property and sold for roughly $7595.

Over the last 20 years, the property has been maintained from volunteer efforts by former Lodi teacher and current cross country coach, Kurt Wilson. Kurt and his family spent countless hours developing, clearing, and maintaining trails. Without Kurt's efforts, the trail infrastructure would not exist. Over the years, Kurt's cross country teams have trained on the school forest trails that he constructed, and all the trails are named after former Lodi High School cross country athletes. 

Within the last few decades, reports from former and current teachers shared about classroom visits to the school forest, most frequently on field trips by the agricultural programs at the high school and the Natured in Nurture programs for the younger grade levels. When the pandemic hit in 2020, many of these trips fell by the wayside, resulting in the forest being underutilized for a few years. 

In the fall of 2022, a group of educators from around the district came together to form the School Forest Committee to formulate a plan to get students back outside.

Today the school forest is being used by our students and community as a classroom, athletic facility,  for hiking clubs, and area for recreation and land stewardship. Some highlights from the 2023-24 school year include:

• Training for the High School Cross Country Team

• Recreation and service work from the Middle School and High School Hiking Clubs

• Forest Management lessons for High School Field Ecology and Wildlife/Forestry Classes

• Summer School Focus on Forests Classes for grades 1-3 and 4-6

• 4K day in the woods

• 2nd grade lessons in writing, reading, and animal habitats

• 5th grade targeted writing and reading connected to MyView lessons

• 6th grade mapping and poetry lessons