A Citizen's Guide To Michigan's Forest Resources

The state of Michigan has an abundance of natural resources that legislators see fit to protect its environment and increase the awareness and involvement of its citizens. In an attempt to achieve this, the Science and Technology Division of the Michigan Legislature Legislative Service Bureau prepared "Michigan's Natural Resources and Environment: A Citizen's Guide" that is provided free to citizens of the state. With over 19.3 million acres of forests, the guide includes a whole section devoted to this natural resource which is discussed in brief here.

Michigan's forests are a natural resource for timber and are the fifth largest timberlands in the United States. 75 percent of the timber-producing forests are composed of hardwoods which include aspen, maple and oak. The remaining varieties of timber trees include pine, spruce and cedar which are all considered softwoods, along with 75 other different types of trees. The forests provide a natural habitat for a huge variety of plant and animal life including bear, deer, moose and wolves. The Kirtland's warbler, one of the rarest birds in the world, makes its habitat among the hardwoods of this great Michigan resource.

People come to visit this Michigan resource to relax and have recreational activities with their families which include camping, hiking and hunting. If you are a nature lover, wildlife viewing would provide a different kind of thrill as you observe varieties of wildlife in their natural habitat among the trees.

Protecting the forest is a top priority among the state's legislators. Forests protect the environment by maintaining a good balance between carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen. Carbon dioxide is known to contribute to the global warming, and trees help protect the atmosphere from an abundance of this gas by absorbing it and converting it into wood. Trees also protect the quality of water by filtering out chemicals entering the waterways. The roots of the trees offer a good protection from soil erosion, preventing dangerous landslides that could be harmful to the surrounding community.

The citizens of the state are encouraged to do their part in protecting Michigan's forests. The first thing they can do is to plant a tree. They can volunteer in urban and community forest planting activities and projects. It could take years for trees to regenerate so planting trees now could provide a good future for the next generation. People are also encouraged to reduce paper consumption and to use recycled paper as much as possible. Raw materials for paper come from trees and a reduction in paper usage would also mean a reduction of the number of trees being cut down. Timber land owners are required to manage their land responsibly in order to maintain a sustainable industry without compromising the ecology. In this regard, people are encouraged to buy wood products only from Department of Natural Resources accredited suppliers with the ecolabel on their products.

Michigan forest resources have once been plagued with the gypsy moth caterpillars which caused severe defoliation of trees causing them to attract diseases and eventually die. The Department of Natural Resources has started to educate the public regarding the danger of gypsy moth infestation and assisting local governments deal with this pest in problem areas.

A challenge to forest managers is in balancing the environmental and social aspects of the forests with their economic values, where society requires much needed forests products for development. However, involving the public in this regard would be an effective way of maintaining this balance and assuring the future for these forests.

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