In the interior arch of Michigan’s “thumb” lays the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, a group dedicated to protecting and restoring surrounding natural areas. 

The conservancy currently owns and manages 9 properties in the region. One property, the Sand Point Nature Preserve, was recently recognized by the Old Growth Forest Network for its potential. 

As a well-established woodlot with trees over a hundred years old, Sand Point hosts migratory birds and and diverse species. Its wetlands aid in flood management. The property also has a rare grove of hemlock trees. 

Although the Old Growth Forest distinction doesn’t immediately grant the property strong legal protections, it does aid the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy when they work to apply for grants and the like. And any additional support to protect the unique ecosystem right off the shores of Lake Huron is welcome. 

Beyond the ecological, the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy continues to protect the surrounding areas for the community to have access to the green space. Executive Director of Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy, Zachary Branigan emphasizes the importance of preserving nature.

“ Having access to high quality outdoor recreation spaces is important, for any community. You know, that’s one thing that, that the highest quality communities in the nation have in common,” says Branigan. And nature preserves like Sand Point provide a space for hikers and dog-walkers, as well as a glimpse into more heavily wooded past. 

Exploring Sand Point

The Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy gained ownership over the 220 acres of undeveloped land through a series of land acquisitions between 2008-2012. 

Sand Point is the largest of the properties they oversee, and includes a wide range of features that make it a gem in the region that was hit hard by deforestation in the logging boom. Program Director Trevor Edmonds highlights some of the features on property.

 ”There’s some pretty dense mature forests. Like kind of open meadow areas, and then some, various types of wetlands on the property. There’s a lake, there’s kind of like a seasonal pond, on the property as well,”” says Edmonds. He adds that because of the diverse array of habitats, there’s diverse fauna, including reptiles and amphibians.

As a part of their mission to maintain high quality natural areas the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy takes inventory of signs of health and potential threats to the established landscape. 

Signs of ecological health at Sand Point include different species of trees—Edmonds points out maple, black cherry, and paper birch in the immediate area. He also looks for indicator species, which foreshadow what kinds of vegetation will thrive in the future. 

Understory vegetation is another noted feature. “There’s a very robust canopy throughout much of this preserve’s acreage, which really kind of speaks to the overall health of the forest on this preserve.”

Caretaking in nature

Edmonds then got into the weeds of property management at Sand Point. 

Since acquiring the property in full, the conservancy has become experts on the wetlands and woods that make up Sand Point, as well as the pests, diseases, and invasives that threaten them. 

The most present invasive on the property is phragmites, which Edmonds generally treats with hand-swiping—placing herbicide on a glove and targeting the undesirable plants in order to leave “the lightest touch possible” on the landscape. 

A deep knowledge of the environment helps Edmonds monitor for invasive species and disease in the areas they are most likely to appear in, and the places they can do the most harm. 

Eastern Hemlocks

One of the key features that garners attention at Sand Point is the Eastern Hemlocks. They aren’t a common tree throughout Michigan, and especially not in the thumb. Part of that is because they need a healthy tree canopy above them to grow. 

Branigan describes the hemlock groves as dark and brooding, and Edmonds say that they’re a part of why Sand Point is his favorite property— in addition to its reliable five lined skink sightings. 

However, hemlocks face a threat in the hemlock woolly adelgid. 

 Edmonds shares how the conservancy monitors for the threat. “You’re actually trying to look specifically at like the undersides of the needles. And if you actually see, like at the base of the needles where they connect to the branches, it basically will look…almost like kind of a white cottony mass that starts to like develop at the base of the needles, under the branches.”

Thankfully, Sand Point hasn’t caught any sign of the harmful pest so far. Edmonds says that its more present in the west side of the state. 

But, if woolly adelgid does appear, there are ways to treat it if its detected early. “You can do like a treatment around the base where the, the roots will bring it up into the canopy of the tree and basically like eliminate the infestation.”

For now, he and other conservationists in the area maintain a careful watch. 

Safeguarding access to a healthy environment

Conserving a large undeveloped land like Sand Point provides space for recreation, mitigating effects and causes of climate change, and a place for wildlife to thrive. 

It’s also an education in nature. Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy’s restoration and conservation efforts uplift their preserves as healthy ambassador landscapes, environments that serve as an example of what natural areas should be at their best. “While it does obviously serve an important purpose in and of itself, hopefully the people that come and visit our properties, across all the counties that we work in… take a little something home from that as well,” says Branigan. 

