DNR Completes Draft of State Forest Management Plan

Department of Natural Resources officials announced today the completion of a revised draft of the Michigan State Forest Management Plan. Revisions to the plan were in response to comments on an initial draft that was presented to the public in August of 2006. The plan is a requirement of forest certification, which the State of Michigan achieved from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 2006.

The revised plan and DNR responses to public comments on the initial draft plan can be viewed on the DNR Forests, Land & Water web page. The draft plan is a 294 page pdf document, if you choose to open it.

The DNR is seeking public comment on the revised draft management plan at the Feb. 7 meeting of the Natural Resources Commission and via an email based comment system. Comments may be submitted via email at dnr-sfplanning dnr@michigan.gov, prior to or at the NRC meeting. Comments will be accepted until Feb.15, 2008. A final decision for approval of the plan is scheduled for the March 2008 NRC meeting.

"This will be the final opportunity for public comment on this plan during the current planning cycle. We value the public opinion on the content of the plan and it is important that we involve the public in this stage of the planning process. We want to know what the people think of the thoughtful revisions that we have made to the plan and how it can best direct the management of the state forest", said DNR Forest, Mineral and Fire Management Chief Lynne Boyd. "We believe the final version of this plan will address the broad variety of uses of the state forest system, including conservation, recreation and fiber production."

The Michigan State Forest Management Plan is a component of a suite of plans that the DNR is developing for management of the state forest. Other plans include the completion of four Regional State Forest Management Plans around the end of 2008, and four strategic, multi-ownership Ecoregional Resource Plans starting in 2008 for Southern Lower Michigan, and in 2009 for all Northern Michigan regions. The Ecoregional Resource Plans will be developed using public collaborative development processes. More information on these planning processes can be viewed on the DNR Web site listed above.

a news release of the Michigan DNR, Jan 30, 2008
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