Looking for a new hunting spot? Or a place to go snowshoeing?

A once private property in northeastern Michigan has recently opened up.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources closed a deal this week to acquire 2,103 acres of the Storey Lake property in Otsego and Cheboygan counties, said the agency in a news release Thursday. The transaction comes after nearly two decades of negotiating to purchase the land from an absentee owner in Switzerland.

The DNR completed the $3.8-million purchase with a $912,500 grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, in addition to money from the state's Land Exchange Facilitation and Management Fund.

The property includes the entire 8-acre Storey Lake and about a mile of Stewart Creek, which is nestled between two state forests: the 106,000-acre Pigeon River Country State Forest and a large tract of state-managed forest land in the DNR's Gaylord Forest Management Unit. The area is also in the core range of Michigan's elk herd population.

“There’s the potential for designating an elk viewing area on the Storey Lake property,” said Kerry Wieber, a forest land administrator for the DNR. “This property also offers abundant opportunities to view other wildlife and birds.”

Rare species that call the area of land home include the bald eagle, red-shouldered hawk, northern goshawk and the Massasauga rattlesnake, which was recently listed as threatened due to a loss of habitat. Feeding into the Sturgeon River is Stewart Creek, which is a designated brook trout stream.

The land is open for all legal hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife viewing, bird-watching, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and other outdoor pursuits. Non-motorized use is welcome, while motorized use is limited until the DNR completes an inventory of the existing roads on the property and develops an access plan. The agency will allow the public an opportunity to provide input for the plan.

The Storey Lake property is accessible from Fontinalis and Alexander roads. The North Central State Trail runs along its west-northwest boundary.

"This is going to offer the public many different recreational opportunities and is a valuable addition to the state forest system,” said Deb Begalle, chief of the DNR’s Forest Resources Division.

More:DNR: Trail cameras capture 2 more cougars in Michigan's Upper Peninsula