Description of the Planning Area
This Subsection Forest Resource Management Plan (SFRMP) process considers state forest lands, especially those administered by the DNR divisions of Forestry and Fish and Wildlife, Section of Wildlife, in the Aspen Parklands Subsection. This subsection covers approximately 2.9 million acres from near Gully in the southeast to Roseau in the northeast, and from Lancaster in the northwest to Crookston in the southwest (see maps). For more detailed land descriptions, refer to chapters 1 through 3 of the Preliminary Issues and Assessment document .
Recreation and agriculture are the major uses of land in this subsection. Public agencies (state and federal) administer 16 percent of the land, with the state portion being approximately 355,000 acres, or 12 percent. Approximately 96,000 acres of the state land is forest and woodlands and will be considered for the resource management objectives in this plan. Some 250,000 acres of DNR land are nonforested and may be considered for biomass to meet resource management objectives. Other state lands (approximately 9,000 acres), such as state parks and scientific and natural areas (SNAs), will not be considered for timber management under this plan; however these areas may contribute to some of the plan goals. For more details about vegetation on state lands in the planning area, refer to Chapter 3 of the Preliminary Issues and Assessment document .
The federal government owns approximately 68,000 acres (2 percent). These lands, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, include Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, and numerous waterfowl production areas (WPAs). Kittson, Roseau, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, and Polk counties own and manage approximately 24,000 acres (less than 1 percent). Private owners control approximately 2.4 million acres (83 percent). Of this, The Nature Conservancy owns approximately 40,000 acres (1 percent). There is no industrial forest land in this subsection.
A Gap Analysis Program (GAP) classification was completed for all lands in the subsection by DNR Forestry using satellite imagery. The following table and chart summarize the ownership of land throughout the subsection. For more information, refer to chapter 2 of the Preliminary Issues and Assessment document .
Table 2.1 Aspen Parklands Subsection Land Administration 1
Private – Conservancy 3
State Included in Plan
State Excluded from Plan 4
Local Government 6
1. Source: 1976 to 2006 Minnesota DNR GAP Stewardship?"All Ownership Types" data.
2. includes all private land except for private conservancy land listed separately.
3. The Nature Conservancy
4. scientific and natural areas, parks and trails, Department of Transportation, Section of Fisheries, and Division of Waters.
5. includes both county fee and county-administered state-owned lands.
6. independent school districts and city ownerships.