Forestry
Mission |
The mission of Polk County Forestry is to provide, protect, and manage forest resources for the environmental and social benefits they provide present and future citizens of Polk County.
Managing for environmental needs includes protecting and restoring watersheds, native communities, and biological diversity; plus, providing protection from wildfire, insects, diseases, and human degradation. Managing for social needs includes providing recreational opportunities, economic returns, and raw material for wood using industries.
Management must balance local needs with broader concerns through integration of forestry, wildlife, fisheries, endangered resources, water quality, soil and recreational recommendations and practices. Management will provide this variety of products and amenities for the future using sustainable forest management practices.
|
Resources |
County Managed Forest Location Maps |
Work Plans |
Annual Report |
Forest Description |
The 17,182 acres of County Forest has two distinct areas. Two thirds of the County Forest is in the northwest of the county in the Town of Sterling. This area has sandy soils derived from glacial outwash. The most common trees are aspen, jack pine, red pine, and scrub oak. The remainder of the Forest is primarily in the northeast Towns of Lorain and McKinley. This area is dominated by aspen, northern hardwood, and red oak. |
History |
The Polk County Forest came into existence in 1935 when the County Board made a resolution to enter non-revenue (tax delinquent) lands under the Forest Crop program. The majority of this land was cutover and or burned over forestland. |
Forest Uses |
The County Forest is enjoyed by thousands of individuals for various pursuits, such as: ATV riding (on designated trails only), berry picking, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, snowmobiling, and firewood gathering (permits for cutting personal use firewood are available for $8 per standard cord). Firewood Permit
|
County Forest Regulations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Polk County Code of Ordinances County Forest Definition ATVs/UTVs
Sec. 26-27. - Forest recreational use restrictions
|
Customer Service Feedback |
Please take the time to let us know how we served you. Feedback Form Thank you! |