This year, we planted 5.6 million trees in state forests, plus another 820,000 in national forests through the Good Neighbor Authority partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.

Donors from the Arbor Day Foundation, American Forests, Finkl & Sons and One Tree Planted contributed to the effort, providing more than $1.4 million to add more trees to Michigan’s landscape. Funds helped purchase seedlings and planting equipment such as tree tubes to protect young trees from hungry herbivores like deer.

Tree species planted include jack pine, red pine, northern red oak and white pine.

These new trees will produce an array of benefits. Renewable forest products, outdoor places to hunt, hike and explore, and habitat for wildlife including the rare Kirtland’s warbler and game species such as grouse and elk are all provided by Michigan’s sustainably managed forests.

Tree planting isn’t the only way the DNR renews forests. While seedlings are planted to regrow some areas following timber harvest or insect damage, natural regeneration also is encouraged. Heavy machinery is used to rough up the soil and allow seeds from nearby trees to take root. Soon, what was once a bare field is full of young saplings stretching toward the sun.

Questions about tree planting on state-managed lands? Visit Michigan.gov/MiTrees to view our statewide planting map and add your own new trees, or contact DNR silviculture expert Jason Hartman.

Get ready! State-designated trails are open Dec. 1 through March 31, and grooming occurs when there is enough snow on the ground. Learn more and purchase your trail permit today.

A nationally recognized, award-winning, six-week class for anyone with a passion or curiosity for inland lakes, including lakefront property owners, local government officials, lake managers and educators, MSU Extension’s Introduction to Lakes Online course is full of information and inspiration. Led by Extension educators and state agency personnel, it covers lake ecology, watersheds, shorelines, water law, aquatic plant management and community involvement.

Registration, course information

The course runs Jan. 30 through March 20. Register by Jan. 12 for the early-bird discounted rate of $95 per person; after that, the rate is $115. Registration closes Jan. 28. Course details and scholarship and other information are available on the Introduction to Lakes Online course webpage.

More than 1,850 people across the country have taken the annual course since it was first offered online in 2015. Participants regularly praise the content and level of interaction they enjoy with instructors and other students.

Online reporting provides the most efficient and effective data for deer management and conservation, and it’s pretty easy, too. More than 208,000 hunters submitted online harvest reports in 2022, with nearly 83% of those hunters able to complete their report in under five minutes.

Earlier this month, we shared a news release outlining steps for smooth, simplified reporting, including three key points: 1) Download the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app, 2) Have your hunting license/kill tag number ready, and 3) Wait for the confirmation number to pop up and then record it for your records. Read the full story for detailed reporting and assistance information.

Questions? Contact Dustin Isenhoff at 517-275-1468 or the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453.

Did you know that turkeys not only gobble, they also cluck and purr? In addition to flying, wild turkeys can even swim when needed! Thanks to collaborative conservation, these incredible birds are once again thriving across Michigan’s forests and open woodland habitats.

In the 1950s, the Michigan DNR began an effort with partners to reintroduce wild turkeys to the state. Fifty wild turkeys were purchased from Pennsylvania and released into the open woodlands of Allegan County, helping to strengthen and diversify the population. Thirty years later, wild turkeys from Missouri and Iowa were released across the state. There are now 200,000 wild turkeys gobbling across Michigan thanks to a half-century of partnership.

NWTF is a MI Birds partner and has co-hosted immersive birding field trips at oak-savannah restoration sites, engaging the birding community in wild turkey conservation. Some songbird favorites like eastern towhees and blue-winged warblers rely on the same habitat to thrive.

Read the full MI Birds story to learn how you can help support Michigan’s wild turkey populations.

MI Birds is a public outreach and engagement 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 the DNR Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453.

Lt. Tom Wanless, who heads the DNR’s recreational safety, education and enforcement section, said that although some tips seem like common sense, it’s critical for anyone hunting with firearms to consider safety basics.

“Success is not always about filling your tag, it’s about safely enjoying the experience and sharing it with friends and family after the hunt,” Wanless said.

All hunters should:

• Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
• Be aware of your surroundings – know your target and what is beyond it.
• Unload firearms when crossing obstacles and/or getting in or out of an elevated stand.
• Obey “no trespassing” signs; they are there for a reason.
• Obtain landowner permission to retrieve game that has wandered onto private property.
• Wear “hunter orange” to increase your visibility to other hunters. Hunter orange garments (such as caps, hats, vests or jackets), including camouflage, must be at least 50% hunter orange and be visible from all directions.

