Tag Archives: DNR

Final section of water trail along Grand River may become a reality

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, Great Lakes, Our Cities, Recreation, Sports, Travel, West Michigan, , , , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

LGROW Director Wendy Ogilvie (far left) reviews a map of the Grand River with participants of a public meeting about creating a water trail along the river. (WKTV)

The young girl walked into the room at GVSU’s Seidman Center, looked at a map with her mother and then turned to Wendy Ogilvie and asked “Why should we designate a water trail along the Grand River?”

Acknowledging that it was a good question and one that was often asked, the Lower Grand River Organization (LGROW) director said “We often think of up north as full of nature and beauty when there is that beauty here in the lower peninsula as well. By designating it as a water trail we create a sense of place and a destination. “

LGROW, which is part of the Grand Rapids Metro Council and designated with addressing issues and opportunities for the Grand River and its watershed, is moving forward on a plan to create a state-designated water trail along the lower Grand River, which Ogilvie said might become a reality this year. 

A water trail is similar to a bike/walking trail. It is a designated route on a navigable waterway such as a river like the Grand River, or other waterways like a lake or canal. The trail is implemented and managed to foster educational and recreational experiences.

The upper and middle Grand River watersheds have already been designated by the state as water trails. The addition for the Lower Grand River, which runs from about Ionia west to Lake Michigan, would complete the 252-mile trek from its origination point at the headwaters of Hillsdale County to where to it pours out onto Lake Michigan in Grand Haven. Michigan’s longest river runs along the border of the City of Wyoming as it travels from the City of Grand Rapids to the City of Grandville and on to Ottawa County.

A map of the many public and private access points along the Grand River. (WKTV)

“Water trails are becoming the new parks,” said Andrea Irland, an outdoor recreational planner for the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service. “You travel down a river and discover the untouched areas that are not easily seen from a trail or road.”

Irland was involved in the creation of the Cuyahoga River Water Trail which helped to change the reputation of the river, which was known to catch fire, to being a place to see wildlife. She said she could see the same happening for the Grand River, which was once used for logging to help get wood to the furniture factories in Grand Rapids.

“Water trails such as the one proposed and the one on the Cuyahoga River do not need to be in national parks,” Irland said. “They can provide a way to connect different communities that are along the river.”

A community also benefits in the creation of a water trail as it provides outdoor recreation, education, stewardship, quality of life, and conservation and protection.

To discuss the pros and cons of having a water trail, LGROW hosted a public meeting in February at Grand Valley State University’s Seidman Center seeking input from residents on what they would want to see to help encourage the development of a water trail. There was input on a variety of topics such as access points and amenities like signage, bathrooms, and other items that would be needed to help design and maintain the water trail. There also was discussion on water safety and the sharing of the waterway with larger boats and other river crafts.

“This is an exciting opportunity for the public to provide ideas on how we can enhance access and recreational opportunities tied to one of our region’s most valuable natural assets,” Ogilvie said. “It will encourage tourists and outdoor recreation while promoting watershed stewardship and showcasing Michigan’s incredible water resources.”

There were six stations at the event that lead participants through learning about what a water trail is to amenities and what they thought would help to make such a plan successful. Another aspect of the meeting was to encourage tourism ventures such as canoe and kayak rentals along with restaurants and other possibilities to develop along the river to make the water trail a successful destination spot.

Through the development process, Ogilvie said LGROW has met with various stakeholders such as kayaking clubs, owners of access points, municipalities where the river has run through and other community members. In fact, the process has taken a couple of years but the recent Restore the Rapids movement to restore the lower river to a more natural state has made creating a water trail more of a viable opportunity, Ogilvie said.

The goal will be to have similar public input meetings in Ionia and Ottawa counties. From there, the group will review the plan and then submit it to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for approval.

To review the plan or learn more, click here. 

Proposed eastern sandhill cranes hunt in breeding states stirs controversy

3-bottom, Environment, Great Lakes, Recreation, ,
A pair of eastern sandhill cranes keep a lookout for predators. These birds normally stay together unless one dies, in which case they’ve been known to start other family groups. Credit: Department of Natural Resources

By Nicholas Simon
Capital News Service

LANSING — Efforts by politicians to create a hunting season for eastern sandhill cranes in both Michigan and Wisconsin are stirring debates among hunters, farmers and birders.

