The Department of Natural Resources will host an open house Thursday, Dec. 10, to provide information and receive public comment on proposed forest management treatments for 2011 in the Shingleton Management Unit. The open house will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the DNR's Shingleton Field Office located on M-28 in Shingleton.

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, then 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 under the Forests, Land & Water section.

Each management unit is divided into smaller units or compartments to facilitate better administration of the resources. The compartments under review this year are in Burt and Munising townships in Alger County; Hiawatha, Manistique, Seney, Germfask, Doyle and Inwood townships in Schoolcraft County; and Garden Township in Delta County.

The formal compartment review to decide on prescriptions for these areas is scheduled for 9 a.m., Friday, Dec. 18, at the Schoolcraft County Courthouse, Conference Room 2 on the second level, located at 300 Walnut Street in Manistique.

Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for any of these meetings should contact Jeff Stampfly at (906) 452-6227, ext. 240, a minimum of five business days before the meeting. Requests made less than five business days before the meeting may not be accommodated.