IC-5000E

(Rev. 04/24/2006)

/ DNRNEWS / Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Outdoors

Michigan Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 30690 LansingMI48909-8190

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: JohnAnn MattsonPilon

71411 SEPTEMBERJANUARYULY March 20, 200820072008 98906-732293-5131-3541 ext 504282

Mary Dettloff

517-335-3014

DNR Hosts Open House in Grayling Forest Management UnitSeeks Input into Planning Process

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced an open housewill host an informational meetings on open house on Tuesdayhursday, Oct.Jan. 9 31 tto provide information and receive public comment on proposed Management Areas, fora Rforest management treatments for 2009Management Areasegional State Forest Management PPlanningforin the Grayling Management Unit.NorthernEastern Upper Lower Peninsula (EUP) Ecoregion.T The open housemeetingopen houses will be held from 1 to 6at three 1:00 p.m. at the DNR Grayling Forest Management UnitGaylord Operations Services Center office on M-93 32 in Graylingaylord.locations:at the Newberry Operations Service Center on Tuesday, April 14th from 4-8 p.m. with a formal presentation at 7 p.m.

August 12 - DNR-Ralph A. McMullen Conference Center, 103 Conservation Dr, Roscommon 7:00

August 13 - DNR-Gaylord Operations Service Center, 1732 W M-32, Gaylord 7:00

August 14 – Clam Lake Township Hall, 8809 E M-115, Cadillac 7:00

AtPreceding eachthe meetingopen house,, there will be an open house from 4:00 – 7:00 where citizens can examine Management Area maps and discuss preliminary plansmanagement concepts and discuss planning with DNR resource managers.

“Comments from stakeholder organizations and the public are an important part of this planning process”, said Lynne Boyd, Chief, DNR Forest, Mineral and Fire Management. “We welcome and need public engagement on how the state forest should be managed over the next 10-year period and beyond”.

Management aAreas are groupings of existing smanagement tate forest land compartments that have similar attributes, such as vegetation types, proximity to key user marketslandforms, or ownership patterns. Specific management direction for each Management Aarea planning will be incorporated into the Northern LowerEUP Peninsula Regional State Forest Management Plan. s andThis will help the DNR to provide landscape level analyses and direction that will guide operational decisions made at each Forest Management Unit through the existing compartment review process.

Additional information is available via the Internet at Persons not able to attend the open house or wishing to respond in writing may send correspondence by April 14 to or in person or by postal mail to: EUP Ecoteam, DNR Newberry OSC, 5100 State Hwy M-123, Newberry, MI 49868.

Additional information is available via the Internet at then click on Forest, Land and Water, then Forest Management, then State Forest Management Planning and Public Participation, then Ecoregional Planning Resources. Persons not able to attend the meeting or wishing to respond in writing may send correspondence by Feb 1 to or by postal mail to:

NLP Eco-team,
DNR Gaylord OSC,
1732 W M-32,
Gaylord, MI 49735

FFuture public meetings will be scheduled when draft and final versions of the EUP Regional State Forest Management Plan are completedprovide information on the management direction for the management areas.

Individuals attending the meetingopen house are requested to refrain from using heavily-scented personal care products, in order to enhance accessibility for everyone. Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for the meetingopen house should contact John PilonAnn Mattson, at 989-732-3541 extensi906-293-5131on 5042, a minimum of five business days before thisese event/meetings. Requests made less than five business days may not be accommodated.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

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 under the Forests, Land & Water section.

Each management unit is divided into smaller units or compartments to facilitate better administration of the resources. Compartments under review this year are in Frederic, Lovells, Maple Forest, Grayling, South Branch, and Beaver Creek Townships in Crawford County; Greenwood, Elmer and Clinton Townships in Oscoda County; and Oscoda Township in Iosco County.

The formal compartment review to decide on prescriptions for these areas is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Grayling Forest Management Unit office in Grayling.

Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for these meetings should contact Susan Thiel at

989-348-6371 ext. 7440 a minimum of five (5) business days before this event/meeting.

The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.

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