Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources announced the 2025 discovery of a centuries-old stand of red pine trees last week.

The trees, which can be identified by their scaly, reddish-brown bark, were discovered during a routine survey of the state-owned forest near the Two-Hearted River on the shore of Lake Superior.

This discovery comes as a surprise, as most of Michigan’s known red pines were harvested during the lumber boom of the 1800s.

Core samples taken from some of the trees point to them being over 200 years old. Visual estimates for other trees, however, suggest they may be between 300 and 400 years old, pre-dating European settlement in the area.

The forester that found the area calls the stand of red pines “Ghost on the Shore.”

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

After nearly a year of back and forth with Flat Rock officials and residents, Huron-Clinton Metroparks is advancing a plan to partially remove the Flat Rock Dam and construct ‘rock arch rapids.’

Located in Flat Rock on the Huron River, the 100-year-old dam is in fair condition, but has a “high hazard potential” rating. Despite the risk, Flat Rock residents and officials strongly opposed the Metroparks’ plan for partial removal.

Flat Rock Mayor Steve Beller spoke at an Aug. 14, 2025 board meeting after Flat Rock City Council unanimously passed a resolution to urge Metroparks not to remove the dam.

To buy, or not to buy

In September 2025, Huron-Clinton Metroparks offered to sell the dam to the City of Flat Rock for five dollars and provide an additional $4.5 million to help pay for fish ladder improvements.

The city spent months weighing their options and ultimately decided not to take ownership of the dam. 

Huron-Clinton Metroparks CEO Amy McMillan says the organization respects the City of Flat Rock’s decision:

“No matter how we look at it, this is a change for that community. And so, being transparent and listening and disagreeing where reasonable people will disagree, we’re happy that we’ve come to this conclusion and we’re looking forward to moving forward.”

John Webb, president of the Flat Rock Dam Coalition said in a statement his group supports the partial removal plan, as long as Huron-Clinton Metroparks ensures water levels are maintained. 

“It is critical that the [Huron-Clinton Metroparks] clearly and unequivocally mandate to their engineers and contractors the requirement to maintain existing impoundment waters or preferably raise these water levels.”

Dam removals growing more common

A third of the dams in metro Detroit have “high” or “significant hazard” ratings from the National Dam Inventory. Catastrophic flooding like that seen in Midland with the Edenville Dam failure has drawn attention to questions of ownership and accountability of privately owned dams.

Dam removal is growing more common statewide and nationally. Last year, EGLE announced nearly $15 million dollars in funding for dam removals across the state. To date, Michigan has removed 125 dams. There are roughly 2,500 dams in Michigan.

Proponents of dam removals point to improved river health and biodiversity. They also mitigate the risk of catastrophic dam failures.

In the case of Flat Rock Dam, the Metroparks feasibility study for this project notes improved fish passage for sturgeon, walleye, and salmon to travel up the Huron River to spawn.

Guests:

• Amy McMillan, CEO of Huron-Clinton Metroparks
• Brian Graber, senior director of river restoration at American Rivers. He spoke with the Metro’s David Leins. Dave started by asking why Michigan has so many dams in the first place? 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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More stories from The Metro

The City of Warren has planted its first micro forest as part of an effort to increase the tree canopy in the city.   

Warren Mayor Lori Stone says the community rallied for more greenery in the city.

“Warren only had about 19% tree canopy, some of the lowest in Metro Detroit and Macomb County. And so, when I started out, we did a listening tour to really look at what our communities’ expectations were, and environmental sustainability was a priority,” she says.

Stone says residents want leadership to grow the city’s tree canopy, restore natural habitats, and protect green spaces.

One of those projects was a micro forest created at the Warren Community Center’s courtyard. The project received $30,000 from Green Macomb.

“I’m excited to tout that we planted our first microforest at Julius Park Circle, which is over 5,000 plants from different canopy levels, forest levels, and that was in partnership with a 4-H students, a community organization,” she shares.

Stone says Warren’s Department of Public Works also plants roughly 400 trees on easements annually, additional to the city distributing 200 saplings as part of our Arbor Day and Earth Day initiatives.

“It’s very important in order to grow tree canopy, in order to create those green spaces, … and provide natural spaces to encourage that local residents are also planting trees and providing those opportunities,” she explains.

Warren is also a part of the Rain to Roots program with Center Line, Sterling Heights, supported by the DTE Foundation, to help homeowners install rain gardens, rain barrels and native plants for stormwater management. 

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

Lathrup Village is creating a new tree garden as part of a larger effort to keep its mature trees healthy, add more green spaces, and teach residents about how important trees are to the community.

The project is taking place on a triangular piece of public green space that once hosted the city’s first Arbor Day tree planting after the tree committee was formed.

Brandon Wynn, a resident of Lathrup Village is a certified tree expert and chair of the tree committee. He explained that the long-term plan includes planting different types of trees, putting up signs to educate people, and eventually adding benches and space for community activities.

The city is mainly focusing on planting trees native to Michigan, like white oak, swamp white oak, black gum, and American hornbeam.

They are also thinking about including some non-native trees that can handle changing weather patterns and road salt.

Some trees like ginkgo, dawn redwood, river birch, and a donated tulip tree have already been planted there.

Bahm says the community will consider adding a pavilion or pergola, flower beds, shrubs, and evergreen trees. The committee is funding these efforts through grants, donations, and partnerships with the community to gradually develop the arboretum.

Jill Bahm, a planning expert working with Giffels Webster and serving as Lathrup Village’s planning consultant, explained that trees and other green spaces can help manage stormwater, reduce runoff and erosion, and improve air and water quality.

She says that by including the tree committee’s work in the city’s updated master and recreation plans, they can ensure this project fits into Lathrup Village and support future projects and grants.

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

The nonprofit Little Traverse Conservancy wants to purchase a 160 acre lot of forest near Harbor Springs and create a wildlife corridor.

The current owners are on board. They’ve allowed public access to the land for years, and plan to donate an additional 20 acres to the organization.

Emily Hughes, chief development officer for the conservancy, says that they’ve raised $2.7 million of the $3 million goal. Many supporters are apart of the local community, who have been using the property with permission of the owners.

“As of today, 69 families have supported this effort,” says Hughes. “So this is now an opportunity to include even more people who want to help protect this land forever.”

The land is adjacent to 80 acres of public trails. After the purchase, Little Traverse Conservancy plans to add new trails and build a parking area.

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seeks to approve a request from Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to redesignate what qualifies as safe ozone levels in the Detroit region. 

The change would redesignate the region as meeting federal ozone standards after years of strict standards.

EPA Regional Administrator Anne Vogel says the change is partially due to reductions in air pollution. “Redesignations lead to faster and more predictable air permitting processes, while existing pollution controls continue to drive improvements in air quality,” Vogel says. 

Environmental advocates like Nick Leonard disagree. Leonard is executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center.

He says ozone air pollution in the region is still above the health-based standard set by the EPA. 

“It’s been consistently above the air quality standard for the past 10 years,” Leonard says. “The EPA is nonetheless justifying its decision to find that air quality is attaining the standard… because they’re pinning the blame for a few high ozone days on wildfire smoke from the last few years.”

Officials say the change will ease the permitting process for industrial projects, which could help the region’s economy. 

Public comment on the proposal is open until Aug. 27.