MONTMORENCY, MI — Northern Michigan\u2019s elk country will see an increase in felled aspens as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources speeds up its clearcutting process.<\/p>\n
This quicker and more condensed clearing will benefit elk and deer who feed on aspens<\/a> in the 30-square-mile area, according to DNR.<\/p>\n The spring ice storm brought down nearly 1 million acres of state forest land<\/a>, particularly impacting elk country Up North.<\/p>\n \u201cAspen is a critical food source for elk,\u201d said Shelby Adams, DNR wildlife biologist for the Pigeon River Country. \u201cThis area is the heart of elk range, and we want to find ways for both the elk and forest to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearcuts originally planned over the next 10 years will be grouped into a shorter time frame to better support forest regeneration and elk habitat, according to the DNR<\/a>.<\/p>\n The clearcutting work was originally planned to start in 2028, but the ice storm moved the timeline forward because timber salvage work needs to be done in that area in the next one to two years, according to the DNR.<\/p>\n Aerial assessments from the DNR brought back stark imagery of red pine plantations in Pigeon River Country State Forest decimated down to a forest of sticks <\/a>after tree tops heavy with ice snapped off.<\/p>\n Hear Michigan\u2019s elk: <\/b>Video shows elk herd\u2019s dramatic \u2018bugling\u2019 at this Northern Michigan park<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Pigeon River is the Lower Peninsula\u2019s largest swath of contiguous undeveloped land and is home to the majority of the 1,150 wild elk that roam across Cheboygan, Otsego and Montmorency Counties.<\/p>\n The accelerated cutting schedule will take place in nine subunits, within the two state forest management units in Montmorency and Otsego counties. <\/p>\n The clearcutting work will cut the same acreage as originally planned but do so in a condensed timeframe.<\/p>\n Finding Elk: <\/b>200 cameras set up to monitor Michigan\u2019s elusive elk population<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Elk and deer browse on young aspen throughout the year, but primarily during the fall and winter when other food sources become scarce. <\/p>\n Aspen stands in elk country have been regenerating below the DNR\u2019s standards because of overeating.<\/p>\n Clearcutting gives elk more areas of fresh growth to browse, reducing pressure on any single site and improving long-term regeneration, according to the DNR.<\/p>\n Want to see elk in Michigan? Here\u2019s the best time and place<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONTMORENCY, MI — Northern Michigan\u2019s elk country will see an increase in felled aspens as the Michigan Department…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":321867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[4749,94207,160861,160862,91444,16949,133491,140420,18850,18851,159,18090,59842,67,132,68,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-321866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animal","9":"tag-autumn","10":"tag-brush","11":"tag-cervus-canadensis","12":"tag-elk","13":"tag-fall","14":"tag-fall-color","15":"tag-foliage","16":"tag-forest","17":"tag-mammal","18":"tag-science","19":"tag-trees","20":"tag-understory","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115413697364016858","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}