Additionally, it provides another place for people to fall in love with the environment.

Edmonds reflected on what it means to him as a new parent to see his daughter’s connection to nature grow. Although it’s more common to fall in love with the outdoors in one’s youth, he notes that it’s never too late for someone to click with nature. 

“Nature’s always here, and we want to be an entity that makes it be the case. We want nature to be here for people and then when they’re ready to receive it and you know, be a part of it and do what they can to protect it, then like that’s on them. But we just want to be facilitators for those times when they become receptive and ready for it.”

This story is a part of WDET’s Detroit Tree Canopy Project

In June, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that they wanted to rescind the Roadless Rule, arguing that it created needless obstacles to land management. However, many conservationists say reversing this decision puts millions of forest acreage at risk.

The Roadless Rule, established in 2001, protects about 60 million acres of National Forest land all across the U.S., including Michigan. These areas have no roads, logging, or mining. Outdoors lovers, conservationists, and others value these lands for their natural wilderness. 

When the rule was first proposed, it received over 1.5 million public comments in support, showing strong public backing.

Effects in Michigan

If the Roadless Rule is repealed, 16,000 acres in Michigan could be harmed. Most of Michigan’s roadless areas are in the Upper Peninsula including the Hiawatha National Forest, as well as parts of the Lower Peninsula, in the Manistee National Forest and Ottawa National Forest.

Anna Medema is the Sierra Club’s Associate Director of Legislative and Administrative Advocacy for forests and public land. She says keeping the Roadless Rule in effect is vitally important. “Once you build a road into a forest area it could take decades or centuries if you were to decommission these roads and try to let it regrow wildly,” Medema says. “Those wild characteristics are really rare.”

Trump administration officials say that removing the protections could help reduce wildfires by facilitating forest management. However, research shows that wildfires tend to happen more often in areas with roads because of human activity, negating potential benefits of road access.

In Michigan, wildfires are generally less common and less serious. Additionally, building roads and logging could actually raise the risk of fires.

The public can comment on the Roadless Rule here until September 19. 

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

Palmer Park provides a peaceful escape from the noisy, hot summer streets of Detroit. 

Spanning roughly 70 acres of forest, the park is home to over one hundred native plant species including treasured, towering oaks — some of which are centuries old. It serves as a sanctuary for wildlife such as pollinator bees, butterflies, birds, deer, and coyotes. 

There are many reasons that Palmer Park is one of the most popular urban parks in Detroit, but taking a closer look at the conditions of the tree canopy has one forestry educator concerned for the future.  

Southeast Michigan forestry educator Jackson Gorland founded the Michigan Forestry Club to share his passion for trees with the public.

Jackson Gorland identifying sassafras in Palmer Park

He recently conducted a forest forensics lesson at Palmer Park on a hot, humid Tuesday where he said that fewer tree species are thriving in the park without human intervention, risking reduced biodiversity.  

“Having a diversity of species in there…not just relying on a couple of species that are shade tolerant,” Gorland says. “Absolutely have beech in there, absolutely have sugar maple in… it’s [about] creating a mosaic of different conditions that promotes biodiversity.”

Gorland stresses that hands-on actions are needed to ensure the survival of Palmer Park’s oaks, which require full sunlight. According to

Gorland, shade-tolerant species are crowding them out. There are also more mature oaks than young saplings, a sign that future survival is in jeopardy.

The park recently did a prescribed burn to help young oaks, but further consistent interventions are needed, says Gorland. 

The Michigan Forestry Club plans to host additional forest forensics classes across parks in Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor.

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

WDET’s Natalie Albrecht contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: Edited on 9/2/25 to correct a misattribution in photo caption. Gorland is identifying sassafras, not saffron. We apologize for the error. 

Reforesting urban environments faces one significant yet overlooked hurdle: bringing residents to the table.

Dr. Christine Carmichael recognized this when doing research in Detroit in 2013 with nonprofit group, The Greening of Detroit. What she learned prompted her to create her urban forestry consulting group, Fair Forests, and write her book, “Racist Roots: How Racism Has Affected Trees and People in Our Cities – and What We Can Do About It,” which came out in 2024.

Today, Dr. Carmichael advises forestry efforts on national, state, and local levels on how to best address resident concerns and wants to make tree planting a positive experience for all involved.