During hunting seasons, the DNR strongly encourages nonhunters to wear bright colors, especially hunter orange, and be aware of their surroundings near woods or fields where hunting may occur.

Get more hunting and tree stand safety tips at Michigan.gov/HuntingSafety, and season and regulation details in the 2023 DNR Hunting Regulations Summary.

Questions about safety? Email [email protected].

Year-round, hundreds of bird species draw us outdoors as they flit in the treetops, hop through shrubs or run along the shorelines. With winter on its way, birders are excitedly awaiting the arrival of northern finches and owls.

Whether we encounter rare vagrants, irruptive northern breeders – those birds that hit the scene suddenly and in large numbers – or common backyard birds, it’s important to use best birding practices to protect Michigan’s birds and visitors. The following tips and resources from Mi Birds can help guide your next outing.

Keep a respectful distance. Getting too close to birds, and their nests, can cause them to flush (or fly away), interfering with their natural behavior and potentially preventing them from caring for their young or eating. If your approach causes a bird to flush, you’ve gotten too close.

Share the shore. Great Lakes beach-nesting birds, like the Great Lakes piping plover, require special care. By leashing pets and giving birds plenty of space (more than 100 feet, or about 16 beach towels), we can help ensure their survival.

Leave the drones to the pros. Although drones can be useful for researchers and biologists documenting bird populations (such as at island nesting colonies), drones in general can be very disruptive to birds, especially osprey. They also are illegal in national parks, and their use is limited in state parks. (This DNR land use order provides more detail about unmanned aircraft, such as drones.)

Here are additional resources to help protect birds and habitat:

• The Birding Code of Ethics.
• Audubon’s Guide to Ethical Bird Photography and Videography.
• Best Practices for Stress-Free Snowy Owl Viewing.

For more birding and wildlife photography best practices, explore Audubon’s library of ethics articles. Enjoy your next birding adventure!

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.

Whether you’re a veteran hunter of several species, a devoted trapper or someone just getting familiar with the ins and outs of these outdoor traditions, Michigan’s got something for everyone, and the DNR has all of the resources to keep you informed, safe and confident when in the field. In case you missed it, we recently put out a hunting and trapping roundup, complete with season dates and links to more information about places to hunt and trap.

If you have questions about late fall and early winter hunting and trapping opportunities, email the DNR Wildlife Division at [email protected].

“Finding winter den locations is an important component to managing black bear populations, and we need hunter, trapper and landowner assistance to add new den sites to the program in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula,” said Mark Boersen, wildlife biologist at the DNR Roscommon Customer Service Center. “Currently, we are monitoring six bears from the ground and aircraft using radio tracking equipment.”

Depending on their location in the state, bears typically enter dens in November and December. They tend to select dens in locations that provide shelter from the elements, which can include areas with dense vegetation, rock crevices, fallen trees or excavated holes. Bear dens may look like brush piles covered in snow or excavated holes in the ground, both having an icy opening to vent fresh air.

You spotted a den! What’s next?

If you’re in the vicinity of a potential den site, stay quiet and listen for any sounds coming from within. You may be able to hear cubs nursing or crying.

If you believe you have found a bear den, keep a safe distance away and avoid disturbing the den or the bears inside. Record the location, using GPS coordinates if possible, and report the information to one of the following DNR staffers:

• Upper Peninsula: Cody Norton at 906-202-3023 or [email protected].
• Northern Lower Peninsula: Mark Boersen at 989-275-5151 or [email protected].

After receiving a report of a denned bear, DNR biologists will determine if the animal is a good candidate for joining the ongoing project. A bear selected for the program will be sedated and fitted with a collar and ear tags. Biologists will collect information from the bear including the sex, weight, body measurements and reproductive history, and will remove a small, nonfunctional tooth to acquire a DNA sample and determine the bear’s age. See a short video of this bear examination process.

Upon completion of the short procedure, biologists will carefully return the bear to its den, where it will remain throughout the winter months.

The DNR urges anyone who finds a den leave it alone. It is illegal to disturb a bear den or disturb, harm or molest a bear in its den. Those who think they have found a den should report it and allow DNR biologists to further investigate.

Learn more about bear management in Michigan at Michigan.gov/Bear.