Hazardous Fuels Management in Mixed Red Pine and Eastern White Pine Forest in the Northern Lake States: A Synthesis of Knowledge

Fuels reduction decisions are made within a larger context of resource management characterized by multiple objectives including ecosystem restoration, wildlife management, commodity production (from timber to nontraditional forest products), and provision of recreation opportunities and amenity values. Implementation of fuels treatments is strongly influenced by their perceived influence on and compatibility with overarching management objectives. In some cases these objectives may be complementary while in others they may involve difficult tradeoffs. Such tradeoffs are only further complicated by institutional mandates, limited availability of information, and complex ownership patterns. Like natural resource managers across the United States, those in the northern Lake States must balance these competing demands as they seek to build their management programs. However, there is limited information available to support these management decisions in the mixed red (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and eastern white pine (P. strobus L.) forests of the northern Lake States.