The Department of Natural Resources is Inviting the public to weigh in on its forest management plan in Chippewa and Mackinac Counties.
The DNR will host open houses on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 13-14, to provide information and receive public comment on proposed forest management treatments for 2013 in the Sault Ste. Marie Management Unit.
The Sept. 13 open house will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. at the DNR Naubinway Field Office at W11569 US-2 in Naubinway. This meeting will focus on west Mackinac County.
The Sept. 14 open house will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Kinross Township Hall, 4884 West Curtis, in Kincheloe. This meeting will be for Chippewa County and east Mackinac County.
“This is an annual opportunity for neighbors and other interested citizens to find out what DNR’s forestry plans are,” says Karen Rodock, the DNR’s Sault Ste. Marie Unit Manager. “Not only can people review and comment on specific forest management proposals, like harvesting and planting, they can also interact with foresters and biologists about issues regarding our state forest land.”
Each year, DNR personnel inventory and evaluate approximately one-tenth of the state forest. Information gathered includes the health, quality and quantity of all vegetation; wildlife and fisheries habitat and needs; archeological sites; minerals; recreational use; wildfire potential and social factors, including proximity to roads and neighborhoods; and use on adjacent public and private lands. Proposed treatments, which may include timber harvesting, replanting and other management activities, are designed to ensure the sustainability of the resources and ecosystems.
“It is important that people participate in this process,” says Rodock. “Managing state forests properly is a complex task. Input from the residents who live, work and play here help our foresters and biologists make more informed decisions.”
Maps and information regarding the proposed treatments will be available at the open house, and can be accessed at www.michigan.gov/dnr; click on Forests, Land & Water, and then on the map of the Sault Ste. Marie Forest Management Unit.
Each management unit is divided into smaller units or compartments to facilitate better administration of the resources. Compartments under review this year are in Hudson, Hendricks, Newton, Portage, and Moran townships in west Mackinac County; Clark Township in east Mackinac County; and Kinross, Pickford, Raber and Drummond townships in Chippewa County. The formal compartment review to decide on prescriptions for these areas is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Quality Inn, 913 Boulevard Drive, St. Ignace.
