Michigan state park news - July 2023

Thanks to the kindness of thousands of campers and boaters who gave an additional $2 when making their camping or boating reservation, the DNR is rolling out fishing line recycling tubes this summer and fall (with many in southern Michigan already in place).

With the help of Michigan Cares for Tourism volunteers who are building the tubes, the DNR is working to place them at every harbor, boating access site and fishing pier throughout the state's parks and recreation system. These recycling tubes will help protect aquatic wildlife from the dangers of eating or getting tangled in fishing line and other fishing tackle. It also helps protect boat propellers.?Find other new sustainable boating efforts and?BoatUS Foundation's video on why to recycle fish line.

You and your friends are invited to ride Michigan's 4,000 miles of off-road trails and/or the state?s five scramble areas during the second Free ORV Weekend this year.

Both Michigan residents and visitors can ride DNR-designated routes and trails Aug. 19-20 without an ORV license or permit. All other ORV rules and laws still apply, and the Recreation Passport is required where applicable.

Typically, there's an entrance fee at Holly Oaks ORV Park (although no Recreation Passport requirement), but the fee will be waived for the weekend.

Thanks to $250 million in federal relief funding from?Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Building Michigan Together Plan, several American Rescue Plan Act-funded projects have crossed the finish line.?

New and upgraded electrical systems, paved roads and parking lots, accessible sites and water jug fillers are just a few examples of work completed at Interlochen, Hoffmaster, Mitchell and Hartwick Pines state parks. Projects soon to wrap construction include Straits State Park,?Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and the Saginaw Bay Visitor Center. Many more will start this fall and into 2024.

Stay up to date on the status of ARPA-funded projects at Michigan.gov/StateParksProgress, including FAQs, an interactive map identifying project locations and project status, a link to closure details and more.

Partnerships between the DNR and student programs across the state aren?t new, but they are growing.?

From tiny home construction to bridge building to dreaming big about the future of state parks, cultural and historic resources, a variety of experience-based partnership projects are underway and involve students of all ages.

Read a recent Showcasing the DNR story?to learn how collaborations with the TECH Center, Industrial Arts Institute, and MSU?s School of Planning, Design and Construction's Sustainable Park Design and Planning Project are making an impact.