Heavy snow, blizzard conditions and low visibility are expected to hinder travel to varying degrees across the state, according to the National Weather Service.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources urges all outdoor enthusiasts to use caution, especially when snowmobiling or venturing onto the ice.

“Unfortunately, with the unseasonable winter we’ve experienced this season, there are still marginal ice conditions throughout the state,” said Lt. Tom Wanless, DNR recreational safety, education and enforcement supervisor. “Accumulating snowfall often creates blankets of snow on top of bodies of water that are still freezing, which creates deceiving perceptions that the water is solid and safe to venture onto.”

If you plan to be on or near ice, the DNR reminds you to wear a life jacket and carry icepicks in an easy-to-reach spot, such as clipped onto your chest. You can test ice thickness and quality using a spud, needle bar or auger. If there’s ice on the lake but water around the shoreline, be extra cautious for potentially hazardous conditions.

The DNR’s Ride Right snowmobile safety campaign urges snowmobilers to ride sober, at a safe speed and on the right side of the trail or roadway. Group leaders should also “lead right” by riding at a comfortable pace that their most novice rider can safely maintain, stopping regularly to check on the group, using an experienced snowmobiler to ride last in the group and limiting the overall number of riders in the group.

The DNR encourages all individuals to complete an approved snowmobile safety course. If you are interested in becoming a snowmobile safety instructor, learn more on the DNR website.

So far this winter, one snowmobile fatality has been reported.

Conservation officers throughout the state will be conducting advanced patrols over the holiday weekend to help ensure people are enjoying outdoor activities safely.

Additional winter recreation safety tips are available on the DNR’s website.

Visit Michigan.gov/Snowmobiling to buy a trail permit or find places to snowmobile.

To tweak your trails routine:

• Try a new trail at least once a month.
• Paddle one of nine designated state water trails (totaling 630 miles) that flow through more than a dozen counties.
• Sign up for the Bob Ross-inspired Happy Little (Virtual) 5K (April 22-26) and support tree-planting and forest-protection efforts in state parks.
• Bring a buddy and introduce someone to the trails experience.

When you’re ready to blaze your own trail, get everything you need – interactive nonmotorized trail and ORV route maps, snowmobile trail maps, track chair details, etiquette guidance and closures info – at Michigan.gov/DNRTrails.

Rachel Lincoln, a DNR wildlife outreach coordinator, said many animals remain active during Michigan winters, both in urban and rural settings, and it’s common to see tracks of deer, squirrels, coyotes, birds and rabbits widespread throughout the state – though the tracks of bobcats, foxes and weasels prove more elusive.

“Small mammals such as shrews, mice and voles will tunnel beneath the snow, leaving lines of raised snow that are easy to spot,” she said. “Following tracks gives insights into animal behavior. You’re like a detective, piecing together what the animal was doing, where it was traveling to and from, whether it was alone or traveling in groups.”

Want to know more? Animal track field guides can help you learn about the tracks you’re seeing. Peterson’s Field Guide on Animal Tracks is a great resource to explore beforehand or take with you in the field. Learn more about plant and wildlife species at Michigan.gov/Wildlife.

Conifers (pine, spruce, fir and cedar, for example) that retain their leaves are easier to ID in the winter. Deciduous trees (like maple, birch and elm) that lose their leaves take more effort to determine.

“The three characteristics to look for are bark, branching and seeds, and the seeds are usually found on the ground at this time of year,” said Kasmer.

For a branching reminder, he suggested the acronym MAD HORSE, because maple, ash, dogwood and horse chestnut all have opposing branching patterns: twigs grow off a branch opposite of each other like our arms from our torso. All other trees/shrubs grow in an alternate pattern.

Some quick tree traits: White oak trees have water-resistant properties that make them great for building boats and wine barrels. Redbud trees have tiny pink flowers that bloom before the trees even grow leaves. The mighty eastern white pine, Michigan’s state tree, can grow over 100 feet tall!

Intrigued? Discover more facts about Michigan’s trees on the DNR’s native trees webpage.

If certain invasives are given the chance to outcompete native species enough to establish themselves in new ecosystems, they pose a huge risk to Michigan woods and water. Certain species can cause deforestation, reduce fish populations and alter valuable habitat.

It’s easy to help; just know what to look for and report what you see!

Visit Michigan.gov/Invasives to learn more about identifying and reporting problem species; get tips on actions hunters, anglers, boaters and others can take to reduce the spread of invasives; and explore the popular NotMiSpecies webinar series. It covers everything from rock snot (yes, a true aquatic invasive species) to protecting your own backyard or neighborhood from damaging bugs like spongy moth or spotted lanternfly.

If you want to lend a hand but aren’t sure how to make the leap, visit the DNR’s Get involved webpage. Explore the different volunteer options and see where you have a natural inclination, what feels like the right fit. If Michigan’s great outdoors has given a lot to you over the years, make 2024 the year you give back. You’ll be glad you did.

“Sometimes a lack of experience with a certain hobby or skill can be intimidating, but the Outdoor Skills Academy removes all of that,” said the DNR’s Ed Shaw, who oversees the program. “Spend a weekend with your son or daughter, partner or best friend – or go solo and make new friends – and enjoy diving into something new that might just become a lifelong passion.”

Upcoming classes include ice fishing and snowshoe building, with more opportunities added throughout the year. Watch for updates and registration details at Michigan.gov/OutdoorSkills.

