Mackinaw State Forest
Encyclopedia
The Mackinaw State Forest is a 717500 acres (2,903.6 km²) forested area owned by the U.S. state of Michigan
and operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
. It is located in the northern area
of the Lower Peninsula
within the eight counties of Alpena
, Antrim
, Charlevoix
, Cheboygan
, Emmet
, Montmorency
, Otsego
, and Presque Isle
. The forest is served by I-75
, U.S. 23, and U.S. 131
.
and white pine
during the golden age of Michigan old-growth lumbering, which ended about 1910. Much of the cut-over land was seen as worthless and was allowed to revert to the state of Michigan in lieu of unpaid property tax
es.
Second-growth trees found within the Mackinaw State Forest include the alder
, aspen
, paper birch
, yellow birch
, hophornbeam
, sugar maple
, balsam poplar
, willow
, balsam fir
, hemlock
, larch
, jack pine
, black spruce
, white spruce
, and northern whitecedar
.
The forest is managed today for second-growth logging, recreation, and tourism purposes. Starting in 1918, the state stocked part of the forest with a herd of free-range elk
) (Cervus canadensis). Today numbering about 850, the elk live in and around the Black River
area where Cheboygan, Montmorency and Otsego counties come together.
The Mackinaw State Forest is home to a rich diversity of animal species, including the Northern flying squirrel
(Glaucomys sabrinus), woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), American black bear
(Ursus americanus), white-tailed deer
(Odocoileus virginianus), wild turkey
(Meleagris gallopavo), ruffed grouse
(Bonasa umbellus), American marten
(Martes americana), osprey
(Pandion haliaetus), bald eagle
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and pileated woodpecker
(Dryocopus pileatus).
The Mackinaw State Forest is home to Michigan's two most critically endangered species: the Kirtland's warbler
(Dendroica kirtlandii) and Hungerford's crawling water beetle
(Brychius hungerfordi). Indeed, of the five known locations in which Hungerford's crawling water beetles have been found, two are within the Mackinaw State Forest, one along the East Branch of the Black River
and the other in Van Hetton Creek. The Van Hetton Creek identifications are significant as they represented a new location beyond those originally identified when the Hungerford's crawling water beetle was categorized as endangered in 1994. This suggests that the rare beetle may occur in other sites as yet undiscovered elsewhere in Mackinaw State Forest.
Fifty miles (80 km) of the North Country Trail
run within the Mackinaw State Forest.
near Elmira, Michigan in Antrim County within the Mackinaw State Forest; the overlook enjoys a panoramic view over the headwaters of the Jordan River
, and the trailhead serves an 18000 acres (72.8 km²) parcel of state forestland that surrounds the same river headwaters. The overlook is located at 45.04578 N., -84.93850 W., and is accessible by all-weather gravel road from U.S. 131.
The hill and overlook are named in memory of Stanley Graczyk, who perished here in a "Big wheel
" accident on May 20, 1910. The relatively steep slopes of the upper Jordan River made this a dangerous area to cut down trees or transport logs. Graczyk planned to marry his fiancee on the evening of the day of the fatal accident, and local legend asserts that the bridegroom's ghost haunts the overlook, especially at sunset.
A large proportion of the trees in the upper Jordan River valley are sugar maples, and the overlook is a noted fall color viewing spot.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission...
. It is located in the northern area
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan , is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan...
of the Lower Peninsula
Lower Peninsula of Michigan
The Lower Peninsula of Michigan is the southern of the two major landmasses of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people...
within the eight counties of Alpena
Alpena County, Michigan
Alpena County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,598. The county seat is Alpena. It is considered to be part of Northern Michigan.It was founded originally in 1840 as Anomickee County...
, Antrim
Antrim County, Michigan
-History:Antrim County was formed in 1863. In 1950 its population was 10,721. The county seat was originally located in Elk Rapids, but was moved to Bellaire in 1904 after 25 years of litigation.-Demographics:...
, Charlevoix
Charlevoix County, Michigan
-Airports:*Beaver Island is served by two airlines:**Welke Airport**Beaver Island Airport-Ferry service:*Beaver Island Boat Company maintains a regular auto ferry from Charlevoix:*The Ironton Ferry at Ironton, Michigan crosses the south arm of Lake Charlevoix...
, Cheboygan
Cheboygan County, Michigan
-Commercial Airline:There are no commercial airline airports in Cheboygan County but the nearest ones are Alpena County Regional Airport, Chippewa County International Airport , and Cherry Capital Airport...
, Emmet
Emmet County, Michigan
Emmet County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 31,437. The county seat is Petoskey.The county was formed April 1, 1840, from Mackinac County. It was first named Tonedagana County and renamed Emmet County on March 8, 1843...
, Montmorency
Montmorency County, Michigan
-Michigan State trunklines:* M-32* M-33-Michigan State trunkline business loops:* Business M-32 is short, disconnected route in the village of Hillman.-Montmorency County intercounty highways:* F-01* F-21-Demographics:...
, Otsego
Otsego County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,301 people, 8,995 households, and 6,539 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 13,375 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
, and Presque Isle
Presque Isle County, Michigan
Presque Isle County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 14,411. The county seat is Rogers City....
. The forest is served by I-75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
, U.S. 23, and U.S. 131
U.S. Route 131
US Highway 131 is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 0.67 miles of its 266.82 miles are within the state of Michigan. The highway starts in rural Indiana south of the state line as a state road connection to the Indiana Toll Road...
.
Description
Most of the Mackinaw State Forest was logged for red pineRed Pine
Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...
and white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
during the golden age of Michigan old-growth lumbering, which ended about 1910. Much of the cut-over land was seen as worthless and was allowed to revert to the state of Michigan in lieu of unpaid property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es.
