Showcasing Michigan’s DNR

MARK HARVEY
State archivist, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

In 2011, ABC’s “Good Morning America” named Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan’s northwestern Lower Peninsula the “Most Beautiful Place in America.”

But a hundred years earlier, at the turn of the 20th century, large swaths of northern Michigan looked bleak. 

In a time before restorative forestry practices existed, lumber companies cut through tracts of virgin timber stands, leaving slash and stumps. Once the trees were gone, the companies moved on to another stand. In their absence, property taxes went unpaid and land values dropped.

However, in 1922, a team of state government and university officials launched a survey team to create maps that would change the trajectory of northern Michigan’s economy and launch the transformation of stump land into the “Water-Winter Wonderland” we know today.

The lumber boom in Michigan peaked in the 1870s and 1880s, but large-scale operations continued into the next century. Today, there are more than 800 logging and trucking firms, 300 wood product manufacturers and mills, and more than 3,000 secondary manufacturers who use wood resources to produce their products. Lumber is still a viable, big business in Michigan because of improved forestry practices, but in the 1910s, Michigan stood at the precipice of 40 years of nonrestorative logging and lumbering practices.  Read more

April 20, 2022

Media contacts
Questions about wild birds: Ed Golder (DNR), 517-284-5815
Questions about poultry or domestic birds: Jennifer Holton (MDARD), 517-284-5724

The flicker of a golden-winged warbler and the peent of an American woodcock usher in the signature start of springtime in Michigan. To enjoy the return of migratory birds, grab your binoculars and explore one of our Grouse Enhanced Management Sites (GEMS).

GEMS are areas of publicly accessible land managed for wildlife habitat and wildlife recreation. Each area provides abundant food and shelter for a variety of wildlife, including migratory birds. While these areas are primarily used for upland game bird hunting in the fall, they provide excellent birding and wildlife recreation opportunities year-round.  Each area is complete with walking trails, parking areas, site information and maps. The trails, accessible to people of varying physical abilities, are the perfect location for new birders or hikers to explore.

To learn more about Michigan’s bird species and to plan your birding trip, visit Michigan.gov/Birding.

Are you brand-new to birding? Check out Audubon’s How to Start Birding webpage. You’ll find everything you need to get started, including necessary equipment, places to go birding, safety tips, how to identify different birds and more.

Explore GEMS ?

Contact: Doug Rich, 906-353-6651

DNR approves land gift increasing acreage at Craig Lake State Park in Marquette County

The U.P. Land Conservancy has gifted nearly 1,300 acres of pristine highlands wilderness in Marquette County to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to protect the property from degradation and maintain public access.

“We are please to have this wonderful legacy donation to add to the very special Craig Lake State Park,” said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division.

The property includes three parcels that made up the conservancy’s Peshekee Headwaters Nature Preserve, which lies along the eastern edge of Craig Lake State Park.

Among its attributes, the property contains nearly 90% of the watershed that fills Indian Lake, which is headwaters of the West Branch of the Peshekee River, along with 10 miles of hiking trails that connect to the adjacent state park. Read more

Introduction to wildlife photography

Saturday, April 23
8 a.m. to noon
Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center
34270 County Road 652 in Mattawan (Van Buren County)

Get your feet wet with capturing wild critters on camera. Designed for those with little or no experience in wildlife photography, this class will introduce photography basics, equipment requirements, how to photograph wildlife, and managing and editing photographs.

Cost is $10. For ages 16 and older. Participation is limited to 25. Read more

April 15, 2022 – About 82% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas, and that number is growing. People are drawn from near and far to cities for jobs, restaurants and entertainment. They also enjoy green spaces within a bustling cityscape. Parks, forests and tree-lined streets provide respite and recreation, places to pause and ponder. Trees in urban areas also benefit residents by lowering cooling costs and improving mental health outcomes.

Several U.S. cities, shown in yellow, may be hotspots for tree mortality from the invasive emerald ash borer beetle. The map also shows other locations in the insect’s path over the next 30 years. Dark blue areas have lower risk, while lighter blue and green areas may experience greater risks and costs. (Source: Hudgins et al. 2022 Figure 2d)

“Frequent travel to and from cities means that trees in urban areas have high rates of exposure to invasive species like the emerald ash borer,” said Frank Koch, a USDA Forest Service research ecologist and co-author of a new study about the impacts of invasive insects on urban trees.

The emerald ash borer is a wood-boring beetle native to Asia. First discovered in the U.S. in 2002, the beetle was brought here accidentally – likely on a wooden pallet filled with imported goods like toasters or electronics. The emerald ash borer is now found in 35 states and Canada and has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees. Read more