VISUAL QUALITY OF HUMAN-MADE CLEARINGS IN CENTRAL MICHIGAN CONIFERS

Our job at the North Central Forest Experiment Station is discovering and creating new knowledge and technology in the field of natural reso urces and conveying this information to the people who can use it. As a new generation of forests emerges in our region, managers are confro nted with two unique challenges: (1) Dealing with the great diversity in composition, quality, and ownership of the forests, and (2) Reconci ling the conflicting demands of the people who use them. Helping the f orest manager meet these challenges while protecting the environment i s what research at North Central is all about.