Each month, there are a variety of opportunities to get involved with the DNR’s work – here are a few coming up next month!

Help natural areas in state parks

Several state parks in southern Michigan will host stewardship workdays, where volunteers are needed to help high-quality ecosystems thrive.

Workdays will take place at:

• Island Lake Recreation Area (Livingston County), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11.
• Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4.
• Bald Mountain Recreation Area (Oakland County), 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10.
• Yankee Springs Recreation Area (Barry County), 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 10.
• Highland Recreation Area (Oakland County), 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17.
• Grand Mere State Park (Berrien County), 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 17.
• Muskegon State Park (Muskegon County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18.
• Fort Custer Recreation Area (Kalamazoo County), 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 24.
• Saugatuck Dunes State Park (Allegan County), 9:30 a.m. to noon Sunday, Aug. 25.
• Pinckney Recreation Area (Washtenaw County), 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 25.
• Warren Dunes State Park (Berrien County), 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 31.

More details about each workday and how to register can be found on the DNR volunteer events calendar.

Improve habitat at state game areas

On the Ground, Michigan United Conservation Clubs’ volunteer program in partnership with the DNR, will host two habitat improvement events in August. Lunch, gear and volunteer gifts will be provided for both events.

Invasive species removal stewardship day at Gourdneck State Game Area (Kalamazoo County), 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 3. Help remove woody invasives like glossy buckthorn to make room for native plants to grow.

Cleanup at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area (Monroe/Wayne counties), 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10. Volunteers will remove trash from the state game area to help enhance the quality of fish and wildlife habitat on public land.

Share the outdoors at U.P. State Fair

Mentors are needed to help staff the DNR's Pocket Park during the Aug. 12-18 Upper Peninsula State Fair in Escanaba. Activities volunteers assist with include helping kids catch and release bluegills in the U.P.-shaped pond and shoot pellet guns or bow and arrow, staffing the fire tower and greeting visitors.

Volunteer training for all activities is provided. A variety of three- to four-hour shifts are available. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old (unless under preapproved circumstances) and pass a background check. A meal and T-shirt will be provided.

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Jo Ann Alexander at 906-786-2351, ext. 0, or Kristi Dahlstrom at 906-226-1331.

Give us your input on state forests

Prescribed burns, timber harvests and other activities are carefully planned to keep Michigan’s nearly 4 million acres of state forest thriving. Plans for these activities are currently being made for 2026, but public input is welcome now. Find out what activities are planned and how to share your ideas at Michigan.gov/ForestInput. You can submit online comments during designated 30-day periods or attend an open house or compartment review meeting, where plans are finalized. See all scheduled comment periods, open houses and compartment review meetings for the 2024 season.

For more opportunities to volunteer, contribute and provide input, visit Michigan.gov/DNRVolunteers.