Pickford Grassland Area: Munuscong State Forest Campground Area FEATURED SITE |
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Directions
Head east on 22 Mile Road. The road ends at a 4 way stop. Turn left (north) onto Riverside Drive for 1 mile. You will see signs for the campground just before you reach 21 mile road. Turn right (east) onto 21 mile road. The first mile of this campground road runs due east. This is a great place to listen for woodland warblers, woodpeckers and vireos. In 1 mile you will reach a crossroads with Kraus Road. Head left (north) to reach the boat launch and campground area. From there head east along the river camping sites to reach the parking area and canoe/kayak launch and north entrance to the river trail. This trail heads out into the wetland area on top of the dike built back in the 1960s. At the crossroads on 21 mile road, you can also head strait. This will take you through hardwoods and eventually to a parking and viewing area where you can overlook the backend of the Munuscong Bay wetlands. At the cross roads you can also park your car along the roadside and go right (south) and walk a two track road that leads through young aspen habitat, wetlands, and eventually to the south entrance to the south trail. An improvement plan by the DNR has proposed opening this to vehicle traffic all the way to the south trail entrance. |
Magnolia Warbler
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Barred Owl
Photo by: Paul Rossi 
Munuscong Bay Wildlife Management Area
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Birding Information
The Munuscong State Forest Campground area overlooks one of the largest remaining Great Lakes coastal wetlands. This area allows visitors to travel through spruce and aspen forests, inland wetlands, and incredible vast emergent marsh habitat. The entrance along 21 mile road (about 1 mile) offers views of dense boreal like forest that houses Barred Owls, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers as well as the occasional Mourning Warbler. The road reaches a cross roads with Kraus road where one can drive left (north) , straight (east) or walk right (south). Heading north will take you to the boat launch and campground entrance. From here the road goes east out to the canoe/kayak launch and parking area. The road leading up to the parking area runs along the river and is a good place to get out and bird for numerous Mourning Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Least Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Veery and Magnolia Warbler. At the parking area you can walk out along the river trail which goes along the man made dike. This is a great area to look for Sedge Wren, and further out along the trail, Marsh Wren. Alder Flycatcher, American Bittern and even Least Bittern have also been noted from the Wetland here. Sora, Virginia, and Yellow Rail are all documented nesters in these wetlands, and while viewing them is rare, hearing them is common during the early morning hours. From the crossroads of Kraus and 21 Mile, you can head straight to reach a parking and viewing area that looks over the backend of the wetland complex. Black-billed Cuckoo can be seen and heard from this location and raptors, including Red-Shouldered Hawk and Osprey are often seen flying over the bay. With a good scope or binoculars one may catch glimpses of Black Terns flying out among the bay as well as Gadwall and Blue-Winged Teal. From the crossroads you can also walk south along Kraus road (currently there is a gate blocking vehicle traffic, although improvement projects are working to open access to vehicle traffic within a few years). This portion of the wildlife management area travels through young aspen forests. This means that it is prime nesting habitat for Golden-Winged Warblers as well as Ruffed Grouse and Chestnut-sided Warbler. Walking along this road you will eventually reach the open emergent marsh where you can walk along the south trail and view species similar to those along the river trail. |
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Other Exciting Features The Munuscong Bay Wildlife Management area encompasses over 14 thousand acres of pristine state owned wildlife habitat and has long been recognized for its wildlife value. For thousands of years indigenous peoples used this area for hunting and fishing and in 1902 European settlers established a sports club near the bay particularly for duck hunting. Around 1920 the heirs of this sports club donated the land to the state of Michigan who has managed it since. In the 1960s Great Lakes water levels severely dropped and state managers sought to “restore” habitat by creating over 4 miles of dikes, water pumps and by digging out areas to create waterfowl ponds. Unfortunately these dikes separated the wetlands from the natural flux of Great Lake levels and cut off much of the wetlands from the natural open water system it once was. Since the 1980s the DNR has begun to improve the area by reopening the wetlands to the Great Lakes and managing the area to replicate a more natural coastal wetland while at the same time addressing user concerns of accessibility and safety. In addition the DNR along with the Chippewa/Mackinaw/Luce Conservation District have fought hard to keep invasive species from entering and damaging the marsh. A plan proposed in 2015 by the DNR seeks to continue to manage the habitat so it is ecologically and socially valuable for generations to come. Link to Site Map and Additional Info: Page 24 displays map. http://www.midnr.com/Publications/pdfs/ForestsLandWater/Cmpt_Reviews/Sault_Ste_Marie/2017/GEM_Munuscong_Plan_2015_draft.pdf |
Least Bittern
Photo by USGS, R. Bennetts |