DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division named a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador

When a severe thunderstorm capable of producing damaging hail and 60-mph winds rolled through Yankee Springs State Recreation Area on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon in late July, park rangers were faced with a daunting task: ensuring the safety of the hundreds of visitors enjoying the park’s campgrounds, picnic areas and lakes.

After a flurry of activity – directing visitors to storm shelters, checking on the welfare of campers, avoiding trees that were toppled by the wind, and assessing other damage to the park – the weather eventually calmed and it became clear to the rangers that their mission had been accomplished. Read more

As you may have already heard, Michigan’s off-road vehicle (ORV) license options changed as of March 1, 2014. The new license structure – authorized by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2013 – provides vital funding to improve outdoor recreation opportunities for ORV riders.

The new ORV license structure includes two levels depending on the type of riding you are doing. An ORV License ($26.25) is required on eligible county roads, state forest roads in the Upper Peninsula and eligible national forest roads as well as on the frozen surface of public waters. This license is required to operate anywhere off of private lands.

In addition to the ORV License, an ORV Trail Permit (an additional $10, for a total of $36.25) will be required when operating on State-designated ORV trails, routes and scramble areas. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is offering a bear hunting clinic at the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center at Mitchell State Park in Cadillac.Three separate clinics are offered and will take place on Aug. 9, 10 and 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Students will learn the ins and outs of bear hunting with experienced hunters and experienced DNR educators. The class will cover habitat, gear, stand placement, baiting, rules and regulations, carcass care, and hide care by master taxidermist Kevin Perry. Participants will spend about four hours in the classroom then go outdoors to learn how to place a stand and bait in the woods.  Read more

 Waterfowl hunters can now buy the federal migratory bird hunting stamp – also known as the Duck Stamp – online at www.mdnr-elicense.com. The online purchasing option is part of a partnership between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s Federal Duck Stamp Office, designed to make the Duck Stamp more readily available and increase participation in this successful wetland conservation program.

The Federal Duck Stamp, required annually for all migratory waterfowl hunters age 16 or older, costs $17 via E-license, the DNR’s online hunting, fishing, ORV and snowmobile license sales system. The stamp cost is $15, and both the stamp distributor and the DNR charge a $1 processing and handling fee. There will be no refunds available once the stamps are purchased. Read more

Although the late author and avid fly-fisherman Ernest Hemingway is well known for writing about the Upper Peninsula’s Two-Hearted River (which was actually the Fox River incognito), there are other trout streams in Michigan that he held so dear, they didn’t even appear in his short stories – only in letters to trusted friends and confidantes.

The northeastern Lower Peninsula’s upper Black River, long recognized as one of Michigan’s best brook trout streams, was one of those hush-hush Hemingway haunts that today, through the work of a strategically aligned group of partner organizations, has become a destination point for anglers chasing wild brookies.

“It’s renowned for its wild brook trout population,” said Tim Cwalinski, the Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist who manages waters within the Black River Watershed. “We get pretty good survival and growth and it is a destination for anglers who want to fish for brook trout, particularly the East Branch, the mainstream and Canada Creek.” Read more