A Michigan legislative resolution to encourage the Natural Resources Commission to explore the possibilities of issuing tags for cranes was introduced but not adopted. Wisconsin has gone further, with lawmakers introducing a bill in October to require the state Department of Natural Resources to issue permits to eligible hunters for the birds.

If either of these measures passes, it would be the first time the bird has been hunted legally in its breeding grounds since the species was nearly hunted to extinction in the early 1900s.

Advocates of a hunt in both states cited the agricultural damage caused by rising numbers of the birds, as well as increased opportunities for hunters as reasons to add the sandhill crane to their lists of state game birds.

However, hunting them is controversial for both birding groups and ornithological associations. They argue that the cranes’ unique ecology has historically made them vulnerable to overhunting.

“This bird wows and delights people,” said Heather Good, the executive director of Michigan Audubon, the state’s oldest conservation organization.

“It’s widely depicted in art, and it’s the oldest living species at more than 2.5 million years old. True conservationists do not take that history for granted,” Good said.

Sandhill cranes have the lowest juvenile survival rate of any game bird in North America, with only one in 10 nests producing a chick that survives to adulthood, according to the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. One reason is the time it takes for the birds to reach maturity, with pairs being an average of 4 years old before they can reproduce, it said.

Eastern Sand Hill Cranes have a low juvenile survival rate. (Wikipedia/http://www.birdphotos.com)

Their low birth rate, paired with increased habitat loss and overhunting during the early 1900s, led to its eradication from a number of Great Lakes states, including Illinois, Ohio and Indiana. By the 1930s, there were only 25 breeding pairs in Wisconsin, according to population counts at the time.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin, like Mark Berres, claim that near-extinction means that the eastern sandhill crane still has problems with genetic diversity, which makes it more susceptible to overhunting.

In an interview with the University of Wisconsin News, Berres said: “We have a pretty good understanding of why the birds are doing so well, but we’re really just starting to figure out the population’s breeding structure. To me it screams ‘don’t touch them.’”

Michigan DNR officials claim that the bird’s destructive behavior towards crops is a sign of resilience and adaptability.

 

The cranes tend to travel into cornfields from adjacent wetlands and eat the new shoots as they sprout out of the ground in the springtime. Farmers say they can leave large sections of their field bare.

 

“They’re an adaptable species and they’ve been able to take advantage of available habitats like wetlands and emerging wetlands,” said Barbara Avers, the waterfowl and wetland specialist at the Michigan DNR. “But they are now using agricultural products as an abundant food source, and we are really seeing their numbers take off.”

Despite the rising rates of agricultural destruction, ornithological groups say that’s not an issue because of existing solutions such as repellents that make new plants taste bitter so cranes stay away.

However, the cost of repellent ranges from $6 to $10 per acre, and some farmers are unwilling to take on the added cost and time to treat their crops. The federal government offers a permit to such farmers to kill cranes that are damaging their crops.

Federal regulations make it illegal for those hunters to consume meat from the cranes they kill. Instead, carcasses are left in the field to discourage other groups of cranes from coming to that farm.

 

Hunting groups in both states call that a waste of natural resources and argue that a hunting season would both reduce population numbers for farmers and provide an economic opportunity for the state DNRs.

 

At an appearance with Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin, Michigan musician and pro-hunting activist Ted Nugent called sandhill cranes “ribeyes in the sky,” referring to his desire to eat them.

In a presentation to the Natural Resources Commission, Nick Green, the public information officer for Michigan United Conservation Clubs, said hunters both understand population management strategies and provide funding for habitat restoration.

Green said, “Numerous game and no-game species have all flourished thanks to funding generated almost exclusively from hunting license sales and the tax on firearms and ammunition.”

At a commission meeting this fall, officials from Michigan Audubon and the Michigan Humane Society said DNR has focused too much on hunters in the past.

Good said, “Conservation is not a sport, it’s actually a science.”

Molly Tamulevich, the Michigan director for the Humane Society of the United States, said, “In conversations with commissioners, it’s clear that some of you believe that the primary role of the Natural Resources Commission is to serve the fewer than 7% of Michiganders who hold a hunting license.

“In fact, the lens through which the commission’s decisions are made frames Michigan’s wildlife entirely as a resource to be managed by being killed by game license holders,” she said.

