GWINN, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Marquette County Conservation District and the DNR held a public information session tonight to educate the public on steps people can take to protect the health of our forests. On hand were DNR officials who spoke about the threat of invasive insects and diseases that can decimate a forest and how you can prevent wildfires from damaging your property by removing any dense foliage immediately next to your structures. Forestry Director Sara Kelso says the public is always their first line of defense.
“This visitant is for the public so folks who own land around here folks who care about forests and are keeping an eye on our forest so they can let us know when they see issues and we can hopefully help them out. We’re gonna learn about fire safety in the forest here in the up, as well as some of the issues that affect the health of our trees around here,” said Kelso.
Many in attendance were local landowners, like Tom Ruprecht who said he learned a lot.
“I learned that there are certain things that I can do to make my home a lot safer if a fire does come through. and that’s one thing that I am interested in. One of the bugs that he was talking about is when trees that die from that one. I wasn’t aware of. so now I’m more interested in that,” said Ruprecht.
The forum also explained how transferring firewood and not acquiring a legal burn permit can seriously harm the forest.
For more information, you can check out the Marquette County Conservation District website: marquettecd.com
