Hiawatha National Forest
Encyclopedia
Hiawatha National Forest is a 880000 acres (356,123.7 ha) National Forest
in the Upper Peninsula
of the state of Michigan
in the United States
. Commercial logging
is conducted in some areas. The United States Forest Service
administers this National Forest; it is physically divided into two subunits, commonly called the Eastside 46°14′N 84°50′W and Westside 46°08′N 86°40′W. In descending order of land area it lies in parts of Chippewa
, Delta
, Mackinac
, Alger
, Schoolcraft
, and Marquette
counties. Chippewa and Mackinac counties are in the Eastside, whereas the rest are in the Westside. The smaller Eastside contains about 44% of the forest's area, whereas the larger Westside has about 56%. Forest headquarters are located in Escanaba, Michigan
. Eastside ranger district offices are located in Sault Ste. Marie
and St. Ignace
, while Westside offices are in Manistique
, Munising
, and Rapid River
.
Eastside was a large infertile sandy area that was never homesteaded or developed. It was designated Marquette National Forest
by President
Theodore Roosevelt
in 1909. This land was administered with Huron National Forest
as the Michigan National Forest from 1918 intil 1962, when it was transferred to Hiawatha. The forest was authorized to buy an additional 307000 acres (124,238.6 ha) in 1925 and 50000 acres (20,234.3 ha) in 1935. Westside began being purchased in 1928 and was designated Hiawatha National Forest in 1931. This unit was extensively replanted by the Civilian Conservation Corps
.
The forest has over 100 miles (160.9 km) of shoreline. Both east and west units have shoreline on both Lake Superior
and Lake Michigan
; the east unit also has shoreline on Lake Huron
and includes Round Island
and its lighthouse
. The west unit borders Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
, which is administered by the National Park Service
, and the Grand Island National Recreation Area
, which is separately administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
Several lighthouse
s are located along the shores. The Point Iroquois Light is operated as a museum. The North Country Trail
passes through the forest.
The Hiawatha National Forest contains six designated wilderness areas:
United States National Forest
National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...
in the Upper Peninsula
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. It is commonly referred to as the Upper Peninsula, the U.P., or Upper Michigan. It is also known as the land "above the Bridge" linking the two peninsulas. The peninsula is bounded...
of the state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Commercial logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
is conducted in some areas. The United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
administers this National Forest; it is physically divided into two subunits, commonly called the Eastside 46°14′N 84°50′W and Westside 46°08′N 86°40′W. In descending order of land area it lies in parts of Chippewa
Chippewa County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge* Hiawatha National Forest * Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
, Delta
Delta County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,520 people, 15,836 households, and 10,689 families residing in the county. The population density was 33 people per square mile . There were 19,223 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
, Mackinac
Mackinac County, Michigan
-Local Airports:*Mackinac County Airport *Mackinac Island Airport -Airline service:The nearest airports with scheduled passenger service are:*Chippewa County International Airport in Sault Ste...
, Alger
Alger County, Michigan
Alger County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,601. Its county seat is Munising. The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is located within the county.-History:...
, Schoolcraft
Schoolcraft County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Hiawatha National Forest * Seney National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 8,903 people, 3,606 households, and 2,498 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile . There were 5,700 housing units...
, and Marquette
Marquette County, Michigan
-National protected areas:* Hiawatha National Forest * Huron National Wildlife Refuge* Ottawa National Forest -University:Northern Michigan University is a four-year university, established in 1899, located in Marquette, Michigan, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula...
counties. Chippewa and Mackinac counties are in the Eastside, whereas the rest are in the Westside. The smaller Eastside contains about 44% of the forest's area, whereas the larger Westside has about 56%. Forest headquarters are located in Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie...
. Eastside ranger district offices are located in Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
and St. Ignace
St. Ignace, Michigan
Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,678. It is the county seat of Mackinac County. From the Lower Peninsula, St. Ignace is the gateway to the Upper Peninsula.St...
, while Westside offices are in Manistique
Manistique, Michigan
Manistique is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,583. It is the county seat of Schoolcraft County and the only incorporated community in the county. The city lies on the north shore of Lake Michigan, at the southwest corner...
