Michigan’s “Big Wild” just got bigger.

The rugged, 108,000-acre expanse of Michigan’s Pigeon River Country State Forest is already one of the state’s premier destinations to connect with nature, but a recent DNR purchase has made it even better.

The land deal valued at more than $2 million was finalized in January and adds the Elk Forest at Black River, a stunning, 597-acre parcel in Montmorency County, to Michigan’s public lands.

The ecologically important area is surrounded on three sides by existing state-managed land and includes public access to Walled Lake, more than a mile of the Black River, diverse forest, an elk range and remnants of Michigan residents' longstanding relationship with the property.

A map showing the Elk Forest property. Photo courtesy of Michigan DNR.

“This spectacular place adds a gem to the crown of Michigan’s public lands,” said DNR Forest Resources Division Chief Debbie Begalle. “The land will be open for hiking, hunting, fishing, elk viewing, skiing, snowshoeing, bird watching, mushroom hunting and berry picking, to name just a few activities.”

The $2 million to purchase the property came from the

with matching funds from the DNR’s Land Exchange Facilitation Fund and a $75,000 donation from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Forest Legacy funds are used to protect environmentally important forest areas from development and fragmentation.

Read on to tour Michigan’s expanded “Big Wild.”

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An aerial view of Walled Lake, courtesy of the Michigan DNR

Walled Lake

The purchase provides public access to Walled Lake, a spring-fed, 44-acre double sinkhole lake. A smaller lake and pond are nearby.

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The land purchase includes a section of a high-quality trout stream, the Black River. Photo courtesy of Michigan DNR

The Black River

Adventurers also will enjoy the addition of more than a mile of the Black River, a top-quality trout stream, and a half-mile of Hardwood Creek.

This stretch of the Black River is supported by DNR Type 1 trout regulations where the minimum brook trout size limit is 7 inches, all tackle types are allowed, and the daily bag limit is five fish.

Trout fishing season begins the last Saturday in April and ends Sept. 30. Walled Lake fishing regulations will be identical to those of neighboring South and North Blue lakes: catch and immediate release only, and artificial lures only.

The Black River's cold waters make it tone of the premier brook trout stream east of the Mississippi. It is the only river managed exclusively for native brook trout in the entire Lake Huron basin.



The river also provides ideal habitat for the Hungerford's crawling water beetle – a federally endangered, shield-shaped insect found in only a few areas around the Great Lakes.

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The land purchase includes a mix of upland and wetland forest. Photo courtesy of Michigan DNR

Towering collection of trees

Upland from the lake and river, a forest of mixed pine, aspen and oak is a thriving wildlife haven, and near the water, wetland plants such as wild cranberry and carnivorous pitcher plants grow beneath a canopy of cedar.

Some parts of the property are prime nesting areas for the tiny Kirtland’s warbler, a songbird that recently came off the federal Endangered Species List.

“This area is full of wildlife,” said Kerry Wieber, DNR forest land administrator. “It offers opportunities for hunters to pursue game species such as elk, white-tailed deer, black bear and ruffed grouse, as well as opportunities for wildlife watchers to catch a glimpse of nongame species such as red-shouldered hawk, loons and pine marten.”

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Where poets once went

Deep in the forest are the foundations to the hunting camp of George King, an early 20th-century fishing guide. King hosted authors Ernest Hemingway and William B. Mershon at the camp, where they fished for trout and hunted wild game.



King is said to have sighted the last known wild passenger pigeon in the region (for which the Pigeon River Country is named) near the property. The pigeon went extinct in 1914 as a result of overhunting and habitat destruction.

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An elk photographed in the Pigeon River Country State Forest. Photo courtesy of Michigan DNR

Finally, the elk

According to the DNR, the land deal further conserves from development Michigan’s core elk range.

The Elk Forest at Black River will be accessible from Blue Lakes Road on its west side. Motorized vehicle use at the Elk Forest property is limited until the DNR completes a road inventory and develops an access plan, with public input.

Structures on the property will remain in private ownership through the end of May. The DNR urges everyone to respect the owner’s privacy until that time.

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MLive File Photo

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