Summer Update 2025
Healthy Water. Protected Places. Vibrant Communities.
Restoring Northern Michigan’s Rare Coastal Habitats
When glaciers retreated from the region 11,000 years ago, they left behind something extraordinary—coastlines scraped clean to ancient bedrock which became home to plants and animals found nowhere else but along the Great Lakes. These coastal habitats are among Michigan’s most biologically diverse ecosystems, and most threatened.
In the absence of natural wildfires which maintained these distinctive landscapes, and with the impacts of invasive species, land use, climate change and pollution, rare species are losing ground. Huron Pines is working to protect these special places that define Northern Michigan’s wild character.
Reviving a Great Lakes Marsh in Cheboygan
At Duncan Bay Nature Preserve in Cheboygan, we’re working to manage invasive cattails and other harmful plants that are choking out native species. This Great Lakes marsh is a haven for wildlife, serving as a critical stopover for migratory birds, and providing vital habitat for fish and turtles. The marsh also guards against erosion and filters stormwater runoff, protecting the water quality of Lake Huron.
In partnership with Little Traverse Conservancy and Loyola University, Huron Pines is working to restore this vital ecosystem to support the diverse wildlife that depends on healthy marsh habitat.
Expanding Our Impact
We’re also surveying state lands in Presque Isle County to identify areas where clearing overgrowth in forests can restore more limestone glade habitats for native species like the dusted skipper butterfly and Cooper’s milk-vetch. Similar survey work in Alcona County will help reconnect vital dune and swale wetlands for rare Blanding’s turtles. Each restored habitat strengthens the web of life that makes Northern Michigan resilient and wild.
This work, made possible with support from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and private donor funding, isn’t just about removing invasive plants or restoring native habitat. It’s about protecting the character of Northern Michigan itself—the wild places, the species, and the legacy we pass on to future generations. Your support is doing more than protecting land—it’s keeping the story of this landscape alive.
Clearing the Way for Rare Wildflowers
At our Emily Min Hunt Preserve in Presque Isle County, we are restoring forest openings to mimic wildfire and enhance the limestone glade ecosystem. This preserve is home to ram’s head lady’s-slippers and other rare species which rely on natural disturbance to maintain open habitats. Through careful clearing, we’re mimicking the natural disturbance needed for these habitats to thrive again. Volunteers help monitor the site, making it a living classroom for conservation in action.
Our partners at Loyola University conducted experimental treatments of invasive cattail stripes in a collaborative effort to restore Great Lakes marsh habitat at Little Traverse Conservancy’s Duncan Bay Preserve.
Blanding’s turtle
The forested dune and swale habitats of coastal Alcona County provide vital refuge for rare species.
Cover: South Point of Thunder Bay at Negwegon State Park
A ram’s head lady’s-slipper blooms in a Presque Isle County glade.
Coast Watchers: Neighbors Working Together Across the Lake
Your support makes you part of a growing movement to protect Lake Huron’s expansive shoreline, which spans over 3,800 miles across Michigan and Ontario–more than any other Great Lake. The sheer scale of this coastline presents a monitoring challenge that no single agency or organization can tackle alone. This reality has opened the door for community members to play a vital role in protecting one of our most treasured natural resources.
The Coast Watchers program brings together volunteers from both sides of Lake Huron to keep watch over our shared waters. What started in Ontario in 2005 through the Lake Huron Coastal Centre has grown into a true partnership when Huron Pines joined the effort in 2022, creating a network of community volunteers who serve as the lake’s guardians.
This cross-border teamwork makes perfect sense. After all, fish, birds, and water don’t recognize the invisible line between countries–and neither should the people working to protect them. When organizations from different countries work together to manage shared waters, the results are powerful. Problems that affect one side of the lake often impact the other, so coordinated monitoring and response creates a complete picture that no single nation could achieve alone. This kind of international partnership also builds trust and understanding between communities, turning neighbors into allies in protecting what they both treasure.
The program works because we’re able to keep it simple and accessible. Volunteers don’t need science degrees or expensive equipment. They’re trained to observe and record basic information: water and air temperatures, changes in water levels, invasive plant growth, dead fish, storm damage and pollution.
