Bayfield County needs to revise its forestry policies to support the interests of tourism, recreation, watershed management, habitat protection, conservancy, climate change flexibility and provide a continuing resource for future generations.
- by: R K Aiken
- recipient: Bayfield County Board
Forests contribute many benefits to our area beyond their potential as saw lumber or pulp wood. While these things are necessary, forests worldwide and in our own area are being impacted by rapid removal as a response to higher prices for increasingly scarce forest products. We need to recognize that recreation, tourism, watershed management and climate adaptation are key factors to insuring a future for Bayfield County. This petition is about seeking a more balanced policy in County Forest land management.
Below a specific list of recommendations;
• Create and Preserve Conservancy corridors; Designate frequently traveled recreational destinations that have been used by generations of residents and visitors to our area. They may be recreational trails, highways or local roads through County land. Manage them with sensitivity too recreational, scenic and habitat values.
• Buffers on trails; Leave conservation buffers on frequently used recreational trails of all types. Leave a 100-foot corridor when doing clear cuts and leave a 35-foot corridor when doing thinning. Retain trees and groves of exceptional age or value for future forest type and survivability.
• Mark and designate scenic areas as a guide to visitors and to establish Bayfield County as a premier recreational destination. Careful and considerate cutting of right of ways, scenic viewscapes and frequently used trails adds to our brand as a visitor and National Park destination. Maintain a non-intensive logging buffer zone of 100 feet (combined) from the right of way line except for identified hazards or drainage management.
• Improve watershed sensitivity and reduce historical sediment release. Protecting the forest amenities and Lake Superior should be a priority in all aspects of timber sale planning. Strengthen stormwater management practices for loggers, maintain forest types in critical areas that hold back seasonal runoffs to slow the flow to the lake, follow up on sales with inspections after logging operations, and maintain failed culverts on roads and trails.
• Prepare a climate variability action plan. Studies predict the climate of the future will be substantially different compared to the past 50 years. The County Forest Management Plan should be updated to include specific climate variability strategies to buffer resources against future uncertainties in conformance with the objectives of the certification programs it operates under. (Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Service Council.)
• Manage forests intensively by aggressively replacing forests and maximizing growth rates. Use advanced forest silviculture techniques to enhance growth, manage species change and replant forests for future generations.
Dear County Board Member;
Forests worldwide and in our own area are being impacted by rapid removal as a response to higher prices for increasingly scarce forest products. Forests contribute many benefits to our area beyond their potential as saw lumber or pulp. We are asking Bayfield County to balance forestry economic policies with the need to support the interests of tourism, recreation, watershed management, habitat protection, conservancy, climate change flexibility and providing a resource for future generations.
- Create and Preserve Conservancy corridors; Designate in the Forestry plan frequently traveled recreational destinations that have been used by generations of residents and visitors to our area. They may be recreational trails, highways or local roads through County land. Manage them with sensitivity too recreational, scenic and habitat values.
- Buffers on trails; Leave conservation buffers on frequently used recreational trails of all types. Leave a 100-foot corridor when doing clear cuts and leave a 35-foot corridor when doing thinning. Retain trees and groves of exceptional age or value for future forest type and survivability.
- Designate in the Plan scenic areas as a guide to visitors and to establish Bayfield County as a premier recreational destination. Careful and considerate cutting of right of ways, scenic viewscapes and frequently used trails adds to our brand as a visitor and National Park destination. Maintain a non-intensive logging buffer zone of 100 feet (combined) from the right of way line except for identified hazards or drainage management.
- Improve watershed sensitivity and reduce historical sediment release. Protecting the forest amenities and Lake Superior should be a priority in all aspects of timber sale planning. Strengthen stormwater management practices for loggers, maintain forest types in critical areas that hold back seasonal runoffs to slow the flow to the lake, follow up on sales with inspections after logging operations, and maintain failed culverts on roads and trails.
- Prepare a climate variability action plan. Studies predict the climate of the future will be substantially different compared to the past 50 years. The County Forest Management Plan should be updated to include specific climate variability strategies to buffer resources against future uncertainties in conformance with the objectives of the certification programs it operates under. (Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Service Council.)
- Manage forests intensively by aggressively replacing forests and maximizing growth rates. Use advanced forest silviculture techniques to enhance growth, manage species change and replant forests for future generations.
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