By HEATHER JOHNSON DUROCHER
Writer, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

For some visitors to Tahquamenon Falls State Park, the main attraction at Michigan’s second-largest state park has always remained out of reach.

For those using wheelchairs, experiencing the iconic, 200-foot-wide, amber-hued Upper Falls up close was impossible. What stood in the way was a 94-step staircase that led park visitors to a viewing platform.

“We heard time and time again from people that because of accessibility, they had never been to the brink, had never been able to feel that spray hit their face or smell the river,” said Kevin Dennis, park manager at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the Upper Peninsula’s Luce and Chippewa counties.

That has now changed Read more

Rufous Hummingbirds range the farthest north of any hummingbird species even nesting in southern Alaska (photo by Fernando Ortega).

Northern-nesting hummingbirds are migrating now, including Ruby-throated, Rufous, Broad-tailed, and Caliope Hummingbirds. These tiny birds are flying hundreds of miles and more, before arriving and spending time preparing for the next leg of their migration flights farther north – or possibly establishing nesting territories near you. Because flowering plants are at a minimum as northern temperatures warm and plants revive, the center stage for many migrating hummingbirds is our nectar feeders and potted flowering plants as they provide important food, and our landscaping provides resting areas and shelter.

During the long migrations north, the importance of these resources can’t be underestimated. Attracting and benefitting hummingbirds is easy, as long as you live within the range of one or more hummingbird species. Providing sugar-water nectar in a hummingbird feeder is simple: 1) keep it filled, 2) keep it fresh (the nectar); 3) keep it clean (your feeder), and 4) mix your sugar-water nectar at a ratio of 1 part white cane sugar to 4 parts water – the sugar-water mix that is closest to nectar produced by flowers that hummingbird favor.

In addition to nectar, hummingbirds need protein, which they get by feeding on tiny insects and spiders daily. It’s interesting to watch hummingbirds as they hunt; in fact, many times when you see a hummingbird working its way from plant to plant, flower to flower, it may be feeding on tiny bugs hidden among the vegetation and blooms – watch closely. Read more

May 11, 2026
Contact: Laurie Abel, 517-599-6703

Firefighters from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources worked Monday to contain a wildfire that began Sunday near the southeast end of the Tomahawk Creek Flooding in Presque Isle County.

Cool overnight temperatures, frost and favorable humidity levels helped slow the spread of the fire, officials said.

The wildfire burned about 190 acres of state-managed land, including jack pine stands, a blueberry bog and hardwood debris left behind by last year’s ice storm.

“The fire is mostly contained. We’re monitoring it and extinguishing hot spots now,” said Jennifer Hansen, fire supervisor for the DNR’s Atlanta Unit. “Crews will remain on scene today and tomorrow to continue monitoring the area.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

No evacuations were ordered, and no homes or structures were threatened.

DNR fire crews were assisted Sunday by DNR conservation officers, DNR aviation staff, U.S. Forest Service aviation personnel, the Michigan State Police, and fire departments from Onaway, Forest Waverly and Case Township, as well as Presque Isle County Emergency Management and the Salvation Army.

May 8, 2026
Contact: Kevin Jacobs, 989-370-4041

Two Fire Boss aircraft, each capable of scooping up to 800 gallons of water from a lake in just 15 seconds, have been added to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources firefighting fleet this season.

The planes, leased from late April through early June – historically the worst part of Michigan’s fire season – are housed at the Gaylord Regional Airport. This central location is ideal to respond to wildfire anywhere in the state and especially for the areas hit hard by the ice storm of 2025. The planes were used earlier this week to assist with a fire on federal land near Mio.

Fire danger is elevated across the state this weekend, so make sure to check Michigan.gov/BurnPermit or, in southern Michigan, contact your local municipality to make sure it is safe to burn.

“The branches and trees downed from the ice storm can impede us getting into the woods with equipment,” said Kevin Jacobs, DNR aviation manager. “The added debris on the ground will add fuel to the fire, which could cause wildfires to spread faster and burn with more intensity.”

He said the Fire Boss aircraft don’t replace crews on the ground but can offer an important head start once a fire is discovered.

“They can get to a fire scene fast,” Jacobs said. “Having two of these planes working in tandem can make a difference in our ability to contain fires and protect people, property and natural resources.”

The planes are Air Tractor AT-802 models, designed for agricultural use and modified to include floats for landing on water. They need approximately a mile of open water to perform their water-scooping sequence. Read more

Contact: Laurie Abel, 517-599-6703

Firefighters from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and local fire departments attacked a wildfire late Sunday in Presque Isle County near the southeast end of the Tomahawk Creek Flooding.

The fire covered approximately 180 acres around 8:30 p.m., said Laurie Abel, public information officer for the DNR’s Incident Management Team.

“The fire is burning in jack pine, hardwood and a blueberry bog,” she said. The cause of the fire hasn’t yet been identified.

A single vehicle that got stuck on a forest road was burned; its occupants were able to get away from the vehicle and are safe.

