ONTONAGON, MI - Michigan's largest state park - home to towering stands of old-growth hemlock forest and rushing waterfalls - will be the testing ground for changes to backcountry camping procedures that could soon spread across the state.

The Department of Natural Resources on Monday, April 4 announced the new guidelines for Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the western Upper Peninsula.

The changes will be phased in over the next year. They include new online reservations for backcountry camping; check-in will be required at the park during office hours for backcountry campers, and cabin and yurt users; and the cabin and yurt reservation window is being shortened from one year to six months.

If these changes are successful at the park affectionately known as "The Porkies," they will be implemented at backcountry camping sites at state parks across Michigan in the future, the DNR said.

"In an effort to balance increased backcountry use with resource protection, this new approach will help ensure we retain the pristine wilderness character of the park," Porcupine Mountains Park Manager Jeff Gaertner said in a news release.

The changes will begin May 15, when in-person check-in will be required during office hours for backcountry campers and cabin and yurt users.

"Many of our park cabins and yurts now have combination locks. To protect the security of cabin, yurt and modern lodge users, we will no longer be leaving keys or combinations out after hours," Bob Wild, park interpreter at Porcupine Mountains, said in a statement.

Cabin and yurt users will need to check in, in person, at any of three check stations located on the east side of the park.

Campers will need to check in to receive backcountry camping permits.

According to the park, these are the check-in hours and locations:

May 15 through Oct. 15 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. as follows)

*Park Headquarters, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

*Visitor Center, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

*Union Bay Campground, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Oct. 16 through May 14

*Park Headquarters, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Beginning June 1, backcountry camping reservations will be available online for the first time. These will replace self-registration that used to be offered at the park.

Reservations will also be available by calling the Central Reservation Service at 1-800-44PARKS.

"This change will allow us to better understand how many backcountry campers we have at any given time and allow backcountry campers to register ahead of time, at their leisure," Wild said.

However, online registration does not equal a permit. Backcountry campers will need to visit one of the three check stations listed above when they arrive at the park to be issued a permit.

And finally, the window for making backcountry cabin and yurt reservations for the park will be shortened from one year to six months. This change is expected by fall for campers making reservations for 2017.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park sprawls across roughly 60,000 acres in the Upper Peninsula. Each year, about 300,000 people visit the park.