FOREST MANAGEMENT
GUIDELINES FOR MICHIGAN
By the Michigan Society of American Foresters
SPECIAL NATURAL and CULTURAL RESOURCES
Some forest ownerships have areas or sites with special natural or cultural resources. These provide the owner and manager of such property with both a privilege and a responsibility. Having such resources on one’s property is a privilege because they are unique and provide a link to understanding the past, either biologically or culturally. Moreover, with regard to special natural resources, they provide a potential link to the future. Because of their uncommon nature, the landowner may have a legal responsibility and, arguably, an ethical responsibility to preserve these resources.
Legal
responsibility for special natural resources can be found in both the federal
Endangered Species Act and the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental
Protection Act, through its Endangered Species part and its Biological Diversity
part. Ethical responsibility recognizes that the land and the plants and animals
it supports have an inherent worth. Those which are limited in numbers or range
have an additional worth due to their scarcity. They provide a link to the past,
as well as offer hope for ecosystem, species, and genetic viability into the
future.
This website is maintained by Bill Cook, Michigan State University Extension
Forest in the Upper Peninsula. Comments, questions,
and suggestions are gratefully accepted.
Last update of this page was 8 May, 2008
This site is hosted by School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University.