Traffic restrictions remain in place along Spring Lake, Anderson and Millersburg roads as emergency crews manage the area and monitor fire activity.

At this time, no evacuations have been made, and no homes or structures are considered at risk. Firefighters have achieved approximately 60% containment as suppression efforts continue throughout the night and into Monday.

Equipment in use Sunday included four Air Boss water-scooping planes, an Air Attack plane which coordinates air activity, and DNR fire detection aircraft.

The Legislature allocated one-time funding for the DNR to lease two AT 802 water scooping planes to help fight fires. Downed wood in the northern Lower Peninsula from the March 2025 ice storm has created an increased fire risk this spring. Weather has been windy and dry for the past several days, contributing to fire risk.

Red tube-shaped flowers are best at providing sugar-based nectar that attracts and benefits all species of hummingbirds (Broad-tailed Hummingbird photo by Bill Maynard).

Share your backyard birding experiences and photographs with The Birding Wire at editorstbw2@gmail.com

While April showers bring May flowers, shopping at an area greenhouse in May is another way to add May flowers to your yard – just in time to coincide with hummingbird migration and nesting. Local greenhouses and nurseries are filling with the colors of spring and the promise of bountiful spring and summer flowers ahead. That makes it easy to add touches of color and the beauty of flowers by activating your garden with new plants or adding a new planting circle with something simple like a hummingbird flower garden, or a goldfinch seed garden by providing nectar-producing flowers or seed-producing sunflowers.

Starting with a hummingbird garden or two, you ideally want to emphasize red tube-shaped flowers, which are proven to be the best at providing sugar-based nectar that attracts and benefits all species of hummingbirds. Read more

May 6, 2026DNR contact: Kara Colton, 248-634-0240
Michigan Natural Features Inventory contact: David Cuthrell
Volunteer sign-up: mnfi@msu.edu

Once you know where ospreys like to build their giant nests, you won’t be able to stop looking for them.Ospreys are long-lived birds (averaging 15-20 years), and pairs usually return to the same nest and add to it each year.

Made of sticks and lined with grasses, mud and soft materials, nests can reach 10-13 feet deep and 3-6 feet in diameter after years of building.Historically, ospreys nested only on cliffs, at the tops of tall trees or on “snags” – dead trees that are still standing. But due to humans removing or disturbing these important habitat elements, ospreys have adapted to build nests on human-built structures like utility poles, towers and platforms.

Volunteer to observe nests near you.  The Osprey Adopt-A-Nest program was started by MI Birds, a partnership between Audubon Great Lakes and the DNR. In 2022, the Michigan Natural Features Inventory stepped in to help support this important data collection effort long-term. This work is only possible with the help of Adopt-A-Nest volunteers who monitor osprey nests and track the reproductive success of nesting pairs throughout Michigan.

To sign up to volunteer, contact MNFI at mnfi@msu.edu and indicate the county where you would like to observe. Volunteers need to visit a nest three times, for 30 minutes each visit, in spring through late summer. A pair of binoculars is the only tool needed for most observations, though a spotting scope is helpful for monitoring cell tower nests.Volunteers use an online form to report observations, including location information, whether a nest is occupied by a nesting pair of ospreys and, if so, whether they are successfully raising chicks.

In southern Michigan, May through July is the most active period for osprey nesting; in northern Michigan, it’s June through August. By late summer, young ospreys develop feathers (called “fledging”) that are large enough for flight. The birds then migrate south in the fall.To learn more, check out the Michigan Natural Features Inventory’s Osprey Adopt-A-Nest Program StoryMap.  Read more

In response to the detection of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in a Charlevoix County cattle herd, the Michigan Departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture & Rural Development, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture are conducting deer sampling in Charlevoix and Antrim counties to determine if the disease is present in the local wild deer population. There have been no previously documented cases of bovine TB in deer in these counties. Read more

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Featuring perspectives from state and tribal wildlife managers, ranchers, outfitters, conservationists, and others living and working in grizzly country, the film highlights the importance of balanced, science-based wildlife management and public education.

SCI Foundation’s Education Department has released a new one-hour documentary, Grizzly Bears Beyond the Horizon, now available to watch on YouTube. The film takes viewers deep into grizzly country to explore one of North America’s most significant conservation success stories—the recovery of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems—and the modern realities of managing a thriving population alongside people.

Real voices from grizzly country

Through interviews with state and tribal wildlife managers, ranchers, outfitters, a bear attack survivor, and conservationists, Grizzly Bears Beyond the Horizon centers real voices from the communities most directly affected by grizzly recovery. The documentary examines the decades of collaboration that brought the species back from the brink and explores why the next chapter must be guided by science-based decision-making, public education, and shared responsibility for coexistence.

Production and partners

The film was produced by Discover MediaWorks. Funding partners include Safari Club International Foundation, Sables, Hunters Legacy Fund, Bear Trust International, and the Montana Outdoor Legacy Foundation. Contributing partners include Wyoming Game and Fish, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Natural Resources Department, People and Carnivores, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, the Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association, the Fire tribe, and Silverline Films. Read more