Kathio Forest: Past & Future

Kathio Forest: Past and Future. Kathio Landmark Trail. , Mille Lacs Kathio State Park exists not only to provide outdoor recreation, but also to preserve and restore a very important element of Minnesota's landscape heritage. The park has a long-term plan of researching, preserving and restoring the plant communities that existed here before the changes made by modern society., A Pine and Hardwood Forest , In the early 1800s the forest was a mix of pines and hardwoods on this side of Ogechie Lake, while a large stand of mature white and red pine stood on the west shore. Massive logging operations from the 1890s into the early 1900s severely depleted the seed stock of conifers, particularly white pines, which once dominated the canopy of the forest., The Marschner Map , Francis Marschner compiled land survey records from 1859 to 1920, which were later put into a statewide map to give an idea of the state's pre-European settlement vegetation. The above detail shows the variety of forest types that were documented in the Mille Lacs region., Grassland , . Prairie , . Wet Prairies, Marches and Sloughs, Brushland , . Brush Prairie , . Aspen-Oak Land , . Oak Openings and Barrens, Hardwood Forest , . Big Woods , . River-bottom Rorest , . Aspen-Birch, Pineries , . Mixed Hardwood and Pine Groves , . White Pine , . White and Norway Pine , . Jack Pine Barrens and Openings , . Pine Flats , . Aspen-Birch, Bogs and Swamps , . Conifer Bogs and Swamps , . Open Muskeg, Fire: An Important Role in a Healthy Forest , Fire was a key factor in the development of the landscape, and is important to the health and future of our forest. Natural fires facilitated a variety of plant life, which resulted in a forest that could withstand drought, disease and other threats. Our goal is a healthy forest that can sustain itself, and fire is part of our restoration prescription. Controlled fires are carefully planned so they benefit the plant communities of the park, and are not a threat to human safety and the surrounding properties., Helping the Forest , Volunteers have provided valuable assistance in our forest restoration efforts. Over a period of several years, Onamia 5th graders have planted pines and other conifers in areas of the park where their numbers had been depleted by logging and agricultural development.