Site-Level Forest Management Program

Sustainable forest management requires balancing forest-based economic opportunities with ecological functions like biological diversity and societal values such as outdoor recreation. Under Minnesota’s Sustainable Forest Resources Act, the MFRC Site-Level Program develops voluntary site-level timber harvesting and forest management guidelines (FMGs) that recommend economical ways to conduct management activities with limited impacts to forest functions and values. The Site-Level Program also provides guidance on monitoring implementation of the guidelines and conducts assessments of the guidelines’ effectiveness and forest health.

Voluntary Site-Level Forest Management Guidelines

Forest Management Guidelines Quick Reference Field Guide Review Process & Revisions Summary Mobile Device Viewing Instructions

The FMGs provide practical, voluntary recommendations for logging and other forest management activities to avoid or minimize impacts to other forest values and environmental conditions. The guidelines offer comprehensive recommended practices to mitigate harvest-related impacts on water quality, wildlife, soil productivity, cultural resources, biodiversity, visual quality, and other forest resources.

Key FMG attributes:

Voluntary: All landowners apply the guidelines according to their management objectives.
Comprehensive: Address a wide variety of forest resource issues.
Science-based: Grounded in the best available scientific information.
Integrated: Guidelines protecting various forest functions and values are contained in one cohesive package.
Flexible: Accommodate a range of site-level conditions and management objectives.
Stakeholder-informed: Involve the full spectrum of interests in development, education, and monitoring.

Education and Trainings

There are a range of site-level forest management educational and training opportunities and resources. This includes structured learning through field and online formats and the Public Concerns Registration Process that allows individuals to raise forest management concerns, engage in resolution, and better understand sustainable forest practices. Explore FMGs training opportunities:
Minnesota Logger Education Program Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative
FMG Podcast FMG Computer-Based Training

Public Concerns Registration Process

The MFRC established the Public Concerns Registration Process (PCRP) to accept comments from the public on timber harvesting or forest management practices (MN Statute 89A.07). The process allows citizens to register concerns about timber harvesting or forest management practices that they have observed. Educational rather than punitive in nature, the PRCP provides information to involved parties and works to improve forest management in Minnesota. The PCRP process provides an avenue for concerned parties and land managers to:

Formally notify the MFRC about concerns related to forest management activities.
Be a facilitator for mitigating problems on forest management sites.
Learn more about forest management practices and guidelines for sustainable forestry.

Concerns can also be registered via the PCRP hotline: 888-234-3702.

Assessment and Research

Guideline Monitoring

The Sustainable Forest Resource Act requires monitoring to assess rates of Forest Management Guidelines (FMGs) implementation. The Site-Level Program uses monitoring information to guide outreach and education and when considering revisions the FMGs. The Department of Natural Resources manages the Guideline Monitoring Program with input and direction from the MFRC.
Visit the Guideline Monitoring Program Webpage

FMGs Effectiveness and Forest Practices Research

The MFRC has supported a number of research studies related to FMGs effectiveness, effects of forest practices in general, and forest health. These studies, and others like them, provide useful information on site-level forest management practices.

Site-Level Research
Silvicultural Surveys

The Minnesota Silvicultural Survey has been quantifying silvicultural and forest health practices of state, federal, county, forest industry, and Tribal forest lands since 1991, beginning with the Silvicultural Systems background paper for the Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Timber Harvesting and Forest Management in Minnesota. Survey information regarding the type and extent of forest practices used in Minnesota provides valuable information that can be used to guide forest policy and identify research needs. View the surveys: 1996, 2008, 2017, and 2024 (coming soon).

Soil Impacts

Impacts to soil, notably compaction and rutting in skid trails and landing areas, has been a focus of numerous studies because it can cause direct reductions in stand productivity and other forest resources such as water. The MFRC has supported a number of studies related to soil disturbance and its effects on vegetation growth which can be viewed here and on the MFRC reports page.
- Berger, A, K.J. Puettman & G. Host. 2004. Harvesting impacts on soil and understory vegetation; the influence of season of harvest and within-site disturbance patterns on clear-cut aspen stands in Minnesota. Can. J. For. Res. 34: 2159-2168.
- Zenner, E.K., J.T. Fauskee, A. L. Berger & K.J. Puettman. 2007. Impacts of Skidding Traffic Intensity on Soil Disturbance, Soil Recovery, and Aspen Regeneration in North Central Minnesota. North. J. Appl. For. 24(3): 177 – 183.
- Puettman, K.J., A.W. D'Amato, M. Arikian & J.C. Zasada. 2008. Spatial impacts of soil disturbance and residual overstory on density and growth of regenerating aspen. For. Ecol. Manag. 256: 2110-2120.
- Slesak, R.A., and T. Kaebisch. 2016. Using LiDAR to assess impacts of forest harvest landings on vegetation height and the potential for recovery over time. Canadian J. Forest Research. 46(6): 869-875.
Riparian Areas

