Sleeping Bear Family Forest has been selected to participate in the DNR Plot Based Forest Inventory (PBI) program.
Forest inventory provides data on the species and volume of trees in the woods, and can offer insight to the health of forests and how they’re changing. This information can be used by land managers to:
- Learn about fire fuel loads and how to reduce wildfire risk
- Improve forest management relating to harvest planning, wildlife habitat, tree planting or trail development
- Create forest stewardship plans to sustain healthy, resilient and beautiful forests for generations to come
To gather this information, the DNR Resource Assessment Program collects remotely sensed data using light detection and ranging lidar-based technology, combined with field data called plot-based inventory (PBI), to create precise forest inventory information across Minnesota’s ever-changing forest landscape.
Until now, PBI has been conducted primarily on public lands, but nearly half of Minnesota’s woodlands are privately owned. Private woodlands are needed to increase the precision and accuracy of these new forest inventory models and maps to get a more complete picture of all of Minnesota’s forests. More thorough data will provide land managers of all ownership types with better information to help ensure the continued benefits of Minnesota’s forests.