Tamulevich said she was frustrated with the lack of representation for Michigan’s growing eco-friendly and non-hunting residents, saying that ignores economic benefits produced by birders and native Anishinaabe communities that consider the bird sacred.

“It’s time the decision-making bodies start to pay attention to the voices of Michigan citizens who are heavily invested in their outdoors land and wild areas but chose not to hunt, trap or kill for trophies, cash prizes and bragging rights,” Tamulevich said.

‘Adopt-a-Forest’ program encourages citizens to clean up public land

3-bottom, Education, Environment, Great Lakes, Health, , , ,
Nature enthusiasts surpassed the goal set by the 2020 challenge by cleaning 151 forest sites, as well as removing 459 cubic yards of trash. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

By McKoy Scribner
Capital News Service

Every year, tons of trash is illegally dumped in Michigan’s public lands, but a state program has been running for three decades to mitigate the problem.

The Adopt-a-Forest program is volunteer-driven and helps people engage with the outdoors and encourages them to keep public lands clean, the state Department of Natural Resources says.

The DNR conducts outreach to find volunteers and then connects them with a site in need of a cleanup.

Rachel Coale is a communications representative for the DNR. She says the work done in the past year has been fantastic and she’s eager to see what’s to come.

“So, last year we conducted a ‘100 cleanups in 100 days’ campaign, which despite the pandemic, we blew past our goal, which was really exciting,” she said. “So, this year we haven’t run any specific campaigns, but we’re definitely seeing more and more people get out in the woods.”

Nature enthusiasts surpassed the goal set by the 2020 challenge by cleaning 151 forest sites, as well as removing 459 cubic yards of trash.

The challenge was also a part of celebrating 100 years of the National Association of State Foresters and its effort to promote thriving forests.

Individuals or groups that volunteer are recognized with a certificate. If they adopt and clean over 640 acres of land, they can request a sign in recognition of their work.

 

Coale says volunteers have found everything from paper waste to mattresses in the woods.

“It really helps to have those eyes in the woods because we can’t have a conservation officer everywhere, all the time. But you know, we have a great group of volunteers who can say what’s happening out there and let people know.”

Through the program, half of the trash taken off public lands has been successfully recycled.

McKoy Scribner reports for WKAR and Great Lakes Echo.

Mapping pathways for roaming cougars

3-bottom, Environment, Great Lakes, , ,

By Eric Freeman
Capital News Service

Cougar habitat in North America has been shrinking due to development and land fragmentation, while “human-induced mortality” has shrunken their numbers, wildlife researchers warn.

Even so, the future of these alpha predators isn’t all gloom and doom, say scientists who compiled 180 reports of confirmed cougar observations in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota between 2010 and 2020.

Sightings rose that decade, helped by improved technology such as trail cameras and camera phones, they said.

“Cougars have lost substantial portions of their historical range, yet increased sightings suggest potential for re-establishment in some regions,” researchers from the Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of Natural Resources and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry wrote in a recent article in the journal “Biological Conservation.”

The Michigan DNR says the last wild cougar known to have been legally hunted in the state was killed near Newberry in 1906.

“The Great Lakes region will likely be an important area for cougar range expansion into the Midwest and Eastern U.S.,” the study said. “Greater understanding of potential distribution and connectivity is necessary to make sound management and policy decisions.

Cougar traffic is apt to move from west to east, the study said. “An individual cougar moving randomly through the study area would be more likely to move through northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”

The goal of their project was to develop a regional map that highlights suitable habitat and connectivity, referring to a physical network of pathways linking locations where cougars may live. Their study area was 44% forested and 37% agricultural land, with wetlands, shrublands and developed land accounting for the rest.

The team mapped 362 linkages – pathways from a half-mile to 3.7 miles long – connecting 191 “core patches” of land, primarily in the northern part of the three states. About half the core patches are in legally protected areas, such as national forests, natural resource management areas, and state and local conservation areas.

As for the other half, private landowners should play an essential role in protecting habitat and connectivity, the study said.

Not many years ago, the mere presence of cougars in Michigan was questioned, with reported observations but no scientifically conclusive proof.

“There was a long history of sighting reports” but “they were not only not accepted by the DNR but met with animosity,” said Patrick Rusz, the director of wildlife programs at the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, based in Bath. People who claimed to have seen the animals or their tracks “were ridiculed and called crazy.”

