Comments & Help

How to use the Forestry Commenting Application

About the Forestry Commenting App

The MNDNR Forestry Comments Application and interactive maps are based on DNR core GIS (Geographic Information System) data sets.

The Forestry Commenting Application was developed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. For questions about the application or Annual Stand Exam Lists, you can email [email protected]

General Usage

You will enter the MNDNR Forestry Management Commenting Application on the Welcome page. 

• The Welcome page provides information on when there is a current comment period for Planning units in the Annual Stand Exam List, and/or Annual Plan Additions.
• The Comment page provides information about selected Planning Units and is always available for viewing. If a Planning Unit is open for comment, you can submit comments from this page.
• The Annual Plan Additions page is only active during open Annual Plan Addition (APA) comment periods. When available, you can view proposed additions and submit comments through that tab.

When you select the Comment or Annual Plan Additions page, a popup window will appear with brief instructions. This helps guide you through zooming, selecting a Planning Unit, and beginning the comment process. You can close the popup by clicking the X in the upper right corner or clicking outside the popup on the map.

Planning Units - Annual Stand Exam List Comments

On the map, shaded areas indicate where Planning Units are available for viewing and/or commenting.

• Brown Planning Units are closed to new comments.
• Navy blue Planning Units are open to new comments.

Clicking on a Planning Unit opens a popup window displaying relevant attributes for the selected unit and its underlying inventory Stand(s). This window also includes a Comment button that, when clicked, populates the Planning Unit Key field in the comment form.

Note: Inventory Stand boundaries and attributes associated with Planning Units may shift over time as inventory data is updated. These changes reflect normal maintenance and improvements to data accuracy.

Annual Plan Additions (APAs)

You will see “pins” on the map where there are acres being added to existing Planning Units that are available to provide comments on. To learn more about an annual plan addition, select it, and a popup window will open with information about the added acres. To close a popup attribute window, click on the small x in the upper right corner, or click on the map outside the popup.

Map Navigation

• The plus or minus buttons zoom the map in and out.
• The house button resets the map to its statewide default level.
• The three horizontal lines “hamburger” button above the magnifying glass, opens the Layers menu where you can change basemap imagery, and what geospatial layers you want displayed.
• The magnifying glass button opens a search tool to support several ways to quickly find and display a place:

• By Planning Unit Key or Stand Key Values available in the map popup attribute window. If you know the key for a planning unit or stand that you're interested in, you can enter the key directly into the "Search Text" box and select “Planning Unit Key/Stand as the Type. Clicking the "Go" will display returned results just below the Go button. Planning Unit Key or Stand Keys cannot generally be guessed; typically these are obtained from some published source.
  • By name Simply type in the name of a Minnesota town, lake, park, etc. to search our database of more than 29,000 places. The "Type" drop-down list can be used to constrain the search to a given place type. After clicking "Go" returned results will display just below the Go button.
  • By public land survey (PLS) Enter the township, range and (optionally) the section you'd like to display. The format for conducting a PLS search is:
    • TxxxRxx(Sxx)
    • Examples: T100R44 and t44r16s5.
  • By coordinate Enter an x y pair, separated by a space, and you'll zoom to that point. Supported coordinate types are UTM (zone 15, NAD83) and latitude/longitude.      

Submitting a Comment

On the left side of the application, you'll find text fields for submitting comments. To leave a comment on a Planning Unit, first use the map to locate and select the desired unit. This will open a pop-up window displaying Planning Unit and Stand Information.

1. Scroll down and select the "Comment on the unit" button. The window will close, and the Planning Unit Key will automatically populate in the corresponding field in the comment form.
2. Fill in all required fields, including:
   • Planning Unit Key (automatically populated)
   • Commentor First Name
   • Commentor Last Name
   • Commentor Email
   • Comment
3. If applicable, enter your Organization Name.
4. Once all required fields are completed and you are satisfied with your comment, select the "Submit Comment" button at the bottom.

Your comment will then be filed with the Minnesota DNR Forestry Division.
Note: To provide an anonymous comment put “anonymous” in first name and last name. If you do, the MN DNR will not be able to contact you if they have questions.

Glossary

Acres-

Total acres of the planning unit.

Average Diameter-

The quadratic mean diameter of trees within the inventory stand.

Basal Area Per Acre-

An expression of stand density expressed in square feet. Basal area is the cross sectional area at diameter at breast height (4.5 feet above the ground) of all trees within the inventory stand.

Cover Density-

A general description of the density of trees within a stand expressed in cords per acres.

4Trees Covertype Density Ranges
4Trees Code	TPA Min	TPA Max	Cords Min	Cords Max	BF Min	BF Max
0	0	250	0	2.9	0	1250
1	251	750	3	7.5	1251	3750
2	751	1250	7.6	12.5	3751	6250
3	1251	1750	12.6	17.5	6251	8750
4	1751	2250	17.6	22.5	8751	11250
5	2251	2750	22.6	27.5	11251	13750
6	2751	3250	27.6	32.5	13751	16250
7	3251	3750	32.6	37.5	16251	18750
8	3751	4250	37.6	42.5	18751	21250
9	4251	8000	42.6	100	21251	10000

Cover Type-

General descriptive terms for the current overall contents of the inventory stand. see planning cover type for full list.

Current Stand Age-

The age of the stand in the current year.

Last Inventory Date-

The date forest inventory was collected 

Last Inventory Stand Age-

The age of the stand at the time the inventory was collected

Main Species-

The most prevalent tree species within an inventory stand based on Stems per acre for trees less than 5 inches in diameter, and cords/ acre for trees 5 inches or larger.

