Protect Key Industrial Forest Land Tracts in Central Minnesota, Phase 1

Central MN, especially are in Cass County from Brainerd/Baxter to 'walker, has and will continue to see some of the fastest human population growth in MN. This growth will lead to increased demands.use of this area, it natural resources and related public land base that need to support this growth. Development of these private industrial parcels has resulted in the loss of Jack Pine barrens in the landscape of southern Cass County. Industrial forest tracts held by Potlach are currently being sold to private developers. These lands often provide access to existing public lands for resource management, are inholding in otherwise unfragmented landscapes, create continous wildlife corridors, and protect larger blocks of land especially useful for stand level management of habitat.

Key industrial forest tracts (ie inholdings in large public land tracts, management access issues) are being considered or currently being offered for sale by a large industrial forest owner (Potlach Corp) in this area. Depressed market conditions and a willingness by this industrial forest owner to sell at this time is an opportunity that should be addressed now since it is narrow and may close at any time. The strategy is to acquire land that hold corridors. The land acquired has existing forest access roads that have been used for management access for years. The sale of these land to private individuals has already resulted in the loss of access for resource management on public lands. The acquired lands are not being pursued for convenience of management.

The identified parcels play a key role in future management plans of the Hack Pine Barrens including the role of fire as a management tool. The loss of these parcels to private ownership will result in lost access. Management of adjacent public lands will be limited to frozen ground conditions. This will eliminate management tools such as site preparation of Jack Pine plantings and aerial seeding as well as prescribed burns for Jack Pine regeneration. This type of management requires year round access. The acquired lands provide year round management access to over 1,235 acres of existing public lands in the Jack Pine barrens landscape. The acquisition of these lands will provide permanent year round access for forest management as well as protecting habitat in and around the surrounding areas.

The Cass County Forest Resource Management Plan directs the County to acquire land of this nature whenever possible to protect our management access. The Cass County Comprehensive plan requires no new loss of acres of public land and local unit of government input on all purchases and land sales. This project meets the requirements of both plans and will require stakeholders input as part of the project. The local units of government will the privte industrial lands to be purchased will be contacted for input before any acquisitions are made. Recent purchases of this nature have been supported by both the County and local units of government. The Cass County Board of Commissioners has a strong history of supporting land sales and acquisitions that have local unit of government support.