But Coast Watchers creates something deeper than data collection. It builds a community of passionate lake advocates. When someone spends time regularly observing the water, recording changes and learning about the ecosystem, they develop a deeper connection to Lake Huron. These volunteers often become the ones organizing beach cleanups, advocating for better protection policies and inspiring their neighbors to care more about the lake.
By supporting this cross-border partnership, you help create a monitoring system that matches the scale of Lake Huron itself. Local volunteers become part of something bigger–a network of people united by their love for this incredible lake and their commitment to keeping it healthy for future generations.
Interested in becoming a Coast Watcher yourself? Visit huronpines.org/volunteer to join our monitoring network and help protect Lake Huron.
Volunteers Jim and Melissa Hiner
Volunteer Coast Watchers gather during a training with Huron Pines staff at Presque Isle Harbor.
Communities Unite for Lake Huron Protection
Lakeshore communities prosper when Lake Huron thrives. Boats return to harbor with healthy catches of fish. Waterfront shops and restaurants swell with locals and visitors. Families, drawn to clear waters and sugar sands, spend their whole day at the beach. With your support, Huron Pines is leading the Lake Huron Forever initiative— bringing together people from both sides of the lake to protect water quality and build resilient, sustainable communities for generations to come.
Through the Lake Huron Forever initiative beginning in 2019, communities across the Lake Huron basin have been taking meaningful action to safeguard water quality and restore critical habitats. Eight communities have joined our growing network, creating a web of conservation efforts that stretches from Michigan’s shores to Ontario’s coastline. When Goderich, Ontario became our first Canadian community partner in April, they brought with them innovative nature-based solutions for shoreline protection and invasive species control–approaches that are now inspiring similar efforts throughout the region.
This connectivity is transforming how we tackle Lake Huron’s challenges. In partnership with community foundations, communities are sharing successful strategies, learning from each other and amplifying their individual impact through collective action. The result is conservation work that transcends borders and creates lasting change across the entire watershed.
Alcona Community Schools exemplifies this collaborative spirit. In June, they became our first educational partner, building on existing student-led stewardship efforts. Students, staff and parents now work together on projects that protect both school grounds and the broader community’s land and water resources, all while educating the next generation of Lake Huron stewards.
“The experiences and impact of taking care of where we live for not only now, but also for the future, is key to developing our youth’s sense of community,” said Superintendent Dan O’Connor. “We are fortunate to have such great support to continue current work and expand on future projects through the Lake Huron Forever initiative.”
Protecting water quality, ensuring the diversity of plant and animal life, and helping communities achieve their conservation goals all benefit the health and sustainability of our shared Great Lake. By supporting Huron Pines, you join a growing network of like-minded individuals, community organizations, conservation partners and local governments whose work spans borders to achieve the common goal of protecting Lake Huron, forever.
Harrisville Harbor welcomes boaters to the Alcona County coast.
Alcona Community Schools students conduct a fish population survey at Lost Lake as part of their place-based environmental learning curriculum.
Alcona Elementary students conduct a scavenger hunt for plants and insects as part of their place-based stewardship curriculum at Harrisville Harbor.
The sapphire waters of Lake Huron stretch from Harrisville Harbor to the horizon and beyond.
Alcona Community Schools
Throu gh a collaboration with Huron Pines and our conservation partners, Alcona Community Schools is empowering the next generation of community and conservation leaders with student-led stewardship projects at Harrisville Harbor and the school forest, protecting water quality and promoting biodiversity.
Au Gres
The first community to take the Lake Huron Forever pledge, the City of Au Gres worked with Huron Pines and Au Gres-Sims School to install bioswales at the school and two community parks to capture and filter thousands of gallons of stormwater runoff annually from streets and parking lots.
Bay City
Ongoing restoration of Middleground Island is converting acres of turfgrass in the heart of the community to a wildflower prairie where deep-rooted native plants prevent erosion and help rainwater infiltrate the soil.
City of Alpena
Restoration of the natural dune shoreline is underway at Mich-e-kewis Park, a popular swimming beach on Thunder Bay in Alpena, and the City is working with Huron Pines on a slate of other initiatives to protect Lake Huron, the source of its drinking water.
