Top of Michigan: High Country Pathway

[Dan_Harrison]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 16 SEP 04

Contact: John Pilon, 989-732-3541 Ext. 5042


DNR hosts open house on Atlanta area forests


The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will host a Sept. 22 open house to provide information and receive public comment on forest management treatments proposed for 2006 in the Atlanta Management Unit.


The open house, from 1-7 p.m. at the Atlanta Field Office, is an opportunity for the public to review proposed treatments and 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.


Each year DNR personnel inventory and evaluate one-tenth of the state forest. The information gathered includes the health, quality and quantity of all vegetation; wildlife and fisheries habitat and needs; archaeological sites; mineral, oil and gas activities; recreational use; wildfire potential; social factors, including proximity to roads and neighborhoods; and use on adjacent lands, public or private. Proposed treatments are then designed to ensure the sustainability of the resources and ecosystems.


Each management unit is divided into smaller units or compartments to facilitate better administration of the resources. The Atlanta open house and compartment review will focus on: Long Rapids, Ossineke, Wellington and Wilson townships in Alpena County; Benton township in Cheboygan County; Albert, Briley, Hillman, Loud, Montmorency and Vienna townships in Montmorency County; and Allis, Bearinger, Bismarck, Metz and Rogers townships in Presque Isle County.


Maps and information regarding the proposed treatments, available at the open house, also can be accessed at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr, or by calling John Pilon, Inventory and Planning Specialist, at 989-732-3541, Ext. 5042.


The formal compartment review to finalize prescriptions for these areas is scheduled for Oct. 13, beginning at 8:30 a.m., at the Atlanta Management Unit.


Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for meetings should contact John Pilon.

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[Dan_Harrison]

The Atlanta district includes the eastern portion of the HCP, as well as the Sinkhole Pathway and the Clear Lake - Jackson Lake Pathway. If you have issues to raise regarding the recreational use of the land, here's your chance.
I have forwarded the announcement to the TBTA's Randy Fairbanks.
Dan

[Dan_Harrison]

Just got back from snowshoeing a section north of Pine Grove CG.
It's real snowy!
It's real cold!
If you break through the ice, your feet get wet!
There's elk out here, but we didn't see any- yet.
We did see some deer, though. And a ruffed grouse.
This place rocks!
Dan

[Nelg]

The entire Shingle Mill pathway is open and free of debris. The HCP is open on the west side from Clear Lake to Osmun Road.