Her work focuses on the unique roles community members, arborists, nonprofits and governments play in urban forestry.

In her words, “How can we think about who has what type of power, and how can we share that better, and provide people with the resources they need to address all these issues around tree canopy?”

Carmichael emphasizes connecting with neighborhoods and learning their heritage narratives to see how they’ve experienced change over time.

How history shapes the tree canopy today

During the time of its peak population, Detroit had such a dense tree canopy that it was called “Tree City.” Then a combination of disease, invasive pests and neglect killed half a million trees while magnifying injustices in the city’s landscape.

A lot of people want to move on from the past, but failing to see the bigger picture avoids key issues that created our modern tree canopy.

“People are living in the present consequences of the past decisions,” Carmichael says, reflecting on how historic racist policies like redlining still impact rates of homeownership among Black Americans today. “And we need to change those decisions to make things better.”

A result of redlining in the city

Carmichael says that when she started her work around a decade ago, the ties between redlining and reduced tree canopy weren’t proven. But foresters noticed that disadvantaged neighborhoods tended to have fewer trees and less healthy trees.

Redlining was the 1930s policy of evaluating property as “hazardous” if its occupants were Black. Owners of redlined property were ineligible for government housing investment funds.

Redlined neighborhoods are often recognized as environmental justice areas today.

Environmental injustice can include the dumping of waste, the placement and lax regulation of polluting industrial sites by the city, neglecting to address infrastructural issues, and more.  Carmichael adds, “A common way to think about it is that people are being treated unfairly and are not being meaningfully included in decisions about the environment that they’re living in.”

Having outsiders make decisions on what happened to the environment in these neighborhoods has negative consequences. Redlining segregated neighborhoods and denied people the help needed to care for their property.

It’s only logical that people lost trust in the city and outside organizations.

Not only are trees more vulnerable to disease and hazardous when they aren’t maintained properly, but the lack of tree canopy has an impact on people’s health. “So, people experiencing higher heat-related issues, more air quality issues, mental health, cardiac…” Carmichael lists.

Detroit as an epicenter

Carmichael said that Detroit and its near-monoculture of elm trees made it an epicenter for Dutch elm disease.

When Dutch elm disease swept through the city at the same time as the ’67 Rebellion, the mass removal of elm trees with little notice was another injustice residents suffered.

It created a unique heritage narrative that Carmichael noticed among residents she interviewed. “Many, most of whom had lived during the ’67 Rebellion, had this feeling that the trees were removed because the government wanted to surveil neighborhoods from overhead in helicopters, not because the trees were diseased.”

The consistent exclusion and lack of resources given to certain neighborhoods created environmental injustices that worsened as the city lost much of its population to white flight. The forestry department shrank, and diseased and dead trees were left to languish in residential areas.

When emerald ash borers struck in the ’90s, more trees were lost and damaged. Again, residents were not as informed or engaged as they should have been.

“It was more like a reactionary, oh, these trees are dying, we’ll just take them down,” says Carmichael. “There were limits to urban foresters’ understanding of how to manage those things. They were new threats, but I think there could have been a lot more proactive effort to organize with the community.”

Despite being at the forefront of these ecological issues, Detroit missed an opportunity to address environmental injustice, according to Dr. Carmichael. The same failures can be seen in other urban environments that followed.

Detroit could have been an example of how to better protect the tree canopy with environmental justice in mind.

Modern approaches to inclusive urban forestry

As Detroit was less able to fund municipalities like forestry departments, neighborhood community groups stepped up to care for their lands. When nonprofits came onto the stage to fill the gaps left by forestry departments, there was a need to engage better with residents on the ground level that wasn’t being met at the time of Carmichael’s research.

Meaningful engagement between outside tree planting groups and neighborhoods requires a lot of funding. Carmichael credits the Inflation Reduction Act for allowing urban forestry groups to begin to make the necessary efforts to reduce barriers for the communities they work with.

But now that funding is reduced, and nonprofits have to work with fewer resources once more. That may mean that they can’t prioritize residents as much as they need to, as getting trees in the ground and similar metrics are what appeals to funders.

Still, Carmichael argues that it’s essential to look at reforesting efforts beyond the lens of efficiency and profit maximization. It’s not just about how many trees you can plant, the shade provided and the carbon sequestered, but also about the people who will be impacted by those trees.