Charter Township of Alpena
Huron Pines partnered with Alpena Township to add environmental protections to local zoning rules, safeguarding wetlands and lakeshores that are essential for clean water and healthy ecosystems.
County of Alpena
A lpena County has prioritized invasive species management and the expansion of outdoor recreation opportunities like trails while protecting & stewarding public parks to benefit people and nature.
Goderich, Ontario
The sister city of Bay City and the first Canadian community to take the pledge, Goderich is pursuing tree planting initiatives, installing public water-filling stations to decrease single-use plastics and conducting volunteer beach clean-up events.
Charter Township of Oscoda
T he community is advancing plans for AuSable River Scenic Preserve including signage, trail improvements and invasive species management, and is working with technical partners in the initiative to restore dunes at Oscoda Beach Park.
Meet the Lake Huron Forever Communities
Our Dedication to Lake Huron’s Health
Flowing Forward: Michigan’s River Restoration Success
Picture a river running free—fish swimming upstream to spawn, water flowing clear and cold, and people gathering along restored riverbanks. These rivers are the arteries that feed Lake Huron and the Great Lakes system, and thanks to your partnership, this vision of healthy, connected waterways is becoming reality across Michigan’s watersheds.
Setting McAlpine Creek Free
Sometimes the biggest changes happen in the smallest places. Deep in Mackinac County, McAlpine Creek is waiting to run free. Sixty years ago, the Michigan DNR built McAlpine Dam with hopes of creating a productive trout fishery at the creek’s headwaters. When the fishery was deemed not viable, the pond was drawn down in the 2000s but the earthen dam remained, blocking the river’s natural flow.
This summer Huron Pines will remove the dam, our first dam removal project in the Upper Peninsula, allowing more than a mile of river habitat to reconnect with Millecoquins River.
Sanback Dam Removal On Track for 2026
In the heart of Rose City, a concrete barrier has held back Beechwood Creek for more than 100 years—but that’s about to change. Sanback Dam, crumbling after decades of disrepair, represents both the community’s industrial past and a remarkable restoration opportunity.
Next year, with approximately $4 million in grant funding primarily from Michigan’s Dam Safety Program, Sanback Dam will come down and this vital Rifle River tributary will flow freely through the town’s public park. We’re working closely with Rose City residents to understand their dreams for the restored site because this isn’t just about fish habitat, it’s about creating a space where community members and nature can thrive together.
Building Bridges to Reconnect the Thunder Bay River
At Hossler Road, where it crosses the Thunder Bay River, a series of cramped culverts has been choking the river’s flow for years, causing erosion, demanding constant road repairs and blocking fish passage on this productive fishery.
Your investment is helping us replace those failing culverts with a timber bridge this summer. It’s more than infrastructure—it’s restoration that honors both the river’s needs and those of the community. This project builds on the remarkable momentum you’ve helped create in the Thunder Bay Watershed, where together we’ve invested more than $2.1 million since 2020. Each dollar has multiplied into measurable impacts for Lake Huron’s health. It’s a milestone moment, both for our organization and for the countless fish, amphibians and wildlife which will benefit for generations to come.
The Ripple Effect of Your Partnership
Every dam removal, every culvert replacement, every mile of reconnected habitat creates ripples that extend far beyond what we can see. Fish populations recover. Water quality improves. Communities rediscover their connection to the rivers that shaped them. And the Great Lakes—our shared freshwater treasures—grow stronger and healthier. Together, we’re not just removing barriers, we’re writing new chapters in the story of Michigan’s waters, one project at a time.
Restoring
the Thunder Bay River will improve habitat connectivity for fish like this brown trout.
The planned removal of Sanback Dam in 2026 will restore the headwaters of the Rifle River in Rose City.
McAlpine Creek flows through this decommissioned water intake structure. Removing it along with an earthen dam will reconnect aquatic habitat.
Two people gaze across Lake Huron’s seemingly endless waters.
The Greater Tawas Area, which includes the communities found along the shores of Tawas Bay, is where conservation comes alive. In 2020, generous donors helped permanently protect nearly a mile of undeveloped coastline, now known as Alabaster Township’s Lake Huron Coastal Preserve, establishing deep roots for Huron Pines in this area. Since then, we’ve built a growing network of conservation-minded volunteers, partners and donors connecting our water quality and biodiversity goals with visible, lasting results.