Riparian areas adjacent and near surface water such as streams and lakes are important components of forest ecosystems given their influence on water quality, aquatic and terrestrial habitat, recreation, and other resources. Because of this importance, Riparian Management Zones (RMZs) have long been a debated issue with regards to the most appropriate width and residual basal area remaining after harvest. The MFRC supported various research studies related to RMZs and has also conducted comprehensive reviews on the existing state of knowledge related to riparian function. These studies served as a basis for modification of RMZ recommendations in the Forest Management Guidelines. Many of the reports can be viewed here and on the MFRC reports page.
- December 1998- Evaluating Riparian Area Dynamics: Management Alternatives and Impacts of Harvest Practices
- January 2001- Wildlife Species: Responses to Forest Harvesting and Management in Riparian Stands and Landscapes
- June 2005 - Windfirmness of Residual Riparian Trees Following Upland Clearcutting and Riparian Thinning in Itasca County, Minnesota
- August 2007- Analysis of the Current Science Behind Riparian Issues: Final Report of the Riparian Science Technical Committee
Woody Biomass Harvesting

Greater utilization of woody biomass for energy production and other uses (i.e., biomass harvesting) is of increasing interest, including the ecological effects of increased use. Following publication of the first biomass harvesting guidelines in the nation (MFRC 2007), the MFRC funded a large manipulative study conducted by the University of Minnesota to examine the ecological effects of increased biomass utilization in Aspen forests. This research has been used to guide revisions of the biomass guidelines.
- Berger, Alaina L.; Palik, Brian; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Fraver, Shawn; Bradford, John B.; Nislow, Keith; King, David; Brooks, Robert T. 2013. Ecological impacts of energy-wood harvests: lessons from whole-tree harvesting and natural disturbance. Journal of Forestry. 111(2): 139-153.
- Klockow, P.A., D’Amato, A.W., Bradford, J.B., 2013. Impacts of post-harvest slash and live-tree retention on biomass and nutrient stocks in Populus tremuloides Michx.-dominated forests, northern Minnesota, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 291: 278-288.
- Kurth, V.J., J.B. Bradford, R.A. Slesak, and A.W. D’Amato. 2014. Initial soil respiration response to biomass harvesting and green-tree retention in aspen-dominated forests of the Great Lakes region. Forest Ecology and Management 328: 342-352.
- Slesak, R.A. 2013. Soil temperature following logging-debris manipulation and aspen regrowth in Minnesota: implications for sampling depth and alteration of soil processes. Soil Science Society of America Journal 77:1818-1824.
Emerald Ash Borer Impacts on Black Ash Wetlands

The invasive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has decimated ash forests in the Lake States region. In Minnesota, black ash wetland forests are seriously threatened by EAB with high potential to have profound effects on a variety of forest resources given its extent in the state. The MFRC has worked collaboratively with the University of Minnesota and the USDA Forest Service to evaluate options for management to mitigate the EAB threat with the use of large-scale manipulations that simulate EAB mortality and examine alternative harvest practices and planting strategies.
- Looney, C.E., A.W. D’Amato, B.J. Palik, and R.A. Slesak. 2015. Overstory treatment and planting season affect survival of replacement tree species in emerald ash borer-threatened Fraxinus nigra forests in Minnesota, USA. Canadian Journal forest Research. 45:1728-1738.
- Slesak, Robert A.; Lenhart, Christian F.; Brooks, Kenneth N.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian J. 2014. Water table response to harvesting and simulated emerald ash borer mortality in black ash wetlands in Minnesota, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 44(8): 961-968.
- Telander, A.C., R.A. Slesak, A.W. D'Amato, B.J. Palik, K.N. Brooks, and C.F. Lenhart. 2015. Sap flow of black ash in wetland forests of northern Minnesota, USA: Hydrologic implications of tree mortality due to emerald ash borer. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 206: 4-11.