Planning the state forest's future

CADILLAC - It takes a lot of paper to plan the future of Michigan's state forest.

An overview of the state's 220-page draft forest management plan was given Aug. 17 at McGuire's Resort in Cadillac.

“The plan has a lot of material in it,” said Larry Pederson of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Division.

The plan affects the four counties in the Cadillac forestry unit. The largest amount of acreage can be found in Missaukee County, with about 60,000 state-owned forestry acres. Lake and Wexford counties have about 50,000 acres, while Osceola includes about 19,000 acres of state forest. The Cadillac Unit is managed by Bill Sterrett.

The last state forest management plan was finalized in 1983, Pederson said. Development of this new plan was coordinated by certification planner David Price, who belongs to the same division as Pederson.

The pair have been traveling throughout the state this month holding public open houses to encourage comment on the draft plan. They said public comment is welcome through Sept. 15.

Pederson said that when they were mandated to develop this new plan, the state didn't want to just focus on the forest. Instead, they wanted to consider social, recreational and other concerns. Various “eco-regions” have been established throughout the state, and the forest plan is just one plan under that umbrella.

Continuity of purpose drove the thinking of this new state forest plan, Pederson said.

“We're all rowing in the same direction,” he said.

The state's final eco-regional management plan is due on Dec. 31, 2007.

The state forest management plan will provide direction, Price said, including desired future conditions, goals and objectives, and monitoring protocols.

“The eco-regional plans will provide a similar direction to forest management unit operation,” he said.

The forest management plan has a detailed history of Michigan's state forest, current forest conditions, uses and trends and direction. For example, when it comes to recreational trails, a variety of motorized and non-motorized trails in a variety of settings must be considered.

“Non-motorized trails include looped and linear trails, some wheelchair accessible and some primitive,” Price said.

Other considerations include vegetation management, biodiversity, forest resources, wildlife and fisheries, and rare communities. Then there are fire management, law enforcement, watershed management and forest pest control issues.

Details about the plan may be found on the Web at www.michigan.gov/dnr.

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