The Au Sable State Forest is a state forest in the north-central Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
The Au Sable State Forest is a byproduct of the lumbering boom in Michigan during the late 19th century. Many parcels of old growth timber were stripped of their largest trees. After forest fires had consumed the resulting detritus, the land had no economic value. Typically, it was sold to subsistence farmers or was reverted to the state in lieu of unpaid property taxes.
Today, the Au Sable State Forest is a valuable asset to the state of Michigan. Much of it surrounds the fast-growing communities of Houghton Lake, Higgins Lake and Lake St. Helen adjacent to U.S. Interstate 75. In addition, much of the forest is used for wildlife game management and the fostering of rare and endangered species, such as the Kirtland's warbler. Much of the area sits on the "Grayling outwash plain", a unique habitat.
Read more about Au Sable State Forest: National Natural Landmarks
Famous quotes containing the words sable, state and/or forest:
“Miss Caswell: Now there’s something a girl could make sacrifices for.
Bill: And probably has.
Miss Caswell: Sable.
Max: Sable? Did she say sable or Gable?
Miss Caswell: Either one.”
—Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909–1993)
“Scholars who become politicians are usually assigned the comic role of having to be the good conscience of state policy.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The boys dressed themselves, hid their accoutrements, and went off grieving that there were no outlaws any more, and wondering what modern civilization could claim to have done to compensate for their loss. They said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than President of the United States forever.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)