2010 YOE State Forest Compartment Reviews Schedule

The Newberry Unit's open house for 2010 Year Of Entry (YOE) was held on December 1, 2008 with the compartment review on December 17, 2008.

The Newberry Management Unit has over 30 miles of Lake Superior shoreline, much of which is contiguous and undeveloped. The Unit has 6 proposed Natural Areas, the Two Hearted River which is under Natural River designation, and the renowned Tahquamenon River system. There are also 2 state parks (Tahquamenon Falls and Muskallonge Lake) within the Unit boundary.

You may view Newberry's Recreational Facilities Layered Map by choosing this link.
NOTE: The different recreation facilities are in separate layers so that the user can turn on/off the layers for viewing or printing. This option will allow users that are only looking for snowmobile trails to turn off the other recreation facilities, the same would be true for a camper looking for campgrounds, and they could turn off all other trails and view or print the map they want.

To do this, on the left side of Adobe Acrobat there is a tab labeled layers click on it and all of the GIS data on the map shows up as separate layers. To turn layers on/off click on the eye in the box on the left side of the layer description. The labels for features show up as a separate layer also. When zoomed into an area you can print the area viewed by selecting current view button in the print box.

Summer recreational opportunities abound within our management unit. We manage 18 state forest campgrounds located on various inland lakes, wildlife floodings, trout streams, and along the shore of Lake Superior. There are 156 miles of designated ATV and cycle trails within the Unit. Other managed recreational opportunities include pathways/hiking trails near our campgrounds and the towns of Newberry and Paradise, along with a substantial portion of the North Country National Scenic Trail transecting the Unit.

This is an area of heavy lake effect snowfall from Lake Superior. The amount of snow varies depending on the distance from the lake. Snow depths of several feet are common in the snowbelt area. The heavy snows start in December and can remain on the ground in the northern most regions sometimes into April and May.

The extensive snowfall we experience provides for some excellent winter recreation opportunities. Our office administers a 275 mile network of snowmobiles trails groomed by 4 different area clubs. We also maintain and groom the 11.5 mile Canada Lakes Cross Country Ski Trail south of Newberry. The Paradise Ski Trail, located near Paradise, provides 8 miles of trail groomed by volunteers.

The Unit contains a wide variety of forest cover types. Upland types are primarily jack pine, northern hardwoods and aspen, with smaller areas of red pine and white pine. The lowland cover types consist of lowland conifers, lowland aspen, cedar, and spruce. The Unit's soil types range from outwash sandy soils to thick, deep muck and peat soils.

Due to the substantial acreage of natural, even-aged jack pine forests within the Unit, we have an active management and reforestation program to promote the health and age diversity of the species. Timber harvests are followed by scarification or prescribed burning, and occasionally planting, to ensure the longevity of this resource in our area.

Forest health issues are becoming increasingly more important in management with exotics and invasive species posing a threat to the health of our forests. Beech Bark Disease has been found extensively throughout the northern hardwood stands of the Unit. Research and field study are currently underway to identify management options to deal with this devastating disease and the potential loss of our primary mast (nut) producing species from our traditional northern hardwood stands.

Another cyclic forest health problem in our area is Jack Pine Budworm. This forest pest is currently spreading rapidly through the jack pine dominated landscapes near Lake Superior. Larch Casebearer and Eastern Larch Beetle are also turning up in our tamarack stands.

Winter snow depths limit the deer herd in most of the Unit. However, the Hulbert deer yard, located in the eastern reaches of the Unit, is a substantial winter yarding area for a large number of deer. The cedar stands offer the deer protection from harsh winter weather. The Newberry area boasts a high native moose population and was recently designated the "Moose Capital of Michigan". Wolves and Black Bear are also known to inhabit the entire Unit.

With numerous creeks, rivers and watersheds within our management boundaries, water quality is a prime concern. The Tahquamenon, Two Hearted, Fox (East Branch), Sage, Hendrie, and Betsy Rivers are some of the rivers found in the Management Unit. Trout fishing and canoeing are the primary recreation associated with most of the waterways in the area. Best management practices are followed very closely when conducting any type of management near our rivers and creeks.

The Newberry Management Unit works hard to properly manage lands and resources to promote and enhance their quality and to ensure enjoyment of them by the people of the State of Michigan.

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