The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 6 office will host two hearings this month on a new unit management plan (UMP) with parcels in northern St. Lawrence and Franklin counties.

This plan for the new St. Lawrence Flatlands management unit is a continuation of the former Brasher UMP which began several years ago.

The state forests included in the unit are Brasher, Bombay, Buckton, Fort Jackson, Grantville, Knapp Station, Lost Nation, Raymondville, Sodom and Southville. The state forest lands total 30,810 acres in the Franklin County towns of Bombay and Moira and the St. Lawrence County towns of Brasher, Madrid, Norfolk and Stockholm.

The unit also includes seven widely scattered parcels of detached forest preserve lands in the towns of Lisbon, Louisville, Massena, Oswegatchie and Waddington. These properties range in size from three to 350 acres.

There will be two open house meetings to discuss management of the St. Lawrence Flatlands Unit. DEC is seeking the public’s input in helping establish a long-range vision and goals for management of these lands.

The meetings will be held:

• Wednesday, June 20, 6 to 9 p.m. in the St. Lawrence Central High School auditorium, 1039 State Rt. 11C, Brasher Falls; and

• Saturday, June 23, 9 a.m. to noon in the Madrid-Waddington Central School auditorium, 2582 State Rt. 345, Madrid.

During the first hour of each session, the public can meet individually with DEC staff. This will be followed by a presentation about the unit and conclude with a chance to make oral comments in front of the group regarding the management of the unit.

The meetings are to provide information about the unit, discuss its history, ecology and current uses, such as forest product sales and recreational use, and to exchange ideas about long-term forest management.

Public input gathered at the open house, along with input received by mail and email, data collected during forest inventories and other sources of data and information, will be used to develop the plan for the St. Lawrence Flatlands.

Anyone who would like to comment on the future management of the Flatlands unit can do so at the meetings, or contact Senior Forester Aaron Graves at NYSDEC, 6739 US Highway 11, Potsdam, NY, 13676, or send an e-mail to r6ump@gw.dec.state.ny.us. For questions or additional information call 265-3090. Public comments must be received by Aug. 31 to be incorporated into the draft UMP.