While you’re dreaming of warm-season fun, keep in mind that as temperatures rise and the ground dries out, spring also paves the way for wildfire season. Most wildfires are started by humans, so be extra careful with how you plan to dispose of yard waste or other materials.

If you’re planning to open burn, let’s make sure all your questions are answered:

What is a burn permit and why do I need one?

The State of Michigan’s burn permit is required for burning any unwanted material, such as yard waste or paper products. It’s not a physical permit you apply for. Instead, you can check online to see if weather conditions allow for you to safely open burn.

Burning trash, plastic, Styrofoam or other hazardous materials is never permitted and can have serious effects on your health. A burn permit is required anytime snow is not covering the ground.

For the Upper Peninsula and the northern half of the Lower Peninsula, you can check online to see burn conditions for your county. For the southern Lower Peninsula, contact your local fire department or governing body for a burn permit.

Individuals can be held legally responsible for letting a fire escape, and additional city or township burn restrictions may be in effect. Always double check before lighting anything.

“Nine out of 10 wildfires in Michigan are caused by people, but following a few simple fire safety tips can reduce the risk for everyone,” said Paul Rogers, DNR fire prevention specialist. “When you’re burning, always have a water source and shovel nearby to thoroughly extinguish the embers, and never leave your fire unattended.”

What other options do I have? 

Burning your yard waste isn’t the only way to dispose of it. Here are some other ideas for getting your yard in shape:

•       Composting can retain soil nutrients for your yard, giving flowers, trees and other plants a boost.
•       Leave the leaves if you can – they are a fantastic habitat for native pollinators!
•       Chip up woody material for garden beds or pathways.

To learn more and see if conditions are safe for burning, visit Michigan.gov/BurnPermit.

For fire safety tips, visit Michigan.gov/PreventWildfires.

Questions? Contact DNR fire prevention specialist Paul Rogers at 616-260-8406.

Join the DNR’s Michigan History Center Thursday, April 13 at 2 p.m. for “An Ordinary Man,” in-depth conversation about President Ford, his family and his life between two men who knew him: author and nationally recognized historian Richard Norton Smith and Hank Meijer, vice-chairman and a trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.

After the discussion, there will be time for audience questions and a book signing of Smith’s latest presidential biography “An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford.”

The event is free of charge at the Michigan Library and Historical Center, 702 W. Kalamazoo St., Lansing.

Try a new outdoor activity, or get better at one, with the DNR Outdoor Skills Academy. Learn strategies and techniques for chasing Michigan’s “chrome torpedoes” at the April 15-16 steelhead fishing clinic or the A to Z of walleye fishing at the April 16 walleye clinic, both in Cadillac. And sign up now for the Saginaw Bay walleye clinic, coming up May 2-3 in Bay City. See a full schedule of classes at Michigan.gov/OutdoorSkills.

The Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit offers a variety of fun for all ages this month. The April calendar features a variety of archery programs throughout the month, education programs for kids and seniors, opportunities to learn more about our avian friends with Birding Belle Isle April 16 and the Detroit Pheasant Walk April 30, and a boater safety class April 22. Get up close to cows, pigs, chickens and more during Down on the Farm in Downtown Detroit April 23, and learn how to make a wine bottle hummingbird feeder April 28. Find more info about these and other programs on the Outdoor Adventure Center events calendar.

Also on the April agenda are Maple Syrup Day at Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling April 8, Easter egg hunts, a dark sky event at Lake Hudson Recreation Area in Lenawee County April 22 and more. For a full list of DNR events, see Michigan.gov/DNRCalendar.

State park volunteer stewardship workdays

Several state parks in southern Michigan will host stewardship workdays, where volunteers are needed to help remove invasive plants that threaten high-quality ecosystems.

Workdays will take place at:

• Warren Dunes State Park (Berrien County), 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 8 and April 29.
• Bald Mountain Recreation Area (Oakland County), 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 15.
• Yankee Springs Recreation Area (Barry County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, April 16 and April 30.
• Fort Custer Recreation Area (Kalamazoo County), 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 22.
• Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw County), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, April 23.
• Island Lake Recreation Area (Livingston County), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 29.
• Brighton Recreation Area (Livingston County), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, April 30

More details about each workday and how to register can be found on the DNR volunteer events calendar.

Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery volunteer open house

Want to turn your passion into action? Learn about volunteering at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery Visitor Center in Mattawan during an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 19. Find out how you can make a difference by getting involved in opportunities with kids’ fishing, stewardship projects and more, and join a special, behind-the-scenes hatchery tour at 6 p.m. Light refreshments will be available.

On the Ground habitat improvement projects

Join in fish and wildlife habitat improvement efforts with On the Ground, Michigan United Conservation Clubs’ volunteer program in partnership with the DNR. Projects coming up in April include:

• Clinton River watershed cleanup, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 15 in Pontiac (Oakland County). Volunteers will help the Clinton River Watershed Council and Metro-West Steelheaders clean up Dawsons Millpond at Beaudette Park and Upper Silver Lake at Hawthorne Park.
• Brush pile building in Kalkaska County, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22. Part of the Mark Kenyon’s national Working for Wildlife Tour. Volunteers will be working to maintain wildlife openings and build brush piles on public hunting land in the Traverse City Forest Management Unit.
• Brush pile building and edge-habitat enhancement, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 29 in St. Clair County. Work with the Robert J. Lytle Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society to remove invasive woody vegetation and create brush piles for wildlife habitat at Port Huron State Game Area.

