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Shakey Lakes

Recognition: State Forest Management Plan

Size: 1,520 acres

Location: Part of the Escanaba River State Forest in Menominee County, 10 miles west of Stephenson

Management: Escanaba River State Forest

Activities: Hiking, outdoor education, wildflower and bird viewing, hunting

Importance: Shakey Lakes contains the largest area of pine and oak barrens in northern Michigan. Five distinctly different savanna ecosystems are found at the site along with five state threatened or special concern species. Historians believe that native peoples purposely set fires on a regular basis to improve game habitat and blueberry crops. These fires, along with lightning strikes, apparently maintained a savanna-type landscape. Following nearly 100 years of fire suppression, savanna restoration activities, including the use of prescribed burns, have begun at Shakey Lakes.