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Wildlife
Viewing | Using this Guide | Getting the Most from Your Trip | Doing It Right | Map
Information
 Wildlife Viewing in
the Great Lake States
Michigan
has been blessed with a great abundance of wildlife and natural resources and
has long been known throughout the country as a destination for outdoor
activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, and boating. In
recent years, wildlife viewing has become a very popular outdoor activity,
and again Michigan
ranks as one of the premier destinations in the country for pursuing this
exciting pastime.
When French fur traders first arrived in Michigan,
towering forests, vast wetlands, and pristine rivers stretched all the way
from the shores of Lake Erie to the western Upper Peninsula.
Since that time, these resources have spawned and sustained industries that
provided jobs and the raw materials used to build America. Although human
activities have changed the complexion of the land, Michigan is still a state of natural
superlatives, such as:
·
Shorelines
on 4 of the 5 Great Lakes
·
Productive
wetlands and protected shallows on Great Lakes
bays and inlets
·
More
freshwater shoreline than any other state
·
Miles
of cold, clear streams and rivers
·
Vast
tracts of hardwood and conifer forest
·
More
than 100 waterfalls in the Upper Peninsula
alone
·
One of
the largest designated wilderness areas east of the Mississippi
River
These diverse habitats provide homes for more than 750 kinds of
fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds—enough to provide a lifetime
of viewing opportunities.
This on-line guide features some of the best places in Michigan to view
wildlife. Certainly there are many more waiting to
be explored, but these are great places to start. Some sites in this guide
are barrier-free; others are rugged and undeveloped. No matter where you are
in the state, there are wonderful wildlife viewing
opportunities only minutes away.
This Web site is not intended to be a guide to state
hunting and fishing areas, but these activities are permitted on many of the
sites included here. Hunting and fishing symbols appear on the write-up for
each site where these activities are permitted. Many people are not aware
that money from hunting and fishing licenses and tax money from the sale of
hunting and fishing equipment is used to pay for the purchase and management
of fish and wildlife habitat in Michigan and
throughout America.
In Michigan,
hunters are responsible for the purchase of nearly one million acres of
public land, including many of the sites that appear in this guide.
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