NORTHERN MICHIGAN – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that completion of the state’s new 10-year State Forest Management Plan will be delayed by at least a year due to extensive damage from the historic ice storm that struck northern Michigan March 28-30.
The storm coated trees with more than an inch of ice in some areas, causing catastrophic damage across more than 900,000 acres of state forest in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. The impact spans five entire management areas—Avery Hills, Emmet Moraines, Huron Sandy Lake Plain, Presque Isle Lake and Till Plains, and Wolverine Moraines—with partial damage to High Sand Plains, Camp Grayling and Kalkaska Sandy Moraines.
Trees of multiple species suffered varying degrees of breakage and stress, posing serious ecological and economic consequences for the region.
The DNR emphasized that delaying the plan allows time for a comprehensive damage assessment and ensures that future decisions are grounded in the most accurate information available. Early timber salvage operations and ongoing evaluations of forest stands and treatments are already underway. These findings will directly inform new harvest targets, wildlife habitat goals, age-class distributions, and volume projections.
Once modeling is updated, the revised plan will undergo another round of internal and external review before final approval, now expected in June 2026.
“This delay is not just a matter of process—it’s a commitment to responsible stewardship,” the department stated. “We owe it to the communities, ecosystems, and industries that rely on our forests to get this right.”
For those interested in contributing feedback to the planning process, contact Dan Heckman at [email protected]. Updates will be posted on the DNR’s state forest planning website.
