Reporter assisted by AI

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is speeding up aspen tree harvests in a 30-square-mile area in the northeastern Lower Peninsula.

The change in the DNR’s forest management harvest planning will benefit both elk and deer and their fondness for young aspen, according to a DNR announcement.

Aspen is a resilient tree that regenerates naturally from underground shoots, or root suckers, without the need for replanting. Elk and deer browse on young aspen throughout the year, but primarily during the fall and winter when other food sources become scarce.

“We are finding that some of our aspen stands within this core elk range are not regenerating to meet our minimum standards,” Matt Foster, manager of the DNR Forest Resources Division’s Atlanta Unit, said in

See Full Page