Michigan State Forests

Contamination in a Cheboygan County wetland has spread, and clean up is taking longer than regulators anticipated.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources just bought an 8,844 acre area of land in Pigeon River Country State Forest. The public will be able to use the land for hunting, fishing, kayaking, and other recreation.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced this week that its 10-year State Forest Management Plan will be delayed by at least a year. That's because of the widespread damage to state forest land caused by a major ice storm. The storm hit the northern Lower Peninsula in late March, damaging about 900,000 acres of state forest.

A late March ice storm hit 12 counties in northern Michigan, downing or damaging three million acres of trees. The state's largest forest, Pigeon River Country State Forest, has many closed trails, but campgrounds are open.

National Guard troops train in a state forest. The trails and roads could be opened to ORVs when there's no training going on.