DNR - DNR Stories and Photos

Mary McElgum (center) and other members of a young professionals' networking group sample Michigan-harvested game and fish from the buffet at a Gourmet Gone Wild event in Lansing.

Gourmet Gone Wild brings conservation to the table At first glance, it looks like any social mixer. The crowd, mostly in its 20s and 30s, is largely professionally dressed, chatting, and enjoying food and beverages. But it's at the serving table that the first clue that this is an unusual event presents itself.

Workers cut a branch from a tree to be toppled and placed in the river.

Improving habitat on the Au Sable River's North Branch A work crew is busily placing logs and trees, as well as rehabilitating old structures, to improve habitat - and fishing - in the North Branch of the Au Sable River as part of a $60,000 project underway this summer.

From left to right: Chief Gary Hagler, CO Jeff Ginn, CO Troy VanGelderen, CO Richard Nickols, CO Jason Wicklund, Assistant Chief Dean Molnar

Conservation officers honored for life-saving efforts The DNR regularly honors those within its ranks who have reacted to emergency situations that might have otherwise had fatal consequences with the agency's "Lifesaving Award." Recently, four officers were honored at a Natural Resources Commission meeting, and the circumstances of their actions illustrate how broad the DNR conservation officers' experience really is.

Department of Natural Resources staff had to race to put up timber sales to salvage resources during the May 2012 Duck Lake Fire in Newberry. Many trees, like the one shown here, were impacted by insects that moved into the area after the fire.

Duck Lake Fire: A year later A year later, the forest is naturally recovering. Bracken fern, blueberry bushes, mushrooms and grasses have started to regrow. Pine seedlings are once again growing in the areas that were previously forested. Thanks to Mother Nature, the green is returning. To give her a hand in the process, Bill O'Neill said the DNR has evaluated and prioritized areas that needed planting efforts.

A worker builds a dike at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in Rockwood.

DNR's managed waterfowl areas help prevent flooding in surrounding communities The same characteristic that makes the DNR's managed waterfowl areas so attractive to wildlife - standing water - is paying additional dividends to the state of Michigan this year by providing some relief from flooding in low-lying areas.

Costumed interpreters help visitors step back in time to the 1840s at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park in Copper Harbor. The historic fort at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula features new exhibits in 2013 and has a planned archaeological dig this summer.

Exploring Michigan's Mining Heritage Mining, once the largest industry in the Upper Peninsula, continues to have a significant impact on Michigan's economy and local communities in the U.P. Its deep heritage is evident at three iconic Michigan Historical Center sites: Fort Wilkins Historic Site at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, the Michigan Iron Industry Museum near Marquette, and Fayette Historic Townsite on the Garden Peninsula.