Comment Period Open for the Upper Mississippi – Ten Section Unique Biological Area Habitat...

Blackduck, Minn., January 13, 2025 - The Chippewa National Forest is seeking comments regarding the proposed Upper Mississippi – Ten Section Unique Biological Area Habitat Improvement Project (UBA Project) on the Chippewa National Forest (CPF). The UBA Project consists of 2,866-acres of National Forest lands on the Blackduck Ranger District.

The entire UBA Project area is within the boundary of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation, including areas along the Mississippi River between Lake Winnibigoshish and Cass Lake. A primary purpose of the project is to help move the vegetative conditions within the project area towards the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s Desired Vegetative Conditions (DVCs) as agreed to in the 2024 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and desired conditions identified in the 2004 Chippewa National Forest Land and Resources Management Plan (Forest Plan).

The proposed vegetation management activities are designed to move toward achieving ecosystem and landscape resilience objectives for the Upper Mississippi River and Ten Section Unique Biological Areas (UBA). This includes improving forest diversity within the context of conditions more representative of native plant communities.

Forests diverse in composition, structure, and age may be more resilient and provide more diverse wildlife habitat conditions.

The Forest Service is proposing the following activities:

• Timber Harvest: Commercial thin about 269 acres of red pine plantations. Some stands may need two thinning entries to meet project objectives. Thinning would be completed before any prescribed fire activities in the stands.
• Prescribed Fire: Prescribed fire on about 1,500 acres. This would be multi-entry to meet multiple project objectives and to restore native plant communities. Actual acres prescribed burned will depend on fuel types, resource protection mitigations, etc.
• Planting/Seeding: Where needed within the project area to restore native plant communities.

For those wishing to comment on this project, please use one of the following methods to submit your comments:

• Submit your comments electronically in a common file format (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf, .txt) to: douglas.putt@usda.gov with the subject line "UBA Project- Public Comment." Please include your name, address, telephone number, and the title of the project with your comments.
• Mail your comments to the Blackduck Ranger District Office: UBA Project Public Comment
  ATTN: Douglas Putt, West Zone Planner, 417 Forestry Dr. NW, Blackduck, MN 56630
• Submit your comments by fax to: (218) 835-3132

Please submit comments by January 25, 2025.

For additional information about this project or the public comment process, please contact Douglas Putt at: douglas.putt@usda.gov