Responsible Recreation

Creating places for outdoor enthusiasts to recreate without damaging the environment is an important step in the conservation process. Therefore, Huron Pines is working to implement the Lupton Motorized Trail project. 

It is a project to restore damaged areas and create new trails for responsible ORV use. For this project, a ½ mile of trail for motorized recreational use will be added, many illegal ORV routes and unnecessary Forest System roads will be closed, and erosion problems will be addressed, improving approximately 2 miles of existing trail and rehabilitating ORV damage.

Summer 2008

To date, the restoration plan is complete and the initial construction has started. Recently,  Huron Pines, U.S. Forest Service personnel and 20 enthusiastic and hardworking volunteers from the ATV Off-Road Club of Michigan installed 3 gates to regulate trail use, 150 feet of fencing to guide users, trail signage and rehabilitated ORV damaged areas all in one day.

The work was completed in 2 areas on the trail about 2 miles apart. One group worked on the proposed trailhead location to install fencing and a gate, while another group worked on erosion sites and installed additional fencing. Once the tasks at hand were completed, both groups met at the new entrance to the ORV portion of the trail to install the last of the two gates. 

Although more work needs to be done before the trail officially opens, this was a big step towards completion of the trail targeted to open October 1.

Special Thanks to our Conservation Partners

We would like to thank the ATV OFF Road Club of Michigan for their help and use of equipment and the Rose City/Lupton Area Chamber of Commerce for their generous donation of $1,000 for this project. 

Our partners include the U.S. Forest Service, Ogemaw County Road Commission, Rose City/Lupton Area Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Alliance for Oscoda County and the ATV OFF Road Club of Michigan.

Funding for this project was provided by the West Branch/Ogemaw County Travel and Visitors Bureau, Yamaha Grants Program, U.S. Forest Service, and the Rose City/Lupton Area Chamber of Commerce.

To learn more about this project, please contact Habitat Specialist, Eric Nelson at eric@huronpines.org.