DNR talks timber harvesting at NMU
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources hosted its annual compartment review Wednesday for the proposed treatments on state forest land in Marquette and western Alger County.
The DNR held an open house last month to seek public input on treatment options and has been out in the field reviewing the forest areas.
Representatives from all divisions of the DNR met at Northern Michigan University to seek a consensus agreement on implementing a range of timber harvesting treatments for the area.
“We review 10% of our land every year,” Gwinn Unit Manager for the DNR Jim Ferris said. “The foresters walk through the forest and they look at the condition of the timber, the age of the timber, the site conditions.”
“They evaluate a whole list of different variables and they make decisions. Does it need to be treated? Do we need to do something to help it grow better? Are there disease problems or insect problems?”
The process is vital for the DNR to manage the forests on a sustainable basis and so timber is cut at the same rate it grows back.
The forest is inventoried by the DNR two years in advance, so treatment activities on lands being reviewed this year will begin in 2015.
More information on maps and cutting proposals is available by logging onto the DNR’s website.