11/24/2025

UPPER MICHIGAN - The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is dedicating over $1.3 million from its Forestry Assistance Program to 18 conservation districts. This funding, highlighted by Director Tim Boring, promotes sustainable forest management through outreach and technical assistance. Specifically in the Upper Peninsula, district foresters help private landowners with management plans, timber valuation, and harvesting. Additionally, conservation districts assist landowners in enrolling in MDARD’s Qualified Forest Program (QFP), which offers a property tax exemption for following a professional management plan and conducting sustainable harvests to maintain forest health. In the U.P., the Iron-Baraga, Gogebic and Houghton-Keweenaw Conservation districts along with four other districts are slated to receive $72,000 each.