Untitled Document

The Manitou Forest Collaborative Implications for Forest Management in Minnesota
Diana Ostrowski, Environmental Studies 399, 2006
Introduction / Home	Members	The Area	Activities and Goals	Species	Implications	Project Conclusions	Sources

What is the Collaborative??

The Manitou Forest Collaborative was initiated in 2000 by the Nature Conservancy. By collaborating across ownership boundaries, the Collaborative can manage a larger area of land towards common goals.

*The goal is to find better ways to integrate biodiversity and forest management through collaboration. *

The Collaborative encompasses 100,000 forested acres near Finland, Minnesota on the North Shore. It has been identified as an area of biodiversity significance by the MN County biological Survey, and was selected as a priority area for conservation by the Nature Conservancy of MN. It contains some of the highest quality old-growth forests in Minnesota.

Photo by Lee Frelich [http://www.cnr.umn.edu/FR/CFHE/nshore.html]

The area is also very important to local economies. One major goal of the collaborative is to ingegrate the multiple values of the owners, while effectively managing the forest. Timber in the area is harvested, and many streams designated as trout streams.

The area includes part of Crosby-Manitou State Park and The Nature Conservancy’s Upper Manitou Forest Preserve. It consists of aspen, birch, spruce and fir trees, and northern hardwoods. The preserve comprises 2,156 acres of sugar maples, yellow birch, white spruce and white cedar in old-growth forest including trees that are more than 300 years old.

Who are the Members??

The area is comprised of state, county, private, and federal lands. The sites of 'outstanding biodiversity significance' span across multiple ownerships.

Partners include: The Nature Conservancy, Lake County, MN Department of Natural Resources, United States Forest Service, Potlatch, and Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.

Other groups, such as University of Minnesota, also play a roll in the area, and help the Collaborative collect information on which to base their management decisions.

What do they do??

The Collaborative focuses on many different activities including: forest management, forestry research projects, land exchanges and conservation easements, field tours and training for its members, and forest scenario modeling.

Photo by Lee Frelich [http://www.cnr.umn.edu/FR/CFHE/nshore.html]

What Challenges do they face??

Forest management challenges facing the Collaborative tract include the uncoordinated forestry practices of different owners, road and residential development projects and a history of fire suppression.

The biggest challenge is coordinating the different objectives, values, and disciplines of the landowners. The project also forces the members to think in terms of 'landscape scale' management, which can be hard to do when one is used to thinking in terms of 'site scale' management. One tactic the project uses to help them address these questions is 'forest scenario modeling'.

	Introduction
	The Manitou Forest Collaborative is a collaborative effort from different groups with vested interest in Minnesota forests. The collaborative strives to create common goals for forest management across ownership boundaries. Partners agree on collective goals, and coordination is made so members can also achieve individual objectives. I think that this project offers an optimistic outlook on collaborative management across different values and ownerships. It integrates forest reserves, sustainable silviculture practices, and active management areas. While it is unreasonable to believe this technique can work with all areas, there are many where it can be implemented and bring success. The topic of our Senior Seminar was Forest Sustainability in Minnesota, and I choose this topic because I feel this project gives a hopeful future direction for sustaining Minnesota forests.
AN OVERVIEW:
What is the Collaborative?? The Manitou Forest Collaborative was initiated in 2000 by the Nature Conservancy. By collaborating across ownership boundaries, the Collaborative can manage a larger area of land towards common goals. *The goal is to find better ways to integrate biodiversity and forest management through collaboration. * The Collaborative encompasses 100,000 forested acres near Finland, Minnesota on the North Shore. It has been identified as an area of biodiversity significance by the MN County biological Survey, and was selected as a priority area for conservation by the Nature Conservancy of MN. It contains some of the highest quality old-growth forests in Minnesota. Photo by Lee Frelich [http://www.cnr.umn.edu/FR/CFHE/nshore.html] The area is also very important to local economies. One major goal of the collaborative is to ingegrate the multiple values of the owners, while effectively managing the forest. Timber in the area is harvested, and many streams designated as trout streams. The area includes part of Crosby-Manitou State Park and The Nature Conservancy’s Upper Manitou Forest Preserve. It consists of aspen, birch, spruce and fir trees, and northern hardwoods. The preserve comprises 2,156 acres of sugar maples, yellow birch, white spruce and white cedar in old-growth forest including trees that are more than 300 years old. Who are the Members?? The area is comprised of state, county, private, and federal lands. The sites of 'outstanding biodiversity significance' span across multiple ownerships. Partners include: The Nature Conservancy, Lake County, MN Department of Natural Resources, United States Forest Service, Potlatch, and Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center. Other groups, such as University of Minnesota, also play a roll in the area, and help the Collaborative collect information on which to base their management decisions. What do they do?? The Collaborative focuses on many different activities including: forest management, forestry research projects, land exchanges and conservation easements, field tours and training for its members, and forest scenario modeling. Photo by Lee Frelich [http://www.cnr.umn.edu/FR/CFHE/nshore.html] What Challenges do they face?? Forest management challenges facing the Collaborative tract include the uncoordinated forestry practices of different owners, road and residential development projects and a history of fire suppression. The biggest challenge is coordinating the different objectives, values, and disciplines of the landowners. The project also forces the members to think in terms of 'landscape scale' management, which can be hard to do when one is used to thinking in terms of 'site scale' management. One tactic the project uses to help them address these questions is 'forest scenario modeling'.