What should Minnesota's forests look like in ten years?
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources plans how much logging they want to do, and where, for each region of the state. These plans need public input--they are the best way to learn about how state forests are managed, and to make your voice count in those decisions.
| These regions are called subsections, and are
divided by natural ecosystem boundaries. A list of subsections that are in
the midst of logging plans is at right.
Each subsection goes through a series of stages before the DNR starts to implement it. Here are the stages where citizens can have input. For people familiar with national forest logging plans, the corresponding stage is listed.
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See map
of subsections
Learn about the ecological classification system (ECS) that sets these boundaries Learn more about the Subsection Forest Resource Management Plan process. |
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| Citizens who care about special places on state land need to participate in these public comment opportunities. The stages start with general plans and goals, and proceed to identifying specific stands of forest that will be logged in the next ten years. | |||||||||||||
| Sometimes the plans do not protect special places. DNR's foresters avoid special natural features during the planning process, but when surveys have not been done for rare plants and animals, they don't wait--they go ahead with logging plans. Part of the problem is that funding for the division of DNR that does the surveys has been cut, while funding for the timber program has increased. | Learn about the County Biological Survey. | ||||||||||||
| Another problem occurs when local managers do not take into account their plans' impact on surrounding lands. The Border Lakes Subsection plan, for example, proposed logging and road-building in nine of the state's last roadless areas in Superior National Forest, and in dozens of stands adjacent to the Boundary Waters. | Learn about roadless areas. | ||||||||||||
| DNR consults with other land managers when they select stands for logging over the next decade. But the plans that have come out so far have not met joint goals for landscape restoration, even though the DNR helped draft the goals. | Learn about landscape goals set by the Forest Resources Council. | ||||||||||||
| Auditors will investigate each subsection logging plan to 'certify' that it is sustainable and protects special places. One important task is monitoring the DNR logging to make sure that forests grow back the way the plan promises, and to properly close roads to ATVs. Current plans only mention "abandoning" logging roads. | Learn about state land
certification.
Learn about ATV rules enforcement. |
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| Sierra Club and allies including Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, Minnesota Audubon, and The Wilderness Society have submitted comments on these logging plans. We encourage members to send their own comments whenever they can--the future of our forests is at stake! | Learn about open comment periods and read sample comments. |