Public invited to comment on Upper Mississippi River Forest Management Plan

Rock Island, Ill. -- (June 29, 2011) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island, St. Paul and St. Louis Districts, invite the public to comment on the recently completed draft forest management plan for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS).  The purpose of the Systemic Forest Management Plan is to provide a long-range plan of action for the sustainable management of UMRS forests to maintain its recognition as a nationally treasured ecological resource.

The Systemic Forest Management Plan project area is designated as the UMRS 500-year floodplain, and includes the Mississippi River from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, to its confluence with the Ohio River; the Illinois River from Chicago to Grafton, Illinois; and navigable sections of the Minnesota, St. Croix, Black and Kaskaskia Rivers.  The UMRS floodplain ecosystem covers 2.6 million acres of land and water and includes portions of five Midwestern States: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri.

Key components of the Plan are identifying goals and objectives; establishing a foundation to improve and enhance coordination with stakeholders; fostering a better understanding of the state of the resource and its ecological connection to adjacent watersheds; identifying problems, opportunities and data needs; and developing recommendations that will ensure the long-term sustainability of this critical component of the UMRS ecosystem.

The plan can be viewed and downloaded from the St. Paul District's website at http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/environment/default.asp?pageid=1394, under 'Related Pages.'  A hard copy is available upon request.  The public review and comment period opened Tuesday, June 28, and ends July 27, 2011.  Comments can be sent to Randall Urich at the Corps of Engineers atrandall.r.urich@usace.army.mil or 1114 So. Oak St., La Crescent, MN  55947-1560.

For more information, contact the Corps Forest Management Plan team leader, Randall Urich, at 507-895-6341, ext. 3.

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