The Department of Natural Resources will host open houses on Wednesday, July 8 and Thursday, July 9, to provide information and receive public comment on proposed forest management treatments for 2011 in the Gaylord Management Unit.

The July 8 open house will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Gaylord Field Office for Antrim, Charlevoix and Otsego counties. The July 9 open house will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Indian River Field Office for Cheboygan and Emmet counties.

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 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/dnr; click on Forests, Land & Water, and then on the map of the Gaylord Forest Management Unit.

Each management unit is divided into smaller units or compartments to facilitate better administration of the resources. Compartments under review this year are in Charlton, Bagley, Elmira townships in Otsego County; Mentor, Wilmot, Beaugrand, Koehler, and Aloha townships in Cheboygan County; Pleasantview, Wawatam, McKinley, and Springvale townships in Emmet County; Melrose and Peaine townships in Charlevoix County; and Warner and Chestonia townships in Antrim County.

The formal compartment review to decide on prescriptions for these areas is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, July 23, at the Northland Sportsmen Club on Old Alba Road in Gaylord.

Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for the Gaylord Management Unit Open House should contact Joyce Angel-Ling at (989) 732-3541, ext. 5440, a minimum of five business days before this event/meeting. Requests made less than five business days before this event may not be accommodated.