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DOUGLAS COUNTY FOREST COMPREHENSIVE LAND-USE PLAN 2006-2020 CHAPTER 300 Management Planning Section Page 300 Objectives 305 Development of the County Forest Comprehensive Land-Use Plan 305.1 Approval of the 305.2 Distribution of the 305.3 Amending the Plan 305.4 Schedule for Forest Plan 305.5 Coordination with Other 310 Forest Resource 315 Outdoor Recreation 320 Other Resource 325 Forest Certification 330 Ordinances 335 Forest Planning 335.1 Forest 335.2 335.3 Personal Data 335.4 Global Positioning 335.5 Geographic Information 335.6 R.A.V.E.N. 335.7 High-Resolution 300 - 1 300 - 1 300 - 1 300 - 2 300 - 2 300 - 2 300 - 3 300 - 3 300 - 3 300 - 4 300 - 4 300 - 4 300 - 4 300 - 4 300 - 4 300 - 5 300 - 5 300 - 5 300 - 5 300 - 5 ---PAGE BREAK--- CHAPTER 300 MANAGEMENT PLANNING 300 OBJECTIVES This Plan establishes objectives, policies, procedures, rules and regulations designed to promote an efficient and orderly program of development and management of the Douglas County Forest. Administrators of the Plan will be required to: Determine needs and priorities. Achieve objectives set forth in the Plan’s mission statement. Satisfy statutory requirements of s. 28.11, Wis. Stats. Satisfy requirements for participation in State and Federal aid programs. Provide broad long-term and detailed short-term guidelines for management actions. 305 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY FOREST COMPREHENSIVE LAND-USE PLAN Section 28.11, Wis. Stats. places the responsibility for the Plan’s development with the FPRC which receives technical assistance from the DCFD, WDNR, and other agencies. At the FPRC’s request the Director of Forestry and Natural Resources agreed to lead the development process. With assistance from the County, the WDNR will prepare an Environmental Assessment as required by Chapter 150 Wis. Adm. Code. During development of the Plan and the Environmental Assessment, procedures were developed and adopted to provide for broad public participation and input throughout the planning process in accordance with s. 28.11, Wis. Stats. A chronological history of public participation is included in Appendix M-II and a complete summary of the public involvement process is included in Appendix L-II. 305.1 Approval of the Plan Comments received by the FPRC shall be given consideration in developing the draft Plan and the WDNR will conduct a Regional Forestry Review of the Plan. The County will consider public comments and finalize the Plan. The FPRC will present the final Plan to the Douglas County Board of Supervisors and the WDNR for approval as required by s. 28.11(5)(a) Wis. Stats. Following approval by the County Board, the Plan will be forwarded to the WDNR Liaison Forester. The WDNR will prepare an Environmental Assessment of the Plan and make a final decision with respect to a compliance with the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act. The WDNR’s central office will issue a letter of its findings to the County Board of Supervisors. ---PAGE BREAK--- COMPREHENSIVE LAND-USE PLAN 2006-2020 305.2 Distribution of the Plan Each member of the Douglas County Board of Supervisors will receive a copy of the Plan at the time the FPRC presents the Plan to the full Board for review and approval. The Douglas County Clerk and the WDNR Liaison Forester will receive updated official copies of the Plan. Additional copies will be provided to the WDNR Regional Forestry Supervisor, Area Forestry Supervisor, and local Wildlife Biologist. Subsequently, updated official copies will be maintained for those regularly involved in the Douglas County Forest Program. Official copies and amendments will be held by the following: Director of Forestry and Natural Resources. WDNR – Liaison Forester and Division of Forestry (5 copies). Executive Secretary – of the WCFA. Douglas County Clerk. A copy of the Plan will be posted, and maintained, on the official Douglas County website at http://www.douglascountywi.org. A copy will be forwarded to the Superior Public Library located at 1530 Tower Avenue, Superior, WI 54880, and the Joan Salmen Memorial Branch of the Superior Public Library located at the Village Hall in Solon Springs, WI 54873. The plan also will be available in hard copy or digital CD-ROM for a fee, to be determined by the FPRC. 305.3 Amending the Plan Necessary changes in policy and procedure will be incorporated into the Plan by amendment as required. Procedures for amending the plan are similar to those required in preparing the original plan. Amendments will be recommended by the FPRC and approval by the County Board of Supervisors and WDNR as stated in s. 28.11 Wis. Stats. The WDNR will verify that all approved amendments comply with State Statues. The Director of Forestry and Natural Resources will distribute copies of Plan amendments to official copyholders (see 305.3) of the Plan as they are approved. The annual work plan and budget and the annual accomplishment report are appended to the Plan and do not require approval by the WDNR. 305.4 Schedule for Forest Plan Revision By State law, the County is required to revise the Plan on a scheduled periodic basis. The Plan is scheduled to be revised after the plan period of 2020. 