Find more details and register for these events at MUCC.org/on-the-ground.

For more opportunities to volunteer, contribute and provide input, visit Michigan.gov/DNRVolunteers.

We’ve got you covered with a slate of DNR Outdoor Skills Academy classes offering in-depth, expert, hands-on instruction to help you do just that. Spring classes include:

• Maple Syrup Clinic, April 1 in Cadillac. Covers the tools needed to make maple syrup, how to process the sap and make maple sugar, canning and more. Cost is $30.
• Steelhead Fishing Clinic, April 15-16 in Cadillac. Learn various strategies and techniques for chasing Michigan’s “chrome torpedoes,” including time fishing on the Manistee River. Cost is $30.
• Walleye Fishing Clinic, April 16 in Cadillac. Pro walleye tournament angler Dan Miller and others will cover the A to Z of walleye fishing and tips for chasing trophy fish. Cost is $45.

• Saginaw Bay Walleye Clinic, May 2-3 in Bay City. Includes a tips and techniques session led by Walleye Trail World Champion Captain Mark Martin (shown here) and Captain Brandon Stanton of Team Gunsmoke Sportfishing and Guide Service and time with Martin’s pro-staff on charter boats fishing Saginaw Bay and River. Cost is $375.
• Fly Fishing Clinic, May 27-28 in Cadillac. This class for beginners will cover the basics of fly fishing, including various fly casts and fly selection based on target species. Cost is $40.

Coming up this summer and fall are two more fly-fishing sessions and classes on wilderness survival, bear hunting, trapping and various aspects of deer hunting. Find a full class schedule at Michigan.gov/OutdoorSkills.

Questions? Contact Ed Shaw at 231-779-1321.

Forest road maps are updated each year based on considerations including changing road conditions, data cleanup and input received from residents. Maps show which state forest roads are open or closed to off-road and conventional vehicle use. It’s important to stay on these roads to prevent erosion and damage to wildlife habitat.

After the annual road inventory and review, the following will be open to ORVs:

• In the Upper Peninsula, more than 5,503 miles – about 98% of the total mileage.
• In the northern Lower Peninsula, about 6,109 miles – about 84% of the total mileage.
• In the southern Lower Peninsula, just over 10 miles – about 3% of the total mileage.

Review ORV rules, regulations, closures and more at Michigan.gov/ORVInfo. Find updated maps and other information at Michigan.gov/ForestRoads.

Questions? Email DNR-RoadInventoryProject@Michigan.gov. Send media inquiries to Jason Caron at 906-235-4361 or Matt Foster at 989-619-5921.

If you’re into Michigan fishing, sometimes you just want to talk with someone in the know! Good news: you still have the chance to join in one of several upcoming “Conversations & Coffee” virtual meetings:

• March 29, 6:30-8 p.m., Lake Superior Management Unit.
• April 4, 6-7 p.m., Lake Huron Management Unit.
• April 4, 7-8 p.m., Lake Erie Management Unit.
• April 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit.

The meetings are a great opportunity to talk with DNR fisheries staff about local and statewide fisheries management activities, meet with managers and biologists, ask specific questions, and maybe even get some insider fishing tips.

Get individual meeting registration and passcode details. Questions? Contact Sierra Williams at [email protected].

Electrofishing boat crews will collect walleye starting as early as the week of March 27 and concluding by April 14. The date these collections begin will depend on water temperatures, the presence of ripe fish and other factors. Most work likely will be completed from the last week of March through the first week of April. Five days of electrofishing are planned, with four of those being egg-take days.

“This adult population consists of mostly stocked fish,” said Ed Pearce, DNR fisheries technician supervisor who coordinates the egg take. “The Muskegon River has the largest run of walleye in the Lake Michigan watershed south of Green Bay.”

Electrofish sampling usually begins at Croton Dam each day at about 8:30 a.m. and proceeds downstream to the Pine Street access site. If more eggs are needed, additional collections may occur downstream to the Thornapple Street access site.

Anglers who wish to avoid the walleye collection activities should fish downstream of the Pine Street access site. The DNR asks everyone to use caution when fishing near the electrofishing boats, and anyone wading will be asked to exit the water when a boat approaches and during electrofishing work.

The DNR plans to collect approximately 32 million walleye eggs from the Muskegon River this year, which will result in fry (fish that have just hatched) for transfer to rearing ponds and direct fry plants throughout the Lower Peninsula. Walleye fry transferred to ponds will be raised to fingerling size (approximately 1.5 to 2.5 inches) and stocked in late spring or early summer in lakes and rivers throughout the Lower Peninsula. Lake Michigan and many inland lake walleye populations in the Lower Peninsula depend on the fingerlings produced from Muskegon River eggs.

The size of the walleye spawning run in the Muskegon River is about 40,000 to 50,000 fish each year. DNR crews will strip milt (sperm) and eggs from approximately 545 adult fish, which will be returned to the river – except for 60, which will be sent to Michigan State University for fish health testing.

Learn more about how the DNR manages Michigan’s fisheries at Michigan.gov/Fishing.