4Trees Tree Species
4Trees code	Species Description	4Trees code	Species Description
1	Ash, Black	51	Pine, White
2	Elm, American	52	Pine, Norway (Red)
3	Maple, Silver	53	Pine, Jack
4	Elm, Red	54	Pine, Scotch (Scots)
5	Elm, Rock	55	Pine, Ponderosa
6	Willow (tree)	56	Pine, Austrian
7	Elm, Siberian	61	Spruce, White
12	Aspen, Trembling	62	Fir, Balsam
13	Birch, Paper	63	Spruce, Colorado
14	Balm of Gilead	64	Spruce, Norway
15	Cottonwood, Eastern	65	Spruce, Black Hills
16	Aspen, Largetooth	71	Spruce, Black
17	Poplar, Hybrid	72	Tamarack
21	Maple, Red	73	Cedar, White
22	Maple, Sugar	81	Cedar, Eastern Red
23	Basswood	82	Hemlock, Eastern
24	Birch, Yellow	83	Fir, Douglas
25	Black Walnut	84	Larch, European
26	Butternut	85	Larch, Japanese
27	Cherry, Black	86	Larch, Siberian
28	Buckeye	90	Locust, Honey
29	Birch, Heart-leaved	91	Locust, Black
31	Oak, Northern Red	92	Ironwood
32	Oak, Black	93	Birch, River
33	Oak, Northern Pin	94	Blue Beech
34	Oak, White	99	Misc. Species 1
35	Oak, Bur	100	Kentucky Coffeetree
38	Ash, White	101	Larch, Hybrid
39	Ash, Green	102	Maple, Norway
41	Hickory, Bitternut	10	Oak, Chinkapin
42	Hickory, Shagbark	104	Oak, Swamp White
43	Hackberry	1000	Misc. Species 2
45	Boxelder	1001	Misc. Species 3

Main Species Cords Per Acre-

The cords per acre for the main species identified within the inventory stand.

NPC Description-

Primary native plant community that intersects the planning unit. For a descriptions of native plant communities visit Minnesota’s native plant communities DNR web page.

Plan Year-

The fiscal year the planning unit is assigned to.

Planned Cover Type-

General descriptive terms for the overall contents of the planning unit at the creation of the 10 -year stand exam list. The terms "offsite" and "stagnant" as used in cover type names, signify lower productivity. The cover type designations used are listed below.

4Trees Tree Covertype
4Trees code	Covertype
1	Ash
6	Willow
9	Lowland Hardwoods
12	Aspen
13	Birch
14	Balm of Gilead
15	Cottonwood
17	Hybrid Poplar
20	Northern Hardwoods
25	Walnut
30	Oak
40	Central Hardwoods
51	White Pine
52	Norway Pine
53	Jack Pine
54	Scotch Pine
55	Ponderosa Pine
61	White Spruce
62	Balsam Fir
64	Norway Spruce
70	Upland Larch
71	Black Spruce-Lowland
72	Tamarack
73	White Cedar
74	Black Spruce-Upland
75	Stagnant Spruce
76	Stagnant Tamarack
77	Stagnant Cedar
78	Offsite Aspen
79	Offsite Oak
81	Red Cedar
83	Lowland Grass
84	Upland Grass
85	Lowland Brush
86	Upland Brush
87	Duff
88	Moss
90	Unknown
91	Agricultural
92	Industrial Developed
93	Recreation Developed
94	Roads
95	Rock Outcrop
96	Permanent Water
97	Nonpermanent Water
98	Marsh
99	Muskeg

Planning Unit-

A distinct area identified to be looked at during a plan year.

Planning Unit Key-

Unique identifier for the planning unit

Preliminary Prescription-

Preliminary prescriptions are broad strategies know to be silvicultural appropriate for various cover types. They are used during the creation of the 10-year stand exam list. DNR land managers develop actual prescriptions based on site visits and may differ from the preliminary prescription based on site conditions, resource management objectives, operational consideration, and policies. Preliminary prescriptions are split into three categories.
Clear cut with reserves – A type of regeneration harvest where one age class is created within the stand.  Reserving at least 5 percent of the harvest area in either scattered individual trees, clumps, strips, or islands.
Un-even-aged regen harvest- A type of regeneration harvest where the stand is regenerated to an uneven-aged stand structure, more than two age classes within the stand.
Non-regeneration harvest- an intermediate timber harvest designed to enhance growth, quality, vigor, and composition of the stand prior to final harvest. Final prescription examples may include row, strip, or selective thinning.

Section Forest Resource Management Plan (SFRMP) Description-

The Section Forest resource plan that the planning unit is within.
STHA_AP_21_30- Aspen Parklands
STHA_MDLP_21_30- Minnesota Drift and Lake Plain 
STHA_MIM_21_30- Minnesota and Northeast Iowa Morainal
STHA_NMOP_21_30- Northern Minnesota and Ontario Peatland
STHA_PP_21_30- Paleozoic Plateau
STHA_NSU_21_30 – Norther Superior Uplands
STHA_WSU_21_30 -Western Superior Uplands

Stand Acres-

Total acres within the inventory stand

Stand Key-

Unique identifier for the forest inventory stand

Stand Location-

The Township + Range+ Range direction+ Section for the location of the largest underlying stand. for example, a stand that is located in township 62 Range 4 East section 2 would be. T06 R04E S02.

Site Index-

A measure of site productivity based on total tree height and age.

Total Cords Per Acre-

The total equivalent (MBF and Cords) cords per acres of all species within the stand.

Volume Per Acre-

The total volume expressed in Cords/ acre of the main species tree species with the inventory stand.