Rusz, who studied sightings across the state, said, “It wasn’t like a phenomenon that popped up. It had been going on as long as Michigan had been settled. I found, to most people’s satisfaction, there were cougars out there.”

He said skeptics then shifted their arguments to contend that the sightings were of pets or transitory visitors, but “the problem (with that argument) was that these were resident animals, not wandering around aimlessly. They had core ranges because we found them again and again and again.”

And technology – in the form of trail cameras and smartphones – has provided “evidence you can’t ignore, Rusz said.

As for the new study, Rusz said he’s skeptical about the relevance of modeling and mapping of connectivity. “It looks good, but whether it has anything to do with the future of cougars or not I tend to question.”

That’s because cougar survival in the Great Lakes region doesn’t depend on pathways and core patches, he continued.

 

“There’re corridors everywhere. A cougar doesn’t need a corridor. They could care less about that. They do really well around people.

“If our cougars are limited in some way, they’re limited by genetics, not limited by habitat and such. They have a tremendous ability to live in a variety of cover types,” Rusz said. “In the West in deserts, urban areas, plains – anywhere they have something to eat.”

Brian Roell, a Marquette-based wildlife biologist for the DNR, said the Dakotas are likely the source of Michigan cougars.

He said the Michigan DNR’s cougar team hasn’t identified any females, and “we suspect we don’t have a breeding population.”

He said the team has confirmed at least two observations in the Upper Peninsula so far this year.

Wherever they are, they’re at low density, Roell said. They aren’t expected to harm or kill other wildlife species or farm animals.

“We have not confirmed any depredation from cougars,” he said, adding that there have been no claims by Upper Peninsula farmers for indemnification from the state. A claim in the Lower Peninsula was turned down because the predator turned out not to be a cougar.

Humans pose the biggest challenge to cougars, Roell said, calling it a matter of “social tolerance – will people leave them alone?”

Eric Freedman is professor of journalism and former associate dean of International Studies and Programs. During his 20-year newspaper career, he covered public affairs, environmental issues and legal affairs for newspapers in New York and Michigan, winning a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of a legislative corruption scandal.

The state’s DNR reminds people of water and pier safety as they head to the beach

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Great Lakes, Health, Recreation, Travel, ,
Of Michigan’s 100-plus state parks, 42 offers access to Great Lakes shoreline. (Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

By Ron Olson
olsonr@michigan.gov

As the summer heats up and people begin flocking to Great Lakes beaches, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources urges everyone to keep water and pier safety in mind.

Holding more than 20% of the world’s fresh water, the Great Lakes are large, powerful water systems. These lakes reign supreme for many during warmer months, but they also are prone to dangerous currents that can threaten even the most experienced swimmer. Adverse weather patterns can create dangerous rip and structural currents along piers and breakwalls, too. Crashing waves can create slippery surfaces and conditions strong enough to knock a person into the water.

“The DNR eagerly welcomes millions of visitors to Michigan state parks each summer,” said Sean Mulligan, Holland State Park manager. “Visitors should keep in mind that winds can come up quickly, changing conditions without warning, so always pay attention to the weather. The Great Lakes can become very dangerous, especially when waves get higher than 4 feet.”

Michigan has 20% of the world’s freest water. (Supplied)

Unfortunately, several emergencies and drownings have occurred along the beach and breakwall areas. Many of these incidents happened during red flag days when the wind and waves are strong with greater potential for dangerous rip currents.Of Michigan’s 100-plus state parks, 42 offer access to Great Lakes shoreline.

Ron Olson, chief of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, said the increase in accidents and drownings on the Great Lakes in recent years is especially troubling and clear evidence that greater public awareness is needed. In particular, Grand Haven, Holland, Ludington and Mears state parks are situated in locations where rip currents tend to build and recurring safety hazards are present.

“When it comes to protecting Michigan residents and visitors on the water, especially the Great Lakes, we cannot talk enough about safety, preparation and vigilant awareness,” Olson said.

New safety measures at Holland State Park

Holland State Park, situated along Lake Michigan, is one of Michigan’s most-visited sites and provides the main access to a popular pier that is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. More recently, the DNR and the local community have collaborated on additional ways to alert visitors to changing Great Lakes and pier conditions.

