Harvest Plan
Annually, the Crow Wing County Natural Resources Advisory Committee reviews proposed harvest plan, as recommended by the Land Services Staff, and makes a recommendation to the Crow Wing County Board of Commissioners. The Land Services Staff will review the proposed stand exam with the County Board of Commissioners and brings forward the recommendation of the Advisory Committee.
Typically, the County Board approves the proposed plan as recommended by Land Services Staff and the Advisory Committee and schedules a public meeting, at least 6 weeks hence, to further provide review and comment from the general public. Following public comment, the County Board will approve the final harvest plan.
Proposed 2023 Harvest Plan
Cover Type |
Planned Acres |
|---|---|
| Aspen | 588 |
| Birch | 72 |
| Oak Thinning | 249 |
| Oak Final | 150 |
| Northern Hardwoods Thinning | 123 |
| Northern Hardwoods Final | 51 |
| Jack Pine | 10 |
| Red Pine Thinning | 129 |
| Red Pine Final | 31 |
| Tamarack/Spruce/Balsam Fir/ Ash/ Other |
0 |
| TOTAL | 1,403 ACRES |
Candidate Timber Stands
Crow Wing County Natural Resource Managers have completed the development of a Five Year Candidate Stand List (PDF). The list is a tool for managers to identify which timber stands are ready for thinning or harvest. The list is also a proactive approach by the County to inform neighboring landowners and other forest users of the county's forest management plans for the next 5 years.
In forestry terms, a "stand" is a group of trees that is relatively uniform in species composition, size, density and can be managed as a single unit. County Natural Resource Managers evaluated over 5,300 different timber stands on the county manage public land by utilizing the forest inventory data such as species, age, site productivity and density in a geographic information system (GIS).
Since all tree species have unique characteristics, they are managed accordingly. Short lived species like aspen are mature at age 50 and are harvested. Longer lived species like red pine can be thinned several times before reaching maturity with a final harvest at age 100.
The 5-Year Candidate Stand List is an important planning tool that provides clear direction on which stands are evaluated for a potential harvest in the next 5 year period and also helps distribute the timber harvests geographically over the county managed public lands. The GIS and GPS technology, used by county land managers has created increased efficiencies and greatly improved the work product.
The 5-Year Candidate Stand map can be found as a data layer on the County's Interactive Maps page.