300 - 2 ---PAGE BREAK--- CHAPTER 300: MANAGEMENT PLANNING 305.5 Coordination with Other Planning The Plan complements and should be incorporated into local planning efforts required under s. 66.1001 Wis. Stats. The Plan is focused on the day-to-day and long-range management activities associated with managing the County Forest as directed by s. 28.11 Wis. Stats. The development and any future amendments to the plan may include consideration and, if warranted, participation in other planning efforts. It is expected that these other plans, in turn, will be incorporated into the Plan. Coordination among Town and County Comprehensive plans, e.g., Smart Growth, Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation plans, State Land master plans, the Chequamegon-Nicollet National Forest plan, Land and Water Resource plans, Forest Legacy plans, and others is essential for effective land management. 310 FOREST RESOURCE PLANNING This Plan is a strategic planning document that looks toward the long-term sustainable management of the Douglas County Forest. It supersedes all previous plans approved by the County Board of Supervisors and the WDNR unless such plans are specifically included or referenced in this document. The Director of Forestry and Natural Resources will prepare an annual work plan that is tactical in nature. The work plan will identify measurable/quantifiable goals to be accomplished by the DCFD and in some cases the Director will be assisted by the WDNR in attaining those goals to the extent called for in WDNR County time-standards agreement. Individual resource plans also may be prepared as specified in this Plan, for example, integrated resource management unit, recreation, fish/wildlife, and access management plans. Where appropriate, the FPRC will use as guidelines procedures for managing the County Forest as set forth in the WDNR’s Public Forest Lands and Forest Silviculture Handbooks. When the County decides on a course of action that is not consistent with the guidelines/procedures in the Handbooks, the rationale for the of action will be documented. Forest-management plans are developed by qualified professionals employed by the DCFD. These employees are trained in silvicultural principles and consider economic, biological, and environmental factors during the planning process. Management decisions are made using resources such as advanced technologies, detailed forest-inventory data, the forest habitat-type classification system, soil surveys, BMP, and water-quality guidelines. 315 OUTDOOR RECREATION PLANNING The FPRC is responsible for setting recreation policy on the County Forest. The Douglas County Outdoor Recreation plan (July 2003 to June 2008), Snowmobile Trail plan, Access Management Plan, and other recreation surveys, plans, and reports will be used as available in planning efforts. Current versions of these resources that were in effect at the time this Plan was 300 - 3 ---PAGE BREAK--- COMPREHENSIVE LAND-USE PLAN 2006-2020 approved are unofficial references. Contact the DCFD for current versions of these resources. Additional assistance can be obtained from WDNR park planners and/or the Northwest Regional Planning Commission. 320 OTHER RESOURCE PLANNING Additional data needed to make sound management decisions on the County Forest will be obtained from agencies or from qualified individuals (see Section 810 for information on integrating outside expertise into management planning). 325 FOREST CERTIFICATION Refer to Section 101. 330 ORDINANCES All applicable County ordinances will be considered in planning efforts (see Section 120.1 for a list of these ordinances and Appendixes B-I through I-I for descriptions). 335 FOREST PLANNING TOOLS Current technologies are essential tools in forest-management planning. The following innovative technologies are being used on the Douglas County Forest. 