The public is invited to an open house next week to give the Department of Natural Resources input on proposed forest management plans for Luce and Chippewa County.

The public meeting will focus on forest managment treatments for 2013 in the Newberry Forest Managment Unit.

Each year, the DNR inventories and evaluates one-tenth of the state-owned forestland. Department staff gathers information about health, quality, and quantity of all vegetation; wildlife and fisheries habitat and needs; archeological sites; minerals; recreational use; and wildfire potential.

They also evaluate social factors, including proximity to roads and neighborhoods, and use on adjacent public and private lands. The DNR then proposes treatments to ensure the sustainability of the resources and ecosystems. These treatments may include timber harvesting, replanting and other management activities.

The open house is an opportunity for the public to review proposed treatments and to provide input toward final decisions on those treatments.  It also provides the public an opportunity to talk with foresters and biologists about issues of interest.

Maps and information regarding the proposed treatments will be available at the open house, and can be accessed at www.michigan.gov/forestplan.

The open house will be held on Thursday, Dec. 1,  from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Newberry DNR Field Office, located at 5666 M-123 South, in Newberry.

The formal compartment review to decide on prescriptions for these areas is scheduled for 9 a.m., Friday, Dec. 16, at the Training Center of the Newberry Correctional Facility.