State Land Review

The Managed Public Land Strategy, approved for implementation in September 2018, requires the DNR to review approximately 240,000 acres of state-owned land to determine whether these lands contribute to the department’s mission. These parcels are located throughout the state, and each one either:

• Is 200 acres or less, or
• Has an irregular shape resulting in a significant shared private-public boundary, making it potentially difficult to manage.

Certain parcels of land that meet this criteria – including developed boating access sites, designated trails and other DNR facilities – have been removed from the review, as they have been confirmed to contribute to the department’s mission.

Review process

The review will be conducted on a county-by-county basis, 10 counties at a time. The counties in each group will be geographically dispersed throughout the state. All parcels will go through a thorough multilevel, multidisciplinary review.

• Local: The review process starts with local forest unit managers, wildlife biologists, fisheries biologists and recreation specialists.
• Regional: Forestry, wildlife, fisheries and recreational aspects are reviewed at a regional level.
• Statewide: Forestry, wildlife, fisheries and recreational aspects are reviewed at a statewide level.
• By Program: Important issues such as mineral rights, deed restrictions and environmental impacts are reviewed by the DNR and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Public feedback: This is your chance to give input on the recommendations that came out of the review process before the DNR director makes a final decision on parcel classification.

Parcel classifications

All parcels involved in the state land review effort are recommended to be classified into one of the following categories:

• Retain in state ownership/DNR administration.
• Offer for potential ownership by a local unit of government or alternative conservation owner. If there is no interest, these parcels will be retained by the DNR.
• Exchange for another parcel of land, if a land exchange is available. The parcel will remain available for exchange proposals for two years. After that time, it will be disposed.
• Dispose via public auction. (Any parcels that are recommended to leave state ownership will first be offered to local units of government.)

Group 8 counties

The final staff parcel classifications for the eighth group of counties, which includes Baraga, Benzie, Clare, Clinton, Genesee, Ionia, Manistee, Mecosta, Newaygo, Shiawassee, and Wayne are now available for review and comment.

Land review map

You can view the final classifications for the eighth group of counties using the interactive map below. If you need assistance with the map, please send an email to DNR-GIS@michigan.gov.

View the state land review public comments map

Public meetings

We recently held two virtual public meetings to provide background information, an overview of the review process, and an opportunity for public comment on the initial recommendations. If you were not able to participate in one of the public meetings, you can learn more about why and how we are completing the state land review process by watching a recording from previous meetings.

Feedback via email

Comments can be submitted via email to DNR-StateLandReview@Michigan.gov. Feedback on the final staff recommendations for the eighth group of counties will be accepted through Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.

NRC meeting

There will be an additional opportunity for public comment on the final staff recommendations for the eighth group of counties at the Oct. 12, 2023 Natural Resources Commission meeting, when the DNR director is expected to make a decision on the final parcel classifications.

Current state land review status

As the state land review proceeds on a county-by-county basis, each county is assigned to a "group," which identifies in which order the review will occur. The review status by county map provides an overview of the current status of the review and the order in which counties will be reviewed.

State land review results
You can view the results of the state land review for the counties that have completed the process by viewing the state land review results dashboard. The following information is important to keep in mind when viewing the dashboard:

• The DNR is only reviewing a subset of all state-owned land. The state land review involves the review of approximately 240,000 acres of land. This is just over 5% of all state-owned land managed by the DNR.
• The statistics provided in the dashboard are for the land being reviewed through the State Land Review only.
• Either select a county from the list or click on the county on the map and the statistics for the land reviewed in that particular county will be displayed.
• The dashboard only contains information for the counties where the review process is complete. Updated information will be added as the process is completed for each county.
• Please email DNR-StateLandReview@michigan.gov with any questions.