This past fall, Holland State Park staff collaborated with Park Township and The King Company to fund the installation of a gate on the pier adjacent to Holland State Park. The goal is to help save lives by restricting access during harsh weather and to reduce the number of people jumping off the pier, while still allowing people to fish from the pier when feasible. Generally speaking, the gate will be closed during the winter, when the red flags are flying and during night hours when the park is closed.

In addition, an electronic messaging board conveying beach conditions is located where visitors enter Holland State Park, and a new public address system will be used to update beachgoers as the beach warning flags are changed in response to weather conditions. Visitors also can view live beach conditions at CityOfHolland.com/645/MIHollandCAM via livestream video courtesy of the City of Holland and Biggby Coffee. Conditions are posted on the park’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/HollandStateParkMi.

More recently, the DNR and the Holland community have collaborated on additional ways to alert visitors to changing Great Lakes and pier conditions. (Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)

River outlets and breakwalls

Dangerous currents can occur near the outlets of rivers and breakwalls, especially during times that water levels are higher.

For example, the mouth of the Big Sable River is located in Ludington State Park, but outside the designated swim area. In the past, swimmers have been swept out into Lake Michigan. This park also has installed an electronic bulletin messaging board at the entrance to the designated beach area to help alert visitors of current conditions.

In addition, swimmers should be aware of particularly dangerous structural currents that form along shoreline structures near breakwalls, such as in Mears State Park.

“When northwest winds appear, water is pushed to the shore causing dangerous currents along the north side of the pier,” said Chris Bush, lead ranger at Mears State Park. “People are often surprised that structures located in the Great Lakes can cause such powerful, and sometimes dangerous, currents.”

Using state park designated swim areas on the Great Lakes

Many, but not all, state parks on the Great Lakes offer designated swimming areas that are identified by buoys or buoys and markers, a beach flag warning system and water depth less than 5 feet at the time of installation. Water depth will be inspected approximately every 14 days and underwater obstacles will be posted or marked. You may also find other designated swim areas in areas other than state parks.

Check the flag upon arrival and be sure to monitor it throughout the day because conditions can change rapidly.

  • Green flag = Go. Enter the water but stay aware of changing conditions.
  • Yellow flag = Caution. Watch for dangerous currents and high waves.
  • Red flag = Stop. Stay on the beach; do not enter the water and do not swim.

There are no beach guards at state parks , so please never swim alone and keep close watch of children. Stay within arm’s reach and make sure all kids wear life jackets.

If there is an emergency, immediately call 911. At Holland and Grand Haven state parks, use the nearest red zone number boards (located on the beach) to help relay your location as accurately as possible.

State park designated swim areas have lifesaving flotation device and equipment. Remember the safety equipment on the beach or pier is for emergency use only; using this equipment for anything else is against the law.

Keep these additional cautions in mind when enjoying time in and around the Great Lakes:

  • Currents near piers can be extremely hazardous. Pay attention to the buoys marking the designated swim areas; swimming outside of the marked swim zones can be dangerous and should be avoided.
  • During certain weather conditions, the force of water and waves crashing over the surface can easily wash someone off a structure; always monitor the beach flag warning system.
  • Before leaving home, learn about the types of Great Lakes currents and how to escape them.
  • Check local weather reports and lake conditions before and during your beach trip.

Nondesignated swim areas on the Great Lakes

Visitors in areas without designated swim beaches should use extreme caution because they will not have the benefit of the beach flag warning system or the visual cautions of buoys that mark water depth and other obstacles.

More smart safety water tips

When swimming or boating in any body of water – whether the Great Lakes, inland lakes or slow-moving rivers and streams – make safety your first priority. Never swim alone, always keep close watch of children and bring U.S. Coast-Guard-approved life jackets, especially for new and inexperienced swimmers.

When boating, have life jackets available for everyone on the vessel, leave a float plan with someone on shore, stay alert and carry a cell phone or marine radio. Such planning goes for those on personal watercraft like Jet Skis and paddle boards, too. Learn boating safety.

More info

Visit Michigan.gov/BeachSafety to learn about the beach flag warning system, how to escape rip currents and more.

Wyoming City Council officially receives more than $500,000 for Ideal Park improvements

3-bottom, City of Wyoming, , , , , , ,

Proposed restoration by P.M. Blough Incorporated.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

At its Monday night regular council meeting, the Wyoming City Council accepted more than a half a million dollars from the Department of Natural Resources Natural Resources Trust Fund.

