The Baraga Unit manages state forest lands in Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties.

2010 YOE State Forest Compartment Reviews Schedule

2010 YOE State Forest Open House Schedule

The Baraga Unit's open house for 2010 Year Of Entry (YOE) will be held on September 9, 2008 with the compartment review on October 15, 2008.

Compartments with treatment decisions now approved for 2009 are shown on the Baraga Locator Map.

You can reach Unit Manager Donald Mankee at 906-353-6651, or send an email to him at DNR-Baraga-FMU@michigan.gov.

The Baraga Forest Management Unit administers 142,900 acres of State owned land in the Western Upper Peninsula. Land management functions are handled out of the Baraga Operations Service Center. There is also a field office at Twin Lakes that is staffed mainly for fire control and recreation programs.

This is an area of heavy lake effect snowfall from Lake Superior. The amount of snow varies depending on the distance from the lake and the elevation. Snow depths of five feet on the ground are common in the higher elevations in the snow belt. Snow frequently starts with scattered storms in October. The heavy snows start in December and last into early February. Snow remains on the ground into late March and sometimes into April and May.

Much of the state owned land is in Baraga, Houghton and Ontonagon counties. There are smaller amounts in Keweenaw and Gogebic counties. Some of the lands are larger blocks of several thousand acres, but there are also scattered partial sections of State ownership. Much of the land came into State ownership through tax reversion (non-payment of taxes). This was an area of copper and iron mining. Many former mining sites reverted to State ownership. Some of the tax reverted parcels were sold to the public, with the State retaining mineral ownership. There are numerous mine shafts, adits, and test pits both on State land and on State minerals.

The management unit supervises a 988 mile snowmobile trail network. All of this system is groomed and maintained under eight grants to local snowmobile clubs or chambers of commerce. Snowmobile use has been heavy in the past three years. A trail counter in Twin Lakes (a heavy snowfall area) recorded over 58,000 snowmobiles in the winter of 2005 -6.

There is one ORV trail on the Baraga plains, and several ORV routes on railroad grades. ORV use is increasing on the railroad grades. ORV trail counts at Twin Lakes are about 4,000 per year. For maps of the ORV trails click here.

The management unit has several Rail-Trails. The Bill Nicholls Rail-trail (Copper Range Railroad); The Hancock to Calumet Rail-trail (Mineral Range Railroad); Bergland to Sidnaw Rail-trail (Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad); and the Stateline Rail-trail (Chicago and Northwestern Railroad). There are two new acquisitions, the Chassell to Houghton grade, and a grade from the Portage Lift Bridge to Ripley.

CHASSELL TO HOUGHTON RAIL-TRAIL The DNR acquired 8.64 miles of the Chassell to Houghton railroad grade in 2003. The other owners are Michigan Technological University and Michigan Department of Transportation. A citizen advisory committee was formed. They walked the trail, heard comments during public meetings, discussed options and made recommendations for use of this trail. These recommendations are being reviewed by DNR staff.

The 8,731 acre block of land at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula - the Keweenaw Point Block is now State Forest Land. A citizen advisory committee met during 2004 and considered possible management and use options for this block. The series of meetings were well attended and included public comment periods. The committee made a series of recommendations for management of this block. These recommendations are being reviewed by DNR and a management plan incorporating the recommendations is being made. The recommendations will be implemented over several years (dependent on funds available). Click here to view a map of the Keweenaw Point State Forest Lands.

The block has over 11 miles of Lake Superior shoreline at the tip, and includes the mouth of the Montreal River, waterfalls, inland lakes and several unique beaches and bays on Lake Superior (Fish Cove, Keystone Bay, and High Rock Bay).

TIMBER MANAGEMENT

Management is done on a compartment (land unit) basis. The entry year schedule for compartments was realigned in 2003 to balance the acreage of northern hardwood. The predominant timber cover type in the management unit is northern hardwood. This type (Sugar maple, red maple, Yellow birch, basswood, white ash, red oak) is managed with an individual tree selection cut. The cutting cycle is 20 years between cuts. For any one compartment about half of the northern hardwood type will be cut every ten years. Areas of steep slopes and riparian zones are removed from the area designated for cut.

Selection harvest being cut in the winter

Minor types are aspen, upland spruce fir, and swamp conifers. There is a small (5,000 acre) area of jack pine in the Baraga Plains. Jack pine clear cuts and subsequent regeneration have resulted in large areas of young jack pine. These are attractive to Kirtland warblers, and they have frequently nested here.

Water quality is a prime concern. There are numerous streams and drainages as well as larger streams and rivers. Branches of the Otter River, Sturgeon River, Huron River, Misery River and the Ontonagon River cross state land. Proper stream crossings, buffer strips along rivers and streams, and best management practices for water protection are very important in this management unit.

The areas of deep snow limit the deer herd. There are moose within the unit, particularly in eastern Baraga County. Wolves are found throughout the unit. There is a healthy beaver population in most streams.

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