Michigan’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program offers women (18 and older) opportunities to explore outdoor activities in a noncompetitive, supportive atmosphere. The program offers weekend events in February and June in the Upper Peninsula at the Bay Cliff Health Camp north of Marquette.

“BOW truly is a life-changing experience for many of the participants who often find deep and meaningful connections to the outdoors on their very first visit,” said John Pepin, administrator of the program. “There is also a camaraderie, finding of new friends and good times shared by participants and volunteer instructors alike.”

The program has dozens of class offerings ranging from self-confidence, shotgun and rifle shooting and cross-country skiing to fly fishing, paddleboarding, photography, wilderness first aid, archery, backwoods cooking, hiking and more. Sign up for upcoming activities and learn more at Michigan.gov/BOW.

“Such opportunities proved critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they continue to provide the safe, welcoming outdoor space people value,” he said.

One place to start the search is the DNR’s Michigan.gov/YourLocalOutdoors website, where you’ll find an interactive map pin-pointing the names, locations, directions and destinations for plenty of places to camp, hunt, fish, boat, bike and more. Most entries offer information such as latitude and longitude, address, contact phone number and link to a dedicated webpage with more specific details and amenities.

Get more outdoor inspiration – including winter fun such as fat-tire biking, stargazing and cross-country skiing – on the DNR’s Things to do webpage.

If you’re looking for new opportunities for adventures and recreation in the outdoors, Michigan has what you’re looking for. Add more outdoors to your life in 2024.

To highlight some of these career paths and opportunities, we’ve put together two new videos so you can hear from the employees themselves about the work they do, what it means and how they got started. Earlier this year, we shared the first batch (fisheries research biologist, park interpreter and deputy public information officer).

In the new installments:

• Harbormaster Derrick Horn talks about his work at Mackinac Island State Harbor. Horn and his crew run the day-to-day operations, help dock boats, assign slips, ensure visitors have a safe, welcoming space, and maintain this Clean Marina-certified spot that is the destination harbor of northern Michigan.
• Forest fire officers Jake Burton, Jen Hansen (pictured), Brendt Sheridan and Nick Wheeler discuss the diversity of their work – responding to wildland fires, assisting local fire departments and managing prescribed burns – and its direct influence on outdoor recreation, a thriving timber industry and healthy fish and wildlife.

Inspired? Check out the full Michigan DNR Careers YouTube playlist to see all five showcased positions. We’ll continue to add new videos as they’re completed. In the meantime, learn about DNR career pathways and job opportunities at Michigan.gov/DNRJobs.

January and February are the best time of year for an owling trip, and Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula is one of the best areas to view winter owls. The Shore to Shore Birding Trail can help guide you. Birding trails are driving routes with specific stops identified that offer bird viewing opportunities and can highlight natural and cultural features of local communities.

Learn how to identify these rare visitors, as well as our year-round resident owls including great horned, eastern screech and barred owls (pictured). These vocal flyers will start to hoot and holler at dusk and dawn in January and February to establish their nesting territories and find a mate.

• Give owls space. View owls from a distance with binoculars or a scope.
• Don’t lure owls with audio recordings. Hearing another owl’s call can be stressful.
• Leave “live baiting” to the pros. Owls can learn to associate food with people and be drawn to dangerous areas like roads or airports.
• Submit your eBird observation to scientists, but keep them hidden from the general public. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Happy owling!

MI Birds is a public outreach and education program presented by Audubon Great Lakes and the Michigan DNR that works to build and bring together wildlife enthusiasts across the state to engage with and conserve Michigan’s birds, wildlife and public lands.

Questions? Contact Erin Rowan Ford at 313-820-0809.

The park is home to 450 acres of motorized dune riding. Each summer, thousands of motorcycles, quads, four-wheelers and other off-road vehicles descend on these sugar-sand dunes, the only sand dune riding opportunity east of the Mississippi River. Come winter, the recreation options switch to shoreline horseback riding (Nov. 1-30) and then to fat-tire biking (Dec. 15-March 15).

The shoreline and dune opportunities are part of the DNR’s ongoing efforts to expand off-season outdoor recreation in the Silver Lake ORV Area.

“Fat-tire biking at Silver Lake draws cyclists of varying ages and experience levels,” said Jody Johnston, Silver Lake State Park manager. “It’s a one-of-a-kind outdoor activity that capitalizes on the area’s natural features and beauty, and we’re excited to bring it back for a second season.”

During the fat-tire biking season, cyclists on the sand dunes enjoy rolling through elevation changes of 80-100 feet, access to Lake Michigan and sunsets over the lake from the top of the dunes. There is no cost or registration.

For season information, including rules, maps, tips and other details, visit Michigan.gov/SilverLake. A Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks. A Recreation Passport self-pay station is available at the lot entrance.

For general questions about the park and season, call the park’s main office at 231-873-3083. For media inquiries, email park manager Jody Johnston at [email protected].

The meeting also will include presentations of a Lifesaving Award from the DNR Law Enforcement Division and the Shikar Safari Officer of the Year Award, along with several land use orders, land transactions and a legislative update.

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. in West Campus Rooms M119-121 of Lansing Community College, 5708 Cornerstone Drive, in Lansing.

See the draft meeting agenda at Michigan.gov/NRC. For more information, email [email protected].