 

The city first applied for the fund in March of 2016 with it taking about a year and half for the state to release the funding, said the city’s Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt at the Aug. 7 council meeting. Rynbrandt said the funds were officially released on July 14 when the Governor signed the authorization.

 

The grant, totaling $508,300, is a 63 percent match to the city’s $300,000. The total $808,300 along with an additional $68,150 for capital outlay will be used for improvements at Ideal Park, which was severely impacted by two tornados, one in 2014 and a second one in 2016. The 2014 tornado caused extensive damage which included the lost of the park’s playground, tennis and basketball courts and a majority of the trees.

 

The money will cover the first phase of reconstruction for the park, which is located at 5843 Crippen Ave SW. Included in the plan is the construction of a shelter, playground and basketball court, reforestation, traffic control improvements for vehicle and pedestrian safety, and non-motorized trail improvements including the establishment of a trail head and improved connection to the Inter-ubran trail and Kent County trail system.

 

Upgrading lights to LED

 

Also at the Aug. 7 council meeting, the City of Wyoming Council approved the expense of $253,000 to upgrade 1,081 Cobra Head street light fixtures from mercury vapor and high pressure sodium to LED.

 

The city actually has more than 4,422 existing Consumer Energy mercury-vapor and high-pressure-sodium street lights that the city is looking to upgrade to LED light fixtures. The main reason for this, according to a report from the city’s Director of Public Works William D. Dooley, is that it would reduce energy usage which is a benefit to the environment and a cost savings to the city.

 

Of the existing lights, most are the Cobra Head lights totaling about 3,391. The total cost to replace all the Cobra Head lights is about $1.4 million or an average of $410 per light. The new LED fixture will reduce the energy use by an estimated 64 percent and save Wyoming approximately $300,000 a year. According to Dooley’s report, the city would recoup the cost of the replacements in less than five years. The cost for upgrading these lights to LED reflects a large discount from Consumers Energy because the company can avoid its scheduled upgrade.

 

In April, the City Council had decided to move forward to upgrade the Cobra Head lights to LED fixtures. The replacement will be done in four phases. At the Monday night meeting, the council approved the expense for the first phase of about $253,000.

 

The first area to receive the upgrade will be the northwest section of the city, from about north of 36th Street and west of Burlingame Avenue.

 

The Wyoming City Council meets the first and third Mondays of the month at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at the Wyoming City Hall, 1155 28th St. SW. The Aug. 21 meeting will be on the lawn at the Metro Health Village.  The meetings are broadcast live on WKTV Channel 26 and rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays.

Secluded, Tent-only Campsites added to Wilderness State Park

Recreation, Travel, Upcoming Events, , , , , , , ,

By Victoria Mullen

Just think of it: Watching the sun set over Lake Michigan from a campsite, secluded from the madding crowd.

Just that one simple thought.

Idyllic.

The stunning beauty of Michigan continues to delight residents and visitors alike, and one of the most beautiful areas, Wilderness State Park is about to get even better. On June 23, a new campground opens there, offering both full hook-up camping and rustic, tent-only camping along with amazing views of Lake Michigan.

Campers spoke up and State officials listened. More than 30 percent of the park’s campers use tents and wanted more secluded sites, fewer amenities and to be away from the sounds of larger campgrounds, the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said. The design of the campground came from campers’ input both at the park and online. Most visitors will be able to see the sun set over the lake from their campsites. One of the sites is barrier-free.

The tent-only campground has 10 sites on the Lake Michigan shoreline, designed for campers to walk a short distance to sites. There is no electricity, modern restrooms or shower, but campers will have access to a common water source and vault toilet in a central location. The cost is $20 a night, with each campsite provided a designated parking spot.

Wilderness State Park is on Carp Lake at the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula. It has wilderness areas, 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, multiple campgrounds, six rustic cabins, three rustic bunkhouses and year-round recreation.

There’s a full hook-up campground as well, with 18 sites on wooded dunes on Lake Michigan’s Big Stone Bay. All campers must be self-contained because there are no restrooms or showers. All sites include water, sewer and electrical. Lakefront sites are $45 a night while others are $40.wilderness-state-park-a7c36d924f506ea1

The park starts taking reservations Thursday, Feb. 4.

To check camping availability and make a reservation, go here or call 1.800.44PARKS (800.447.2757).