Get all your fishing information here, including rules and regulations, license info, the weekly fishing report and much more. Use the link above to visit the fishing home page, or go directly to your area of interest below:
Get all your hunting information here, including hunting season dates, rules and regulations, and much more. Use the button above to visit the hunting home page, or go directly to your area of interest below:
Information on DNR shooting and archery ranges, rules and regulations, resources to get started and more. Use the button above to visit the target shooing and archery home page, or go directly to one of the pages below:
Find snowmobile trail permit info, maps, rules and regulations and more. USE THE BUTTON ABOVE TO VISIT THE SNOWMOBILE HOMEPAGE or go directly to you area of interest below:
Want to find tasty morel mushrooms in the forest? Click the box above for tips and tricks to fill your basket.
Find cross-country ski, ice fishing , snowmobiling info and much more.
Find facility info, overnight info, an event calendar and much more.
Find a great trail experience near you - whether you want to hike, bike, snowmobile or ride an ORV. From long, paved linear trails to rugged forest terrain, Michigan offers trail opportunities for all abilities and interests.
Visitor Centers across the state provide education programs, field trips, archery, fishing, trails and much more. Click the box above to see all our locations, or click the individual location below.
We administer grants that enable our local partners to promote the lifestyles we all enjoy by providing recreational opportunities, enhancing wildlife habitat and ensuring public safety. Visit the grants home page by clicking on the button above, or view a specific area of interest below:
Recreational Safety and Hunter Education
Learn about Michigan's diverse range of fish, plants, trees, reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals. Click the box above to see all species, or click the species group below.
DNR educators across the state provide fun, educational activities, programs and workshops year-round for adults, families and kids. Click the box above to see all our offerings, or click the program below.
DNR educators provide classroom lessons, field trip opportunities, professional development and experiential programs to teachers around the state. Click the box above to see all our offerings, or click the program below.
DNR forest resources professionals maintain healthy forests, manage wildfire, maintain responsible harvesting certifications and improve wildlife habitat. Click the box above to learn more about Michigan's state forests.
All DNR-related boards, committees, and advisory groups
Find seasonal, part-time and full-time job openings with the DNR
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
Extending nearly 40 miles long, the Inland Waterway is Michigan’s longest chain of rivers and lakes. It’s a large, complex watershed – spanning approximately 50,000 acres of lake surface – with multiple streams, rivers and Pickerel, Crooked, Burt, Mullett and Black lakes. The watershed is in Cheboygan, Presque Isle, Otsego and Emmet counties, with all waters eventually draining into Lake Huron through the mouth of the Cheboygan River.
Mullett Lake is a large, deep, high-quality lake with 200 billion gallons of water within its basin. It’s the state’s fifth largest lake, with a surface area of 16,630 acres. The Mullett Lake Watershed encompasses 744 square miles; however, much of the watershed is located upstream from Burt Lake.
Water levels throughout the entire system are greatly affected by natural weather patterns outside of human control, including wind, rain, snow, ice jams, spring thaw, shoaling and evaporation, as well as often competing public interests.
There are five points of water level control on the Inland Waterway: the Alanson Lock and Weir, the Alverno hydroelectric facility, the Kleber hydroelectric facility, Cheboygan Dam and the former Great Lakes Tissue hydroelectric facility.
The U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging station monitors water levels on Mullet Lake and the Cheboygan River daily, and adjustments to the six gates of the DNR-managed Cheboygan Dam are regularly made to maintain target levels on both the lake and river.
In 1983, when the former owner of the Great Lakes Tissue Facility initiated the Cheboygan Dam Powerhouse Redevelopment Project it was required to obtain licensing from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). As part of the FERC licensing process, an agreement between the DNR and the former Great Lakes Tissue facility owners was entered into allowing for fine-tuning water releases from the Cheboygan River using valves and gates in the powerhouse to allow for a “run-of-the river operation that would not negatively impact water quality and not adversely affect migratory fish species.
In September 2023, a fire at the Great Lakes Tissue plant led to the shutdown of the plant’s hydroelectric generator. It's undetermined if or when it will be back in operation. The hydroelectric generation facility can account for up to approximately 30% of the capacity of water passed out of the mouth of the Cheboygan River into Lake Huron.
There are many competing public interests regarding the water level management of the inland waterway.
Weather patterns outside of human control have great effect on water level management.
The Great Lakes Tissue hydroelectric facility played a key role in water level management through “fine-tuned” incremental adjustments to water levels. Without these adjustments, the DNR must exclusively use the six gates at the Cheboygan Dam to manage water levels.
Until a solution is finalized, boaters and lakefront property owners can expect to see more significant water level changes along the Cheboygan River and Mullet Lake.
The DNR is in communication with the current property owner at the former location of the Great Lakes Tissue plant, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and community partners to keep apprised of changes and developments.
For more information, contact the DNR Cheboygan Field Office at 231-627-9011.
A 1934 county resolution identified an independent determination of Mullett Lake’s target level at 593.1 feet above mean sea level. Maximum (594.0 feet) and minimum (592.15 feet) lake levels also were set.
Beginning Oct. 15, the Inland Waterway will undergo its seasonal drawdown. Water levels in the Inland Waterway, especially in areas along the Cheboygan River and Mullet Lake, will decrease by approximately 12 inches until March 31. This allows for better management during spring thaw and runoff. Water levels will then be replenished starting April 1, with the goal of reaching the target lake level of 593.1 feet by April 15, depending on weather conditions. In the summer, lake residents and boaters along the Inland Waterway may experience larger water level fluctuations.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recognizes 60 inches, for recreational purposes, as a safe navigable depth of the rivers of the Inland Waterway. The DNR does not dredge the Inland Waterway.
