Forest Health Assessment

A healthy forest doesn’t happen by accident. Weather events, deer browse pressure, insects, disease, over-maturity, and past logging practices can all impact the condition and long-term sustainability of your woodland. J. Lutz Forest Land Management & Consulting provides comprehensive Forest Health Assessments to help you understand what’s happening in your woods—and how to fix it.

Through on-site evaluation, stand analysis, and decades of field experience, Jordan M. Lutz gives you a clear plan to restore forest vitality, support regeneration, and enhance wildlife habitat—especially for whitetail deer.

What’s Included in a Forest Health Assessment

Your assessment evaluates the full ecological condition of your forest, including:

• Tree health, vigor, and stand density
• Insect & disease identification
• Storm damage, windthrow, and stress indicators
• Deer browse pressure and regeneration failure
• Invasive species detection & mapping
• Soil health, erosion, and compaction issues
• Sunlight availability and canopy closure problems
• Legacy impacts from past harvests or poor logging

Jordan blends field observations with professional forestry standards to give you a clear understanding of what’s helping—or harming—your woodland.

Your Customized Action Plan

After the assessment, you’ll receive a detailed, step-by-step plan designed to restore forest health and guide future decision making. Recommendations may include:

• Forest thinning or select harvesting
• Regeneration strategies for oak and other valuable species
• Invasive species removal and suppression
• Soil and water protection measures
• Sunlight management to encourage understory growth
• Habitat improvements for deer and wildlife
• Long-term monitoring suggestions

Jordan ensures the plan fits your goals—whether that’s timber value, hunting improvement, wildlife diversity, or long-term stewardship.

Forest Health & Whitetail Deer Habitat

Healthy forests support healthy deer herds. Many landowners don’t realize that deer browse pressure is one of the most common causes of regeneration failure in Northern Wisconsin.

Jordan evaluates how deer are impacting your woods and provides strategies to:

• Increase natural browse and forage
• Create bedding and security cover
• Develop better travel routes and transition zones
• Reduce over-browsing on sensitive regeneration
• Balance habitat needs with long-term forest health

If you want your land to produce and hold mature bucks, forest health is the first building block.

Frequently Asked Questions