State buys northern land with lake in Michigan's elk range

CORWITH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - The state of Michigan now owns a large, long-sought piece of northern property boasting a lake, forests and rare species that's in the range of the state's elk herd.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced it's completed the $3.8 million purchase of the Storey Lake property. The deal to buy roughly 2,000 acres in the north-central Lower Peninsula took about two decades to wrangle.

The land in Otsego and Cheboygan counties sits between other pieces of public acreage: The Pigeon River Country State Forest and a tract of state-managed forest land.

Officials say the property is open for legal hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and wildlife viewing. The public will be invited to participate in developing an access plan.

The land once was in the hands of an owner from Switzerland.

Published: Wed, Nov 13, 2019