Those same people are paramount when it comes to long-term maintenance of the tree. If urban foresters can show them specific things to look out for, residents can make sure the trees stay healthy and don’t become hazards like they have in the past.

“Essentially, it’s about educating,” says Carmichael. It’s not about the benefits of trees, as most residents already know all the good a tree can do; they just need support on making sure those benefits come without so many drawbacks. “The emphasis should be more on educating the funders about what activities are needed to both increase the canopy and support the residents.”

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

Editors Note: This article was edited on 8/1/25 to correct the statement that IRA funding for urban forestry is gone. IRA funds are still supporting efforts in Michigan, but have been reduced. We deeply apologize for the error.

Michigan’s conservation districts are raising concerns as they face increasing financial challenges and potential cuts in federal funding. 

Officials from the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts are asking lawmakers in Lansing to boost state funding to help support the many environmental programs managed by these local groups. 

“The main goal of conservation districts is to provide locally led efforts to protect and manage natural resources in each community,” said Rivka Hodgkinson, director of the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts. “One of the strengths of these districts is that they can respond to the specific needs of their local areas.”

Michigan has 75 conservation districts that work to connect private landowners with state and federal resources. Their work covers urban areas, farmland, forests, and shoreline environments. Since more than half of Michigan’s forests are privately owned, educating and supporting landowners is very important.

For example, in the Herman Vogler Conservation Area along Lake Huron, forester Jacob Grochowski helps landowners manage their land responsibly. Grochowski says most of his time is spent talking with landowners.

“My main job involves visiting their land, discussing their goals, and exploring management options,” he said. “I then put together reports to help guide their decisions.” 

He also assists landowners in qualifying for programs like Michigan’s Qualified Forest Program, which offers tax benefits to landowners who manage their privately-owned forests in sustainable ways.

“This program gives a tax break and exemption from certain school taxes to encourage active management of their forests,” Grochowski said. “The idea is to make it more affordable for people to keep their land as forests rather than developing it.”

However, conservation districts often don’t have enough staff to do all the work they need. 

“I have my full-time job helping landowners with forest management, but I also try to handle other district tasks to keep services running,” Grochowski said.

Currently, districts get about $40,000 a year from the state to operate, but Hodgkinson says that’s not enough.

“Our biggest challenge is that we have a lot of work to do across the state, but not enough funding to do it,” she said. “We’re required to do this work, but there’s no guarantee we’ll get the money to cover it.”

There is also concern about funding cuts at the federal level, specifically from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 

“Reducing staff at NRCS and USDA offices doesn’t reduce the need for conservation efforts in those communities,” Hodgkinson said. “Unless they receive more money to support their work, they’ll be asked to do more with less.”

In Lansing, Hodgkinson is pushing for an additional $10 million in state funding. 

“Having stable staffing in key positions would make conservation efforts more consistent and effective throughout the state,” she said. 

She warns that if support isn’t increased, there could be long-term problems. 

“If we don’t take early steps now to conserve resources voluntarily, we’ll face bigger costs in the future,” she said. “It’s cheaper to prevent problems now than to fix them later.”

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

National Pollinator Week — held annually in June — is a time dedicated to informing the public about the benefits and struggles of pollinators.

In Michigan, pollinators are essential for crops like apples, blueberries and more. They produce around $1 billion in crops each year for the state, according to a collaborative study between Wayne State and Michigan State universities.

Although pollinators provide many benefits, their populations are shrinking because of human activity. Insecticides kill off swaths of the bee population, and pollinators in general also deal with habitat loss and intense heat waves. 

One of the best ways to help save bees, birds, butterflies and other pollinators is planting a tree that will house and feed them for years to come.

The need for trees

Trees provide more than just flowers and nectar. According to Michigan-based Master Arborist Luke Brunner, several bee species depend on tree leaves for nourishment during their early stages. They also provide fruit that birds and other pollinators eat, as well as shelter.

Some of the native trees Brunner recommends to plant on behalf of pollinators include: 

• Eastern redbud
• Tulip tree
• Crabapple
• Hawthorn
• Northern Catalpa
• American basswood
• Black tupelo

These trees range in size and provide different benefits. Brunner notes that the Black tupelo isn’t seen much in Michigan these days. Its range lies mostly to the south, but it notably provides early spring blooms for pollinators to gather nectar from.

