Run Forest Run

Jason Swaney

               Growing up in the 21^st century we are used to many careers and jobs being centered around technology and large businesses. With life’s like this, some may never get to experience or even recognize some of the natural resources that our land has to offer. To the Natural Resource students of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point when you ask them what a forest is I’m sure you will get very similar answers, that sound like they read it straight from their NR250 text book. When the same question is asked to any other average person in the United States the answers might vary drastically. To some a forest might be what young Jenny Carron Yells to her young boy friend as he runs down the dirt road in the 1994 film Forest Gump. To a person that has grown up in down town Chicago their whole life a forest might be all the trees in Millennium Park and the surrounding area that they see day in and day out. I myself view a forest as a tool, a tool that we can manage to achieve a variety goals ranging from managing the forest for timber productions to make a profit all the way to creating the most scenic areas to take a walk with your family. No matter what your interests with the forests resource or even if you really know what a forest is, everyone is affected by forests. Whether it be the person who enjoys going horse bike riding through the public forested trails, the hunter that sets their climbing stand in a nice full grown oak, or someone that enjoys looking at the urban forestry scenery while walking on State Street in downtown Madison, they all have a some type of respect and appreciation to the resource.  With realizing that so many people have some type of everyday connection with forests and that forests have somewhat been integrated into the American culture, I believe that it is our responsibility to manage the land to keep all these forest centered hobbies and even just opportunity of utilizing the resource like we have for years around for others to enjoy.

               Wisconsin is a great place to experience all the different positive recreational and financial benefits of a forest. Wisconsin contains 2,362,847 acres of County Forests land and many different State Forests lands that are open to the public. With easy accessibility to millions of forested land it makes it very convenient to avid forest enthusiast or even a person that wants to give the outdoors a try to come and experience it firsthand. The reason that I have an interest in natural resources and forestry is that all my hobbies are done outside in those types of areas and I find it very interesting to build a career around that whether it’s protecting those resources or managing them to make a living. No matter what your interest with the forest or even natural resources I believe we all have a certain respect and attitude towards it that in the end contain the same goal. So I challenge you to keep you positive attitude and passion for the forest, because just like Jenny Carron in Forest Gump no matter what happens we will all love Forest.