DNR open house on Newberry forest management unit:

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will host a Nov. 13 open
house to provide information and receive public comment on forest
management treatments proposed for 2004 in the Newberry Forest
Management Unit.
The meeting will be held from 4-7 p.m. at the Newberry Comfort Inn
located at the intersection of M-28 and M-123.
Each year, DNR personnel inventory and evaluate one-tenth of the state
forest. The information gathered spans a wide range of social,
biological and economic factors. It includes the health, quality and
quantity of all vegetative types; wildlife and fisheries habitat
conditions and needs; archaeological sites; mineral, oil and gas
activities; recreational use; wildfire potentials and social factors,
including proximity to roads and neighborhoods; use on adjacent lands,
public or private. Treatments and management activities are then
proposed, designed to ensure the sustainability of the resources and
ecosystems.
This open house is an opportunity to review proposed treatments and
other management activities and provide input toward final decisions on
those activities. Other management activities include such things as
campground projects, ORV and snowmobile trail projects, road and bridge
projects, and prescribe burn projects. It also provides the public an
opportunity to talk with foresters and biologists. Maps and information
that will be available at the open house can be accessed on the DNR Web
site at www.michigan.gov/dnr.
Each forest management unit is divided into smaller units or
compartments to facilitate better administration of the resources.
Compartments in the following townships are under review this
year:
Chippewa County: Whitefish Township. Luce County: Columbus Township,
Lakefield Township, Pentland Township, and McMillan Township.
A formal compartment review to decide prescriptions for these areas is
scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Dec. 18, at the Newberry Comfort Inn
located at the intersection of M-28 and M-123. Persons with disabilities
needing accommodations for these meetings should contact Les Homan at
906-293-3293.

Source: MDNR