Right plant, right place

Brunner encourages planters to think about the size of the tree they’re placing years in the future to make sure they pick an appropriate space for it. Knowing the height of the species when it’s mature will help determine a good placement so that it can be enjoyed by people and pollinators for years to come.

There is a simple alternative for those who don’t have the room or ability to care for a tree but still want to help pollinators: put native flower and grass seeds in a pot and let them grow. 

“Just one square foot will hold a lot of flowers and you can put that on your porch, on your apartment balcony, in your backyard, just about anywhere,” Brunner said. “If you can do your part to plant some wildflowers or a small tree or something to bring them into your yard, it’s really going to help the environment.” 

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

In late March, a severe ice storm struck the northern part of Michigan.

Tree branches and limbs, weighed down by ice, broke and fell to the ground, leaving towering toothpick trees behind. Many roads, campgrounds, forests, boat launches and other facilities managed by the state were closed as a result. 

Months later, most areas have reopened to the public, but the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is warning visitors to be cautious and expect some trail and road closures to still be in place for their safety. 

Most trails, campgrounds open

The DNR staff went to work to ensure all campgrounds opened at the start of the season on May 15. Some state forests and boat access sites lagged behind, but most are open and ready for Fourth of July weekend.

Kerry Heckman, from the DNR’s Ice Storm Response team, said that travelers should be aware that some roads running through state forests are blocked off. Likewise, some trails may be blocked for visitor safety. 

“If you are going to be just in the forest itself, just be aware that there are a lot of hazards that remain,” Heckman warned, adding that trees that are leaning or limbs caught in the tree canopy are still at risk of falling suddenly. 

She said parts of State Parks Onaway, Clear Lake and Petoskey are temporarily closed. Additionally, Cheboygan State Park is closed for the summer for regularly scheduled updates unrelated to the ice storm. 

Forest recovery efforts continue

It will take a while for the forest to fully recover from the cold snap, Heckman said.

 ”We’ll be working for many years to replant, and bringing the forest back to what they were prior to the storm,” she said.

Heckman says the DNR is also working to salvage fallen trees for timber as fallen limbs are cleared.

Finding new uses for the fallen wood and clearing it out is essential to minimize potential harms to the environment, though the dead branches have benefits as well. 

Long-term impacts on the environment

The influx of fallen timber and moisture leads to a number of environmental impacts, Heckman said.

Forest health is a concern due to the rapid change, but the woods are resilient. 

The dead wood will provide food for woodpeckers and pests like the pine bark beetle, whose population is expected to explode and cause further damage to trees. Exposed wood is also vulnerable to diseases.

One additional danger of having so much timber on the forest floor is providing fuel for potential wildfires, she said.

The open canopy gives room for new plant growth, including that of invasive species.

As the fallen branches decompose, they will replenish the soil. This — in addition to the moisture delivered by the storm — will promote the growth of fungi.

“For people who love morel mushrooms, that’s going to be amazing,” said Heckman.

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

Heat is now the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. — with 12,000 lives claimed annually — and this number is expected to increase significantly by the turn of the century.

In large cities, temperatures in the summer can reach even higher than normal due to the “urban heat island” effect. 

New data compiled by the nonprofit American Forests and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation identifies areas in cities across the United States that lack enough protection from the sun.  These areas are known as “shade deserts.” 

The new shade map covers more than 100 of the country’s biggest urban areas, including Detroit.

One effective way to stay cooler is by increasing shade, especially through planting trees, which can reduce the effects of high temps significantly. But according to American Forests a lack of shade in Detroit — especially at bus stops and along roadways — is harming thousands. 

Less than 60% of households in Detroit have air conditioning, said Chris David, vice president of GIS & Data Science at American Forests. Additionally, he says those using public and alternative transit are even more at risk of heat-related illness and death. 

“I think there’s about 5,000 bus stops in Detroit,” David said. “About 90% of those 5,000 bus stops have poor shade.” 

He says bus shelters provide “very little” sun protection, with only about 5% of bus stops in the city covered.  

“That means we estimated about 85,000 daily transit riders in Detroit….they’re left exposed to the sun when they’re waiting for the bus… and that can have dire effects,” David said.

David says Detroit will benefit from a strategic plan to increase the tree canopy, with groups like the Greening of Detroit working toward that goal in partnership with city government. 

You can view the American Forests/UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation shade map here. 

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