Second-growth trees found within the Mackinaw State Forest include the alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
, aspen
Populus tremuloides
Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, and Quakies,. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden...
, paper birch
Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera is a species of birch native to northern North America.-Description:...
, yellow birch
Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis , is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Ontario, and the southeast corner of Manitoba in Canada, west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.It is a...
, hophornbeam
Ostrya
Ostrya is a genus of eight to ten small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Its common name is Hophornbeam in American English and Hop-hornbeam in British English. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants.The genus is native in southern...
, sugar maple
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
, balsam poplar
Balsam poplar
The balsam poplars — also known as Populus sect. Tacamahaca — are a group of about 10 species of poplars, indigenous to North America and eastern Asia, distinguished by the balsam scent of their buds, the whitish undersides of their leaves, and the leaf petiole being round in cross-section...
, willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
, balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
, hemlock
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...
, larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
, jack pine
Jack Pine
Jack pine is a North American pine with its native range in Canada east of the Rocky Mountains from Northwest Territories to Nova Scotia, and the northeast of the United States from Minnesota to Maine, with the southernmost part of the range just into northwest Indiana...
, black spruce
Black Spruce
Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...
, white spruce
White Spruce
Picea glauca is a species of spruce native to boreal forests in the north of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; there is also an isolated population in the...
, and northern whitecedar
Thuja occidentalis
Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...
.
The forest is managed today for second-growth logging, recreation, and tourism purposes. Starting in 1918, the state stocked part of the forest with a herd of free-range elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
) (Cervus canadensis). Today numbering about 850, the elk live in and around the Black River
Black River (Cheboygan County)
Black River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan, flowing mostly northward through four Northern Michigan counties: Otsego, Montmorency, Presque Isle, and Cheboygan. The Black River flows into the Cheboygan River at , just south of the city of Cheboygan...
area where Cheboygan, Montmorency and Otsego counties come together.
The Mackinaw State Forest is home to a rich diversity of animal species, including the Northern flying squirrel
Northern Flying Squirrel
The Northern flying squirrel is one of two species of the genus Glaucomys, the only flying squirrels found in North America . Unlike most members of their family, flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal...
(Glaucomys sabrinus), woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), American black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
(Ursus americanus), white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
(Odocoileus virginianus), wild turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
(Meleagris gallopavo), ruffed grouse
Ruffed Grouse
The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...
(Bonasa umbellus), American marten
American Marten
The American marten is a North American member of the family Mustelidae, sometimes referred to as the pine marten. The name "pine marten" is derived from the common but distinct Eurasian species of Martes...
(Martes americana), osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
(Pandion haliaetus), bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
(Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and pileated woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker, almost crow-sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is also the largest woodpecker in America.Adults are long, and weigh...
(Dryocopus pileatus).
The Mackinaw State Forest is home to Michigan's two most critically endangered species: the Kirtland's warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family , named after Jared P. Kirtland, an Ohio doctor and amateur naturalist. Nearly extinct just 50 years ago, it is well on its way to recovery. It requires large areas of dense young jack pine for its breeding habitat...
(Dendroica kirtlandii) and Hungerford's crawling water beetle
Hungerford's crawling water beetle
Hungerford's crawling water beetle is a critically endangered member of the Haliplidae family of water beetles. The US Fish and Wildlife Service Draft Recovery Plan for the species published August 2004 estimates roughly 1000 individuals are present in the wild...
(Brychius hungerfordi). Indeed, of the five known locations in which Hungerford's crawling water beetles have been found, two are within the Mackinaw State Forest, one along the East Branch of the Black River
Black River (Michigan)
Black River may refer to any of seven streams in the U.S. state of Michigan:* Black River , flows into Lake Huron at the community of Black River, Michigan...
and the other in Van Hetton Creek. The Van Hetton Creek identifications are significant as they represented a new location beyond those originally identified when the Hungerford's crawling water beetle was categorized as endangered in 1994. This suggests that the rare beetle may occur in other sites as yet undiscovered elsewhere in Mackinaw State Forest.
Fifty miles (80 km) of the North Country Trail
North Country Trail
The North Country National Scenic Trail , which stretches approximately from Crown Point in eastern New York to Lake Sakakawea in central North Dakota in the United States, is the longest of the eleven National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress...
run within the Mackinaw State Forest.
Deadman's Hill Scenic Overlook
Deadman's Hill is a scenic overlook and trailheadTrailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
near Elmira, Michigan in Antrim County within the Mackinaw State Forest; the overlook enjoys a panoramic view over the headwaters of the Jordan River
Jordan River (Michigan)
The Jordan River is a stream in the northwestern part of the lower peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the largest tributary of Lake Charlevoix. The Jordan's headwaters rise from springs in the upper Jordan River Valley northwest of Mancelona in Antrim County...
, and the trailhead serves an 18000 acres (72.8 km²) parcel of state forestland that surrounds the same river headwaters. The overlook is located at 45.04578 N., -84.93850 W., and is accessible by all-weather gravel road from U.S. 131.
The hill and overlook are named in memory of Stanley Graczyk, who perished here in a "Big wheel
Michigan logging wheels
Michigan logging wheels, also known as big wheels, high wheels, logging wheels, logger wheels, lumbering wheels, bummer carts, katydids or nibs, are a type of skidder. It extended the season in which the logging industry could extract timber from the North Woods of Michigan, by removing the need...
" accident on May 20, 1910. The relatively steep slopes of the upper Jordan River made this a dangerous area to cut down trees or transport logs. Graczyk planned to marry his fiancee on the evening of the day of the fatal accident, and local legend asserts that the bridegroom's ghost haunts the overlook, especially at sunset.
A large proportion of the trees in the upper Jordan River valley are sugar maples, and the overlook is a noted fall color viewing spot.