May 31, 2011

The Department of Natural Resources will host an open house to review forest treatment plans for the Traverse City area from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, at the Traverse City Field Office, located at 970 Emerson Rd. in Traverse City. The event will provide information and give the public the opportunity to comment on proposed forest management treatments for 2013 in the Traverse City Forest Management Unit.

An open house is also planned for the Kalkaska area from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 30, at the Kalkaska Field Office, located at 2089 N. Birch St. in Kalkaska.

Each year, DNR personnel inventory and evaluate one-tenth of the state forest. Information gathered includes the health, quality and quantity of all vegetation; wildlife and fisheries habitat and needs; archeological sites; minerals; recreational use; wildfire potential and social factors, including proximity to roads and neighborhoods; and use on adjacent lands, public and private. Proposed treatments, which may include timber harvesting, replanting and other management activities, are then designed to ensure the sustainability of the resources and ecosystems.

The open house is an opportunity for the public to review proposed treatments and to provide input toward final decisions on those treatments. It also provides the public an opportunity to talk with foresters and biologists about issues of interest. Maps and information regarding the proposed treatments will be available at the open house, and can be accessed at www.michigan.gov/forestplan.

Each management unit is divided into smaller units or compartments to facilitate better administration of the resources. The Traverse City open house will focus on compartments in Platte, Weldon, Homestead and Colfax townships in Benzie County; and Whitewater and Fife Lake townships in Grand Traverse County. The Kalkaska open house will focus on compartments in Rapid River, Blue Lake, Oliver, Bear Lake, Garfield and Excelsior townships in Kalkaska County.

The formal compartment review to decide on prescriptions for both areas is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, July 21, at the East Bay Townhall at 1965 Three Mile Road North. Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for any of these meetings should contact David Lemmien at 231-922-5280, ext. 6840 a minimum of five business days before the meeting. Requests made less than five business days before the meeting may not be accommodated.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.