Evers Earth Day pledge: Wisconsin will plant 100 million trees by 2030

As part of Earth Day celebrations, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday that Wisconsin will plant 100 million trees by the end of 2030, 25 million more than promised three years ago.

The governor also committed to working with public, private and non-governmental partners to protect Wisconsin’s 125,000 acres of forests.

Planting trees and protecting woodlands are simple but powerful tools that help store carbon dioxide, improve air quality, protect wildlife habitat and combat the climate crisis while supporting our statewide economy,” Evers said in a release .

On Earth Day 2021, Evers announced that the state would join the U.S. chapter of the global Trillion Tree Project. The commitment includes planting 75 million trees and protecting woodland.

Wisconsin planted 32 million trees over the past three years, bringing the state to more than 40 percent of its previous goal. Of those, 9.8 million trees were planted in 2023, according to the state Department of Natural Resources’ annual report. The DNR provided nearly 6.5 million saplings for planting.

During his State of the State address earlier this year, Evers announced funding for a conservation easement in the 54,898-acre Pelican River Forest. The conservation project totals 70,000 acres and will achieve 55 percent of the governor’s forestland goals, according to the DNR.

“About five years ago, some in the environmental community encouraged the state to consider planting 50 million trees,” said Fred Clark, a forest ecologist who works for the Wisconsin Green Fire environmental group.

“We are now aiming to plant 100 million trees by 2030, which is an encouraging sign,” Clark said.

Evers signed the executive order during a ceremony at Governor Nelson State Park in Waunakee outside Madison. The park is named after former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who is considered the founder of Earth Day.

“A mature tree can store and exchange approximately 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a year, meaning Wisconsin’s increased commitment will allow the state to store and exchange a total of 4.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide per year in planted mature trees. The order states that states have committed to planting only one trillion trees.

Clark says it’s helpful to consider the size difference between newly planted trees and mature trees. A newly planted tree may absorb several ounces of carbon from the atmosphere each year as it grows, while a mature hardwood tree can weigh 2,000 pounds or more, he said.

“Over the course of the tree’s life, the tree probably absorbs and sequesters a ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and probably absorbs another 150 to 200 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every other year,” he said.

“That’s why we need to do both. Today we need to put trees into the ground and we need to protect the big trees around us,” Clark added. “We really have to employ both strategies, and that’s what the governor’s order reflects.”