The ‘Big Wild’ in Michigan just got bigger

In a landmark purchase, a massive tract of intact forested land home to Michigan’s only elk herd and the Lower Peninsula last native trout streams is now permanently protected and open to the public.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has acquired roughly 8,850 acres known as the Black River Ranch, a property surrounded on three sides by the Pigeon River Country State Forest. The land purchase secures for the public one of the largest remaining unfragmented forest blocks in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, protecting wildlife habitat for elk (Cervus canadensis), black bears (Ursus americanus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), bobcats (Lynx rufus), pine martens (Martes americana), loons (Gavia immer), and bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). A combination of state and federal grant funding, private donations, and nonprofit partnerships secured between 2020 and 2023 made the purchase possible. Among those contributors was the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, whose financial support—the largest investment the organization has made toward land protection in Michigan—helps protect land that lies in the core range of Michigan’s only elk herd. The property also includes 14 miles of native brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) streams, three lakes, and extensive wetlands and upland forests, offering recreation opportunities in the region.

Read more at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.