, Munising
Munising, Michigan
Munising is a city on the southern shore of Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,539. It is the county seat of Alger County...
, and Rapid River
Rapid River, Michigan
Rapid River is an unincorporated community in Masonville Township, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan.It is situated on the northern end of the Little Bay de Noc at , between the mouths of the Tacoosh and Rapid rivers with the mouth of the Whitefish River just to the east. U.S. Highway 2...
.
Eastside was a large infertile sandy area that was never homesteaded or developed. It was designated Marquette National Forest
Marquette National Forest
Marquette National Forest was established by the U.S. Forest Service in Michigan on February 10, 1909 with . On July 1, 1915 the entire forest was transferred to Michigan National Forest and the name was discontinued. On February 12, 1931 Marquette was re-established with , changing its name back...
by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
in 1909. This land was administered with Huron National Forest
Huron-Manistee National Forests
The Huron-Manistee National Forests are two national forests combined in 1945 for administration purposes and which comprise of public lands, including of wetlands, extending across the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. The Huron-Manistee National Forests provide recreation opportunities...
as the Michigan National Forest from 1918 intil 1962, when it was transferred to Hiawatha. The forest was authorized to buy an additional 307000 acres (124,238.6 ha) in 1925 and 50000 acres (20,234.3 ha) in 1935. Westside began being purchased in 1928 and was designated Hiawatha National Forest in 1931. This unit was extensively replanted by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
.
The forest has over 100 miles (160.9 km) of shoreline. Both east and west units have shoreline on both Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
and Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
; the east unit also has shoreline on Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
and includes Round Island
Round Island (Michigan)
Round Island is an uninhabited island in Mackinac County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The Native Americans called the island "Nissawinagong."...
and its lighthouse
Round Island Light (Michigan)
The Round Island Light, also known as the "Old Round Island Point Lighthouse" is a lighthouse located on the west shore of Round Island in the shipping lanes of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...
. The west unit borders Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 miles along the shore and covers...
, which is administered by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, and the Grand Island National Recreation Area
Grand Island National Recreation Area
The Grand Island National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. It is part of the Hiawatha National Forest. Located on Grand Island, Michigan offshore from Munising, Michigan, the Grand Island National Recreation Area covers approximately ...
, which is separately administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
Several lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s are located along the shores. The Point Iroquois Light is operated as a museum. The North Country Trail
North Country Trail
The North Country National Scenic Trail , which stretches approximately from Crown Point in eastern New York to Lake Sakakawea in central North Dakota in the United States, is the longest of the eleven National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress...
passes through the forest.
The Hiawatha National Forest contains six designated wilderness areas:
- Big Island Lake WildernessBig Island Lake WildernessBig Island Lake Wilderness is a remote protected area in the Munising Ranger District of the Hiawatha National Forest in the Upper Peninsula in the state of Michigan in the United States. The wilderness area is located about one-half mile northwest of the community of Steuben and northwest of...
- Delirium WildernessDelirium WildernessDelirium Wilderness is a wilderness area in Chippewa County, within the Hiawatha National Forest in the U.S. state of Michigan.The Wilderness is forested, flat, and rolling, often characterized as a swamp, with elevations ranging from 590 to 890 feet...
- Horseshoe Bay WildernessHorseshoe Bay WildernessThe Horseshoe Bay Wilderness is a wilderness area in the U.S. state of Michigan. It borders Horseshoe Bay, a shallow bay that is part of the extreme northwest corner of Lake Huron adjacent to the Straits of Mackinac...
- Mackinac WildernessMackinac WildernessThe Mackinac Wilderness is a unit within the Hiawatha National Forest. It is located in Mackinac County, Michigan. The wilderness is accessible from M-123, which borders the unit. The nearest town is Moran, Michigan....
- Rock River Canyon WildernessRock River Canyon WildernessThe Rock River Canyon Wilderness is a unit within the Hiawatha National Forest. It is located in Alger County, Michigan. The wilderness is accessible from M-94, which runs south of the unit in a west-to-east direction...
- Round Island Wilderness