Just for argument’s sake, I added a few numbers this evening…

Huron-Clinton Metroparks: 24,000 acres
Toledo Metroparks: 8,978
Toledo Area Ohio State Parks: 2,730
MI State Parks/Recreation Areas within an hour of Detroit: 76,979
Detroit area State Game Areas: 39,114
Detroit area nature preserves from Tom Powers’
book “Natural Michigan”: 11,600

That’s 163,401 acres.  And it doesn’t include local or county parks.  Nor does it count Ontario parks that are within easy reach.  It seems likely to me that we have well over 200,000 acres of public space within an hour or two.  For comparison’s sake, the Manistee National Forest in Michigan’s NW lower peninsula is about 500,000 acres in size.  So, we roughly have the equivalent of a small national forest within our midst.

The difficulty is that this great forest is spread across a maze of political jurisdictions.  There is very little common planning.  Trails often don’t connect.  And we don’t have a central information resource.  So, visitors and prospective businesses - not to mention long time residents - have no idea that this 200,000 acre wonderland is right here.

This is a competitive advantage for our region.  We should use it better.

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