DNR announces more Duck Lake Fire timber sales

The Department of Natural Resources today announced that the first eight of 16 timber sales on state forest land in the Duck Lake Fire area were sold Friday, June 22, at a total value of $394,368.34. The minimum bid started at $1 per cord for all tree species, and the highest bid that day was $30 per cord for red pine on one particular salvage sale. The number of bidders on each sale varied from one to nine.   

DNR Forest Resources Division staff started to prepare areas for timber harvest as soon as conditions were deemed safe. It took just one week for a team of 20 to survey, paint sale boundaries and “cruise” (or estimate the timber volume) on 5,887 burned acres of state forest land.
 
Within the second week, the DNR reports that paperwork was completed for the first eight sales, and field work completed for the remaining 3,887 acres, which will be sold Friday, June 29, at the DNR’s Newberry field office, 5666 State Highway M-123.
 
That quick action was an attempt to make the timber available before trees lost further value through insect infestation. Even though the bark and some of the outer wood is charred, there is still solid, unburned wood in the center of the trees that can be utilized for sawing into lumber, or chipped and used to make plywood, oriented strand board or boiler fuel.
 
“Because we’re in a race with wood-boring beetles, the DNR recognized the importance of making this wood available quickly in order to give the logging community as much time as possible for harvesting,” said Bill O’Neill, acting state forester and chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “It’s important to make the best use of this burned timber; putting these salvage sales on the market helps to make that happen.” 
 
O’Neill said some portions of the fire area will not be harvested because they’re in state- or federally protected areas or inaccessible locations, or they include trees that are too small to be harvested economically. Such areas will be a benefit to some wildlife species that feed on the insects that invade burned trees.
 
Areas that don’t regenerate naturally through the seeds from remnant cones will be replanted with seedlings grown at the DNR’s Wyman Nursery in Manistique.
 
Questions about the timber sales should be directed to Keith Magnusson, manager of the Newberry Forest Management Unit, at 906-293-3293, ext. 4740.
 
For details about the upcoming timber salvage sales, visit www.michigan.gov/timber.