That first step in land protection sparked a wave of restoration projects with clear, lasting benefits. Through shoreline restoration work at East Tawas State Harbor in 2022, staff and volunteers removed invasive species and planted deep-rooted native plants that now prevent erosion, enhance wildlife habitat and filter thousands of gallons of stormwater runoff annually, protecting one of Michigan’s busiest ports. Through the interest of local residents, our native seed program is transforming a former food plot at Tawas Beach Club into a vibrant wildflower
International Agreements, Local Impact Protecting Tawas Waters Through Collaborative Conservation
meadow supporting pollinators and improving water filtration. At Tawas Point State Park, volunteer piping plover monitors are helping protect this endangered species and contributing to its recovery, while our Coast Watchers program is fostering healthier coastlines throughout the region.
Each of these projects contributes to a larger vision—a connected network of protected and restored areas that safeguard the entire Tawas watershed. Each project builds on the next, creating cumulative benefits that extend far beyond the individual sites.
This vision extends to Tawas Lake, where restoration work is underway. This 1,600-acre inland lake supports remarkable aquatic plant diversity, including Michigan’s largest population of wild rice now being restored under the leadership of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
“Tawas is a place where you can tell how much people love the area,” said Huron Pines Community Educator Maddie Khuri. “There’s shared values— everyone loves Tawas Lake for different reasons. I have no problem finding volunteers; we always have people who are excited to contribute.”
Together, we are building a more resilient future for Tawas—where clean water, healthy habitats and community stewardship work hand in hand.
The Great Lakes—the largest freshwater system on Earth—span two countries, First Nations, Tribal Nations, eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Protecting these shared waters requires a level of cooperation as vast and interconnected as the lakes themselves.
This collaboration began with the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, which established the United States and Canada’s joint responsibility to manage shared waters. In 1972, facing increasing pollution, the two countries signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, setting specific goals to restore and protect water quality.
Today, that spirit of cooperation is reflected in a complex but coordinated network. The Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with leading water quality efforts in partnership with ten federal agencies. The International Joint Commission oversees cross-border issues and ensures that both nations are meeting their commitments. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes Compact unites the eight U.S. states in managing water use, and Canadian provinces have formed parallel agreements.
But these large-scale policies don’t work in isolation. They come to life through local action, often supported by programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)—which funds on-the-ground projects that improve water quality, restore habitat, and engage communities.
At Huron Pines, GLRI funding helps us translate international goals into tangible results for Lake Huron. We restore coastal wetlands to filter runoff, reduce erosion and support migratory birds. We manage invasive species that threaten native biodiversity. We provide hands-on education that empowers communities to protect their own waterways.
This work is both technical and deeply personal. For example, a recent shoreline restoration project in Alpena County not only improved local fish habitat but also strengthened a community’s connection to Lake Huron—demonstrating how international agreements can have immediate, visible benefits right here at home.
The challenges ahead—climate change, invasive species, polluted runoff—require continued collaboration. Despite current uncertainties, Huron Pines will persist in fostering collaboration and advocating for the collective stewardship our Great Lakes require.
Together, we protect more than water—we protect a way of life.
Huron Pines Board Member, Jennifer Hill, helps install native plants at East Tawas State Harbor.
4241 Old US 27 South, Suite 2
Gaylord, MI 49735
Help Protect the Places That Make Northern Michigan Special
At Huron Pines, we believe in the power of people and partnerships to protect the natural resources that define Northern Michigan—our forests, rivers, wetlands, and Great Lakes shoreline. With every habitat restored, every mile of shoreline protected and every young person engaged in conservation, you’re building a stronger, more resilient future for the region we all love.
Your support makes this possible. When you give to Huron Pines, you’re investing in clean water, thriving wildlife and a sustainable future. Join us in continuing this important work—because protecting nature today ensures a vibrant Northern Michigan for generations to come. Use the enclosed envelope, or visit huronpines.org/donate to make your impact.
Right: Avalynn Riopelle holds a salamander during our annual Spring Salamander Survey at Emily Min Hunt Preserve in spring 2025.