Saving Wild Elk Country

Stuff We Love

Nov. 1, 2025

This fall, the elk population got a helping hand from their human friends. Gaylord-based conservation nonprofit Huron Pines purchased a 236-acre property from a private landowner (to protect the site from future development) and transferred ownership to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which now manages it as part of the Pigeon River Country State Forest. The property will be called the “Elk Run Tract,” as it’s home to one of the state’s biggest and most iconic creatures. Not-so-fun fact: Native elk disappeared from Michigan in the late 1800s, and the current population grew from a 1918 release of “western” elk, according to the DNR. Pigeon River Country is the herd’s core habitat, home to about 1,000 wild elk. Per a story in MLive, “The Elk Run Tract is in Cheboygan County’s Nunda Township, just north of the Otsego County line along Grass Lake Road. It’s about two miles northeast of Pickerel Lake State Forest Campground.” Learn more about Huron Pines’ conservation work at huronpines.org.