IRON MOUNTAIN — Dickinson County plans to take a closer look at its wooded properties and prepare a harvest plan, possibly without hiring a professional forester.

During a finance meeting Tuesday, the county board consented to having Controller Brian Bousley and Chairman Dan Harrington began an assessment of properties. The largest forested parcels are near Ford Airport, the Pine Mountain ski jump and the Hardwood Impoundment, which is in Breen Township.

No acreage total is in hand, but Bousley said a number of smaller parcels can be identified and cataloged with the aid of Equalization Director Matt Baumgartner.

In 2019, the county authorized cuttings on a portion of a 40-acre parcel at Pine Mountain with assistance from forester Brock VanOss of Crystal Falls.

Harrington, who operates a deer farm in Channing, said he might consult foresters on his own in helping the county draft a plan. Any harvest recommendations would come to the full board for approval.

Commissioner Joe Stevens raised questions about whether a forester might be needed at some point, and that course wasn’t ruled out.

The county’s largest holding is the 1,800-acre Fumee Lake Natural Area, where harvests are prohibited by county ordinance.