GWINN — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said it’s time to talk about state forests.

Prescribed burns, timber harvests and other activities are carefully planned to keep Michigan’s nearly 4 million acres of state forest healthy and thriving.

Plans for these activities are currently being made for 2024, but public comment is welcome now, before those plans are finalized. In-person open houses were suspended during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many forest management units are returning to in-person open houses this season; you may also comment online or in writing.

The first comment period of the year is for activity in the Baraga Forest Management Unit; it continues through May 19.

To find out what activities are planned for the forest, choose the geographic area you are interested in and take a look at the planned activities on the interactive map found at bit.ly/3MBYwaP. Submit online comments through the map during designated 30-day periods.

Upper Peninsula open houses are:

≤ Crystal Falls: Comment period is Aug. 6-Sept. 6; open house is Sept. 6; compartment review is Sept. 27. Contact Dan McNamee, 906-875-5025.

≤ Escanaba: Comment period is July 9-Aug. 9; open house is Aug. 9; compartment review is Aug. 30. Contact Eric Thompson, 906-786-2354, ext. 142.

≤ Gwinn: Comment period is Aug. 20-Sept. 20; open house is Sept. 20; compartment review is Oct. 11. Contact Kristen Matson at 906-346-9201, ext. 103.

≤ Newberry: Comment period is Sept. 5-Oct. 5; open house is Oct. 5; compartment review is Oct. 25. Contact Keith Magnusson, 906-293-3293, ext. 4740.

≤ Sault Ste. Marie: Comment period is Aug. 15-Sept. 15; open house is Sept. 14; compartment review is Oct. 4. Contact Karen Rodock, 906-477-6048, ext. 2040.

≤ Shingleton: Comment period is Aug. 23-Sept. 22; open house is Sept. 22; compartment review is Oct. 13. Contact Bob Burnham, 906-452-6227, ext. 240.

Once public comment has been received, a meeting called a compartment review, where plans are finalized, is held. Contact the unit manager for details on how to attend an in-person open house or compartment review. The DNR’s Forest Resources Division welcomes public comment on all forest activities.