The Land Department, responsible for forestry and land management, was established under John M. Wagner (see below) in 1926. The exact title of the department (later made a division) often changed, but Wagner remained manager until his replacement by William P. Nicholls in 1948. The latter would serve until 1976 (see the biographical note for Series VII, Subseries IV for more on Nicholls), by which time the Lands and Forestry Division was part of the Copper Range Company's Upper Peninsula Operations (see Subseries XIII).

John M. Wagner (1871-1960) began his career as the Trimountain Mining Company's Chief Clerk (1902-1903) before becoming the Purchasing Agent for the newly centralized Copper Range Company Purchasing Department in 1904. He was succeeded by his assistant, Benjamin D. Noetzel, as Purchasing Agent in 1928, allowing him to focus on managing the new Land Department. Wagner served as a director, as well as assistant secretary and/or assistant treasurer for the Copper Range Company and many of its subsidiaries for decades. He retired from active management in 1948 but continued to act on behalf of the company in various capacities until the end of the 1950s.