Outdoors
Treasure trove of deer data on the way with mandatory online harvest reporting
Showcasing the DNR By Casey Warner Michigan Department of Natural Resources Michigan’s annual deer hunting seasons – to many, as much a fall tradition as football, apple cider and pumpkin patches – are well underway. The Liberty Hunt, for youth hunters and those with disabilities, the early antlerless firearm season and the Independence Hunt, for hunters with disabilities, have already […]
DNR: See a bear den in northern Lower Peninsula, let us know
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources asks hunters and others who spend time outdoors to keep an eye out for bear dens while in the field this fall and – if they find one – to report the location to the DNR to help with an ongoing bear management program. If you find a bear den in the northern Lower […]
Top 10 best practices for firearm deer season
Hunters can expect excellent conditions for the 2022 firearm deer season, which begins Nov. 15. To ensure a safe season, too, Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are sharing best practices and tips to avoid the most common violations and mistakes they see every year. “Most of the violations conservation officers encounter during firearm deer season are simple mistakes […]
Groups combine to refurbish ORV/snowmobile bridge
The deck of a snowmobile/ORV bridge over the Muskegon River has been replaced thanks to the teamwork of two area clubs. Members of the Houghton Lake Snow Groomers and the Rosco-Higgins Trail Cruisers got together Oct. 12 to resurface the bridge. The Houghton Lake Snow Groomers maintain the trails to the south of the bridge, connecting to Leota, Meredith, St. […]
Little Creek culvert upgraded
A tributary to Higgins Lake is flowing freely now that a partially collapsed culvert at Little Creek has been replaced. The project took place at Albemarle Boulevard in a Lyon Township neighborhood at the northwest end of Higgins Lake. The old culvert, where the road meets Little Creek, was undersized and crushed, causing road material to wash into the stream […]
Committee releases bluegills in final Houghton Lake planting
By Cheryl Holladay Houghton Lake area fishermen planted more than 2,000 young bluegills in Houghton Lake Oct. 14. The Committee to Restock Houghton Lake had previously collected funds at Houghton Lake businesses and planted fathead minnows (300 pounds), perch (3,500), crappie (3,500) and walleye (1,000). Members of the group said the planting was the last, as the rest of the […]
Fish shocking survey numbers on the low side, DNR reports
A fish shocking survey last month in Houghton Lake resulted in some low numbers of walleye. Scott Heintzelman, DNR Central Lake Michigan Unit Manager, Fisheries Division, said the walleye survey was conducted Sept. 14. Shocking took place at two locations, about one and a half miles out from the west boat launch and also out from the east boat […]