Trust Lands Ownership

BCPL trust lands are in a constant state of flux as we sell and buy parcels to improve management efficiencies, forest land, and revenue to support public education. We strive to make the information on this website as timely as possible, but cannot guarantee its accuracy (see data disclaimer). Use the information on this site as a guide and contact our staff for the most up-to-date specifics.

BCPL is in the process of reshaping its school trust land portfolio into a more productive, efficient, and condensed land base within our consolidation zone in Northeastern Wisconsin. School Trust Lands lying outside of the consolidation zone and isolated unproductive parcels within the consolidation zone are generally targeted for sale to the public or other government entities. Subsequently, we are obligated by state law to invest any school trust land sale proceeds in other timberland if it meets certain criteria.

If you are interested in buying a particular parcel or selling productive timberland within our consolidation zone, please contact us.

In April 2006, the Legislature unanimously approved "land bank" legislation to enhance BCPL's ability to implement a Board approved consolidation plan. For the first time in our history, we were granted authority to "bank" proceeds from land sales for future acquisition. The Land Bank law applied several important conditions to the program:

• BCPL land ownership cannot exceed the 77,844 acre cap.
• Land purchases must increase timber management efficiencies or improve public access.

Land bank authority provides much greater flexibility to:

• Manage the land more efficiently.
• Improve public access for hunting, fishing and recreation.
• Increase timber revenue.
• Increase value of School Trust Lands.
• Prevent forest fragmentation.

BCPL has worked hard to build larger blocks of productive timberland to make it easier to manage.

Since the inception of the Land Bank Program in 2006 through September 17, 2026, BCPL has:

• Sold 19,196.23 acres
• Purchased 16,825.25 acres
• Exchanged -1,710.54 net acres (6,675.97 acres in low value land in exchanged for 4,965.43 acres in higher value land)
• Increased productive timber base by a total of 27%

This realignment has increased the value of School Trust Lands significantly. It has also greatly increased our ability to generate future timber revenues. BCPL now harvests about 33% more timber than before Land Bank due to a larger timber base and greater management efficiencies.

In 2009 the BCPL began the process of offering for sale its isolated, unproductive tracts to private parties by sealed bid. An independent appraisal of those lands is conducted prior to offering the parcels for sale. Criteria for evaluating potential land acquisitions include: the potential for good timber production, ownership of the parcel provides improved public access, and whether the parcel blocks well with existing Trust Lands, thus improving timber management efficiency.

View the BCPL consolidation zone boundary (focus area for land bank purchases) along with county forest and BCPL lands.

BCPL makes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data with property ownership information available for use in mapping and analysis. Clicking on any of the links below initiates download of a compressed ZIP file containing data in different GIS file formats. Files were most recently updated in September 2026:

Geodatabase

Shapefile

Mobile Geodatabase

In addition to downloadable data, you can also view an online interactive map that includes BCPL property data:

Interactive BCPL Land Ownership Map

The school trust lands are distinct from other public lands-such as parks or national forests-because the state's founders declared that school trust lands would always belong to the Trusts' beneficiaries: Wisconsin's public education system. Our obligation is to protect and improve the health and vigor of the school trust lands for maximum, long-term financial return for these beneficiaries.

All school trust lands are open to the public for hunting, fishing, trapping, berry picking and hiking. Snowmobile and ATV riding is allowed on designated trail networks operated by the local county. Some school trust lands, however, are surrounded by private property and we urge visitors to respect private property rights by requesting permission to cross private lands to access them.

As of 2023 there were almost 5.9 million acres of public land in the State of Wisconsin, which is nearly 17% of the state's total land area (~35 million acres). BCPL owns around 75,000 acres (1.3%) of the 5.9 million acres of public land - making it the 17th largest public land holder in Wisconsin. Currently the DNR, federal government and 14 counties own more public land than BCPL.

For more information on accessing BCPL School Trust Lands, please contact the Forest Supervisor.

School Trust Land total acreage by county

Major public land owners in Wisconsin

Land ownership between Private, Public and BCPL

In a collaborative effort with the Wisconsin DNR, BCPL managed lands are available on the interactive DNR Public Access Lands web viewer.

BCPL properties are available by default. Just zoom to an area near BCPL properties and they will display in a solid gold color. Activate the "Identify" tool and then click on a BCPL Property to see some information about that location.​

To view the BCPL-specific theme, click the blue & white "I want to...." button. In the menu that pops up, click the "...display layer theme" choice. An overlay will appear in the center of the screen with available layer themes. Choose "Board of Commissioners of Public Lands" and click the "x" to close the overlay. Zoom in on the map to see BCPL-managed lands displayed in the gold color used in the BCPL logo.