“There is so much more to Negwegon than the beach.” - Logan Hawley, Ecologist

The 4,000-acre Negwegon State Park is located three miles south of Ossineke on the shores of Lake Huron. It is one of 10 designated Dark Sky parks or sanctuaries in Michigan where visitors can enjoy star-filled skies. The park is also home to rare and unique habitats, most notably a wooded dune and swale complex characterized by an alternating pattern of narrow wetlands and ridges that parallel the shoreline. Covering over 1,000 acres of the park, Negwegon has the largest wooded dune and swale habitat within Huron Pines’ 12-county service area. This expansive protected habitat is the ideal location for many diverse wildlife species including the imperiled Blanding’s turtle, a medium sized, semi aquatic turtle that requires large intact habitats to thrive.

Huron Pines has been working since 2018 to eliminate invasive species from Negwegon with an emphasis on phragmites. Notably difficult to treat, phragmites grow upwards of 10 feet tall, produce thousands of seeds that scatter in the wind and fragments that can drift and re-root. Working in coordination with Friends of Negwegon State Park, a nonprofit volunteer organization committed to preserving the park for future generations, all invasive phragmites were removed from the 8-mile shoreline over a span of several years. Huron Pines and Friends of Negwegon continue to treat and monitor for phragmites and have enlisted the help of students from Alcona Community Schools to remove invasive spotted knapweed from the beach area.

This work helps protect and restore habitat for native shoreline species such as the Pitcher's thistle, a threatened plant which grows only along the Great Lakes.

Huron Pines and partners will continue to treat invasive species and monitor the health of native populations through 2027. Volunteer workdays are a key component of this ongoing effort. To learn how to volunteer, visit our volunteer page.

This habitat work is made possible through the support of Friends of Negwegon State Park, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes program, Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Stewardship and Parks & Recreation divisions and Alcona Community Schools.