Annual Stand Exam Lists
What Is an Annual Stand Exam List?
Annual Stand Exam Lists (ASELs) are derived from existing forest resource management plans, which are based on long-term forest management goals. An ASEL is a work plan that consists of a pool of forest stands on DNR lands from which timber is being considered for sale during the upcoming state fiscal year (July 1 - June 30).
Each stand in an ASEL has been assigned a preliminary management prescription (e.g., clear-cut harvest with reserve areas or trees, group selection harvest, thinning, re-inventory, etc.). These preliminary prescriptions are developed using direction and criteria from an existing management plan. Specific characteristics of the stand, as shown in our inventory database, are taken into account, along with an assessment of desired future conditions for the site.
Prior to being offered for sale, detailed field examinations are conducted on each site to gather additional information, adding site-specific details to the management prescription, and making adjustments to the preliminary management prescription as necessary. Most stands identified in the ASEL will then be appraised for some type of timber sale. Some stands or portions of them may be found at field examination to be unsuitable for harvest; the inventory data for these stands will be updated and/or treatment will be deferred to a future year, as needed.
Annual Plan Additions
Minor adjustments to ASELs can be expected during the course of the fiscal year, owing either to availability of new information or changes in resource conditions. The public will be notified of additions to the ASEL periodically throughout the year.
Public Input
The DNR provides public input opportunities in both long-term subsection forest resource management plans and annual stand exam lists. Detailed information for all sites in the upcoming fiscal year's annual stand exam list can be accessed through map-based interfaces available from the ForestView page. The map interfaces also provide a method for users to submit comments on the plans via online forms. All comments received on annual stand exam list sites are individually reviewed and responded to at the end of the designated public comment period.
The DNR Fiscal Year 2013 ASEL is available for public comment through February 29, 2012. To review and provide comments on specific stands are avaiable on the ForestView page.
Related Reports
Annual Stand Exam List Summaries by Cover Type and Prescription
The reports available through the links below provide a summary of the annual stand exam lists by cover type and preliminary prescription, and the acres that will be evaluated for timber sales or other treatment during the fiscal year. Site-specific information can be viewed through the ForestView page.
White Pine Management and Public Review
The DNR has made a commitment to provide an opportunity for public input on actions proposed by the DNR that might affect white pine. The lists presented through the links below are intended to facilitate review of proposed stand treatments where white pine is a component of the stand. The lists include all stands from a given ASEL that have one or more white pine in the stand, based on our forest inventory data. It is DNR policy to restrict white pine harvesting to thinnings and other partial harvests that promote growth and regeneration of white pine when harvesting in pine cover types. When harvesting in other forest cover types that have a white pine component, adequate seed producing white pine will be retained. Elimination of white pine from stands through harvest will not be permitted. Our goal is to increase the numbers and acres of white pine on state lands.
Public Involvement in DNR Forest Management Plans
This annual report provides information regarding public notice and opportunities for input on both annual stand exam lists and ten-year subsection forest resource management plans, and includes a summary of the public response received during the preceding year.