Chippewa Plains/Pine Moraines and Outwash Plains SFRMP

SFRMP

Chippewa Plains/Pine Moraines & Outwash Plains

Description and Maps

Posted: September 15, 2006

mapThis Subsection Forest Resource Management Plan (SFRMP) process considers state forest lands administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Divisions of Forestry and Fish and Wildlife in the Chippewa Plains and the Pine Moraines and Outwash Plains subsection landscape units. These two units cover approximately 4.6 million acres located in an area from roughly Deer River on the east to Detroit Lakes on the west and Camp Ripley on the south to Kelliher on the north. For more detailed land descriptions, refer to chapters 1 through 3 of the Preliminary Issues and Assessment document.

Maps

Recreation, forestry, and tourism are major uses of land in these two subsections. Public agencies administer 42 percent of the land with the state portion being 682,986 acres or 14 percent. Approximately 401,160 acres (9 percent) of the state land is timberland that will be considered for wood products production and other resource management objectives in this plan. Other state lands include state parks and non-timberlands such as bogs and brush lands that will not be considered. In addition, the federal government owns 560,314 acres (12 percent) that are managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Chippewa National Forest. Becker, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, and Wadena counties own and manage 732,079 acres (16 percent). Private owners control 2,526,459 acres (58 percent). Of that, industry owns 3 percent and tribal governments own 1 percent. For more details about land ownership, refer to Chapter 2 of the Preliminary Issues and Assessment document.

 

Land Ownership

Chippewa Plains/Pine Moraines and Outwash Plains 4,656,749 Acres

image of breakdown of land ownership in the subsection.

Cover type

A Gap Analysis Program (GAP) classification was completed for all lands in these subsections by the DNR Division of Forestry using satellite imagery. It showed that 52 percent of the land area (non-water) is covered by forest and sixteen percent by cropland. Aspen and birch cover types occupy 54 percent of the forested area. DNR forest inventory in these subsections shows that 34 percent of state timberlands are comprised of the aspen, birch, and balm of Gilead cover types while 21 percent are non-forested lowlands. For details about cover types, refer to Chapter 3 of the Preliminary Issues and Assessment document.