Four snowmobilers were rescued Saturday night from the ice of the Big Iron River by a pair of conservation officers who risked their own safety to find the riders and bring them back to waiting emergency crews.

The ordeal began at about 6:30 p.m. EST Saturday, when Negaunee Regional Dispatch broadcast a report of snowmobilers being separated from their larger group. They were now stranded on the river, south of White Pine.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers Jenni Hanson and Zach Painter – who typically patrol Gogebic County – had been working earlier in the day near Bergland with U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Josh Lopac.

The three officers were working to police careless snowmobiling Saturday in Ontonagon County.

“We work together a lot,” Painter said. “There’s a lot of land in this part of the Upper Peninsula that’s part of the Ottawa National Forest.”

That same day, Painter had responded to a personal injury accident, involving a snowmobiler who struck a tree and had to be airlifted to a Wisconsin hospital. Hanson had been assisting with a women’s snowmobile clinic in Bergland. She was on her way home when the call came in. Read more

Jan. 22, 2019

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers continued their safety and enforcement patrols over the holiday weekend – a deadly weekend that claimed the lives of five snowmobilers in a single day.

Police agencies in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula investigated the deaths Friday of two snowmobilers in Gogebic County and one each in Luce, Alger and Kalkaska counties.

This winter, six snowmobilers have died in the U.P. and three in Lower Michigan. The statewide snowmobile fatality total for the entire winter of 2017-2018 was 15, with 10 of those fatalities occurring north of the Mackinac Bridge. Read more

President Donald Trump has signed the 2018 Farm Bill. The $867 billion bill expands the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) by three million acres, to a total of 27 million acres, but limits the government subsidy to 80% of the average rent for the acre and disallows whole farm enrollment into the program. In a twenty-five minute signing ceremony, the President called the measure a “bipartisan success” and thanking Democratic lawmakers for “ensuring that American agriculture will always feed our families, nourish our communities, power our commerce and inspire our nation.”

Contact: Ron Olson (DNR), 517-243-1477

Purchase to be funded by state sources, commitments from The Nature Conservancy and the Mott Foundation

One hundred acres of pristine sand dunes, wetlands and forests soon will become part of Ludington State Park in Mason County, Michigan. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced today that it has purchased the land and mineral resources from Sargent Minerals-Ludington, LLC – commonly known as Sargent Sands – a Michigan-based company, permanently preserving this valuable property for public recreation.

The 100 acres, adjacent to Ludington State Park, are comprised of sand dunes – about 60 acres of which have never been altered. The property is located in the northern section of a larger 372 acres that have been mined for sand for decades. Although surrounded by state park land on three sides, the Sargent property is not yet part of Ludington State Park, where mining does not occur.

“This purchase will permanently protect a beautiful tract of critical sand dunes, conserving a unique landform and its plants and animals for public enjoyment,” said DNR Director Keith Creagh, who approved the purchase during the Oct. 11 Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing. “We are very appreciative of the willingness of the Sargent family to work with the DNR on this purchase. Their generous actions will leave a considerable legacy for future generations.” Read more

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers recovered stolen artifacts from a historical shipwreck after receiving a tip from recreational divers. In September, the DNR Law Enforcement Division’s Great Lakes Enforcement Unit was notified that people were stealing internal framework – referred to as “ribbing” – from the Metropolis, a shipwreck north of Traverse City.

Metropolis is a 125-foot schooner located offshore of Old Mission Point in the East Grand Traverse Bay, which is part of Lake Michigan. The ship was abandoned after becoming lost in a snowstorm in November 1886. The remains of the Metropolis are divided in two portions, one located in 8 feet of water and the other at a depth of 120 feet. The site is part of the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve.

Michigan’s Great Lakes are home to 1,500 shipwrecks and 14 underwater preserves, including Isle Royale, which provide recreational diving opportunities. It is illegal to remove anything from underwater shipwrecks. Read more

Contact: Capt. Pete Wright, 906-228-6561

Two teenage girls reported missing after not returning home from their Cadillac Junior High School Friday were located Saturday night by Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Mike Hearn.

Trinity Machowski, 13, and Arrianna Schings, 14, were found with alleged abductor Christopher Wagenschutz, 34, of Cadillac early Saturday evening in Kalkaska County.

After initially being taken to the Cadillac Police Department, the girls have since been returned home to their families.

Police issued a “Be on the Lookout” bulletin Friday for Wagenschutz who was being sought for child abduction in the Cadillac area. It was reported Wagenschutz picked-up the two teens from the Cadillac Junior High School Friday afternoon.

The bulletin included a description of Wagenschultz, a vehicle license plate number and reported that Wagenschultz was suspected to be driving a red Subaru. The bulletin also reported that the suspect may have a firearm in his possession and was therefore considered dangerous.

Hearn was patrolling the Village of Kalkaska early Saturday evening. He had received the original “Be on the Lookout” information from Kalkaska County Central Dispatch and had also been told there was reason to believe the vehicle and suspect might be in the Kalkaska area.

At around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Hearn saw a vehicle driving into the parking lot of St. Mary in the Woods, located at 438 County Road 612 in Kalkaska. The vehicle matched the description provided in the bulletin. Hearn followed the vehicle in his DNR patrol truck and confirmed the vehicle and license plate information. Read more