FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2009
Contacts: Amy Clark Eagle 517-335-3351 or Mary Dettloff
517-335-3014
DNR Seeking Recommendations for Biodiversity Stewardship Area Network
The Department of Natural Resources is seeking recommendations of areas
with high quality native plant and animal communities, for inclusion in
a statewide network of Biodiversity Stewardship Areas (BSA).
Individuals with knowledge of these areas are invited to attend a
regional public information gathering workshop to share this
information. The first set of workshops have been scheduled for the
northern Lower Peninsula, and other regions of the state will follow
later in 2009 and 2010.
The workshops will be held:
● Tuesday, March 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Garfield Township Hall,
located at 3848 Veterans Dr. in Traverse City.
● Wednesday, March 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Conference Room 100 of the
Otsego County Building, located at 225 W. Main in Gaylord.
● Thursday, March 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Room 114 of the Delta
College Planetarium, located at 100 Center Ave. in Bay City.
The BSA network is one of the DNR’s primary strategies for conserving
the native biodiversity of the State of Michigan. This process is the
culmination of several earlier planning efforts that spanned the past
two decades. The initial focus of these efforts was conservation of
older age class forests, but it evolved into a statewide biodiversity
conservation planning process. Biodiversity refers to the full variety
of living organisms, the genes they contain, and the communities in
which they occur.
A good candidate BSA will have the following characteristics:
● It occurs in an area that includes and is surrounded by lands
containing natural habitats instead of developed landscapes.
● It is of a size and condition that will allow natural processes
(e.g., flooding, fire, windthrow) to either occur naturally or to be
mimicked through restoration activities.
● It is not significantly threatened by development, invasive species
or any other threat.
● It does not occur in an area where current or future management
activities have been conducted or prescribed that are incompatible with
biodiversity conservation.
“Conserving biodiversity is essential for the health of Michigan's
native ecosystems”, said Lynne Boyd, chief of the DNR’s Forest,
Mineral and Fire Management Division.
The public may submit specific recommendations for candidate BSAs to
the DNR by attending a workshop or by using the Conservation Area
Recommendation Form, which is available online at
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/PR4199ConservationAreaRecommendationForm_145873_7.pdf.
Potential BSAs can be identified on any land ownership or combination
of ownerships. The portions of selected BSAs that occur on
DNR-administered land will be managed for the primary purpose of
biodiversity conservation (other activities that are compatible with
this purpose may also be allowed). The DNR will work with partners to
identify opportunities for cooperative biodiversity conservation efforts
on the portions of BSAs that are not on DNR-administered land.
Recommended areas will be assessed by regional teams of DNR staff and
other governmental and public stakeholder representatives. These teams
will make a formal recommendation to the DNR for a set of areas that
should be included in the BSA network for their region.
Interested persons who may have questions about this process may
contact Amy Clark Eagle, leader of the DNR’s Biodiversity and
Conservation Program at 517-335-3351 or
eaglea@michigan.gov.
Individuals attending the meetings are requested to refrain from using
heavily-scented personal care products, in order to enhance
accessibility for everyone. Persons with disabilities needing
accommodations for the workshop should contact Amy Clark Eagle at
517-335-3351 a minimum of five (5) business days before this
event/meeting. Requests made less than five business days before this
event may not be accommodated.
The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, use and enjoyment
of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.
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