OBJECTIVES and MANAGEMENT

The Pigeon River Country has two major distinguishing characteristics: being a large, uninterrupted block of public forest land in unspoiled, undeveloped condition, and being the heartland of Michigan's very unique elk herd. For these reasons this statement of policy and guidelines has been developed for the area. They are designed also to accommodate many other features, providing for them as fully as possible without harming these two important characteristics and to compromise between and among them to achieve a maximum combination of benefits.

It is very significant to note that a great majority of those who have offered their views in regard to this area recognized management as a necessity for achievement of what they wanted. To protect the Pigeon River Country, to keep it "as it is", and yet to please its visitors, maintain its clean water and benefit its elk and other wildlife will require considerable management effort.

It has been recognized that this area, its environment, its forests and its use by people have all been changing. Now it is proposed to arrest that movement so as to prevent undesirable development from occurring. To a great degree this can be done. At least those elements of change which are disagreeable or damaging can be controlled, if not eliminated through management.

It will be the policy of the Department of Natural Resources to manage the Pigeon River Country to protect and maintain the natural beauty of its forests and waters, and to sustain a healthy elk herd and wildlife populations.

The Department's objectives, therefore, are to manage and control activities so that those activities which are permitted are in keeping with the unique and wild character of the Pigeon River Country; and to protect the area from overuse and overdevelopment.

Within this policy and these objectives, the Department plans:

1. To improve and increase favorable habitat for elk;

2. To provide needed food, cover and seclusion for such wildlife as bears, bobcats and eagles, for such habitat is rapidly diminishing;

3. To provide recreational opportunities for people in keeping with the wild character of the area and to provide peace and quiet through control of disruptive activities;

4. To manage some species such as woodcock, grouse, deer and others for hunting and viewing opportunities;

5. To protect the water quality and to manage the streams for a natural trout fishery and the lakes for trout or warm water game fish.

6. To manage, harvest, and use the timber and mineral resources of the area for the good of man;

7. To protect the Pigeon River Country from over-use and over- development which could destroy its wild character.

In order to accomplish the stated objectives, these guidelines are developed as a framework from which detailed and specific short and long range programs of management action will be separately written in such a way as to reflect the objectives, which, once achieved, will be maintained.

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File: COMobj.htm 11/27/2001