State Wildlife Action Plan

Michigan: Great Lakes, Forests, and Wildlife

Water dominates Michigan's landscape - from the surrounding Great Lakes to 11,000 inland lakes, and 36,000 miles of rivers and streams, Michigan has more freshwater shoreline than any other state in the Nation. Forest cover much of the undeveloped land in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, while grasslands and other open lands are more common in southern Michigan.

Karner blue butterflies lend brilliant color to the prairies and savannahs of southern Michigan. Lake sturgeon grace Michigan's waters, which also provide a backdrop for the unexpected beauty of more than 40,000 species of native mussels. Each year, Kirtland's Warblers return to the only nesting area they've ever know - in northern Michigan's jack pine forests.

A Habitat Approach to Planning

The Michigan wildlife action plan takes a primarily habitat-based approach to conserving rare, declining, and common wildlife. The action plan focuses on "landscape features," such as prairies, bogs, large rivers, and coastal dunes. Recommended conservation actions are provided for these landscape features on a regional basis. The action plan also looks at the specific needs of more than 400 vulnerable wildlife species.

Statewide Conservation Priorities

Michigan's wildlife action plan identifies several priority threats and issues that need to be addressed to prevent the state's wildlife from becoming endangered. Two threats: invasive species and fragmentation are identified as the highest priority threats to wildlife and landscape features in both aquatic and terrestrial systems throughout Michigan.

• Download the Michigan Wildlife Action Plan

  (via MI DNR)
• Summary of Michigan Wildlife Action Plan (.pdf, 350 KB)
• Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Action Plan Web Site