335.1 Forest Inventory Forest inventory or compartment reconnaissance is an important tool in the assessment of geographical, structural and compositional attributes of various forest resources. Information is collected in the field and computerized in a tabular database format that is maintained by the County. This information is linked to spatial data obtained by GIS) technology. Detailed resource information is collected, stored, and updated systematically and continuously. The current goal is to inventory 10 percent of the County Forest each year as part of a 10-year continuous inventory program. The database is used to analyze existing resources, evaluate management alternatives, and assist in the development and implementation of management plans. The forest inventory is the critical foundation for managing the County Forest on a sustainable basis. 335.2 Computers Computers have replaced the traditional method of storage, retrieval and processing of information. Each DCFD staff member works with a computer and receives periodic training to broaden his or 300 - 4 ---PAGE BREAK--- CHAPTER 300: MANAGEMENT PLANNING her skills. Also, individual workstations are linked to a centralized data server that allows information sharing via the DCFD intranet and/or the Internet. State-of-the-art computer applications in specialty areas of forestry, including inventory, remote sensing, information management, modeling and visualization, biometrics, and harvest planning, have improved the County’s forest-management program. The DCFD also is connected to the County’s mainframe computer. 335.3 Personal Data Assistants The personal data assistant (PDA) is a type of hand-held computer that compliments laptop and desktop computers and provides reliable data collection in field environments. The DCFD uses PDA’s and associated software for field data collection. These data are uploaded into larger office computers running specialized applications. PDA’s are used primarily for in the forest inventory but also have applications in programs related to timber sale establishment, recreational trails development, and recording scale measurements. 335.4 Global Positioning Systems A global positioning system (GPS) is an electronic surveying technology that uses satellites to determine specific locations on Earth. A geographical position is calculated by measuring the distance from a group of satellites to that position. The basic components of this system are a transmitter (located in the satellites), a receiver (at the point to be identified) and a computer and software to perform calculations. GPS technology is invaluable for mapping, determining acreage and land management. Sub-centimeter accuracy is available with some high-end survey-grade units but less complex units have proven beneficial for field applications such as timber sale mapping and access road layout. 335.5 Geographic Information Systems GIS Technology is invaluable in natural resource management. It is used in the collection, storage, and analysis of objects and features where location is an important characteristic or critical to analysis. GIS technology allows decision makers to better organize data and understand spatial relationships and is a powerful tool for analyzing and information about these relationships. The DCFD has accepted GIS as a fundamental tool in managing the County Forest on a sustainable basis. 335.6 R.A.V.E.N. RAVEN is a customized ArcMap computer program that was created to facilitate forest-inventory data entry and output. The program links tabular data in the inventory system with spatial data available through the GIS system. 300 - 5 ---PAGE BREAK--- COMPREHENSIVE LAND-USE PLAN 2006-2020 300 - 6 335.7 High-Resolution Imagery Aerial photography has long been an integral planning tool used in managing the Douglas County Forest. Traditional orthophoto prints of the Forest are on file dating back to1948and these prints continue to be collected. However, technological advances have made available many new forms of imagery, e.g.; airborne, satellite-based, digital, analog, hyperspectral, high resolution, coarse resolution, terrain correction, and GIS integration. High-resolution data can identify not only individual tree crowns but the type of vegetative cover type through sophisticated remote sensing technology. This information can be further analyzed to yield data on stand volume, condition, and age class. The County’s use of high-resolution imagery in the forest inventory program is described in Section 810.1.1. Lower resolution imagery can be used for stand- inventory purposes, to monitor legal and illegal harvests, assist with property parcel surveying, identify forest roads and trails, assess reforestation progress, and identify illegal occurrences such as encroachments areas where marijuana has been planted, and unauthorized OHV use. Also, environmental impacts such as potential sources of surface-water runoff, proper BMP application on timber harvests, area extent of disturbances from fire, weather, or insects are clearly detected with high-quality imagery.