ORVs travel a forest road in Marquette County. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — More than 5,752 miles of state forest roads in the Upper Peninsula are open to ORVs this year, representing about 98% of the total mileage, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said.

Each year on April 1, following the annual road inventory and review, the DNR updates its state forest road maps. They are available in both an interactive online format and as printable PDFs at Michigan.gov/ForestRoads.

In all, Michigan has 11,841 miles of forest roads and trails open to ORVs, which is an increase of 31 miles from a year ago. In the northern Lower Peninsula, about 84% of the total mileage is open.

“While significant progress has been made to clear debris from state forest roads, some roads remain closed due to extensive damage from last year’s severe ice storm,” said Amy Livermore, DNR forester. “Cleanup efforts are ongoing, and we appreciate the public’s patience as crews continue working.”

April 1 also marked the start of Michigan’s 2026-27 ORV season. An ORV license is required to ride eligible county roads, frozen surface of public waters, state forest roads (open to ORV use) and eligible national forest roads.

A trail permit is required in addition to an ORV license when operating on state-designated ORV trails and scramble areas. For more on ORV rules, regulations and closures go to Michigan.gov/ORVInfo.

***

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress invite the public to attend the annual Fish and Wildlife Spring Hearings at 6 p.m. Monday to learn about and provide input on resource management.

An online opportunity for public input will also be available from 6 p.m. Monday through 6 p.m. Wednesday at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc/springhearing.

At the in-person spring hearings, DNR staff and WCC delegates will be on hand to discuss local issues of importance, answer questions from the public and open a dialogue between the public, the DNR and the WCC about areas of interest and concern.

The WCC will also hold delegate elections at each meeting. Two of the five WCC seats will be up for election in each county.

Hearing locations include:

— Florence Natural Resources Center, 5628 Forestry Dr., Florence.

— Wausaukee High School, N11941 U.S. 141, Wausaukee.

— Crandon High School, 9750 U.S. 8, Crandon.

The public is invited to provide feedback on a variety of fish, wildlife and other natural resources-related topics as part of the spring hearing process. The public is encouraged to provide feedback through a QR code available at spring hearing locations on Monday, or online. For those who prefer to do so in person, several paper input forms will be available at each in-person meeting.

The Wisconsin Conservation Congress is the only statutory body in the state where the public elects delegates to advise the Natural Resources Board and the DNR on responsibly managing natural resources.

For more, go to https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc.

***

The Michigan DNR reported this U.P. activity:

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers reported slow fishing for yellow perch, and any fish they did mark were lethargic, barely going after their lures. Anglers reported the most success on wigglers, with some bites coming on minnows.

Munising: Anglers did well targeting coho salmon and smelt throughout the bay with cisco also being caught. The splake and whitefish bite was slow, while the perch bite was reported fair. Anglers reported luck at night when targeting burbot in the bay. Popular baits included eggs and minnows.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers reported good numbers of coho salmon with a few cisco being caught. Anglers targeting splake and perch saw slow fishing, with many fish being undersized. Anglers also reported success targeting smelt at night. Successful baits included wax worms, minnows and spawn.

Marquette: There were a few coho salmon caught out on the breakwall on days when the ice allowed anglers to cast into the lake. This occurred toward the end of the week when the sun came out and some of the ice melted. There were also a few brown trout and steelhead caught on the breakwall.

The Carp River was still too shallow and icy early in the week; if fishing around the mouth was not productive, anglers tried moving upstream.

Au Train: The Au Train River mouth opened back up and was fishable as of Sunday. The fish that were caught this month have all been caught out by the mouth of the river on the ice cliffs. Most were caught with either jigs with wax worms or floating spawn eggs.

Hessel: anglers ventured out on snowmobiles around Hessel Bay, catching some perch and smelt. There were still a few anglers venturing out into Urie and Musky Bay, catching a few perch but having a hard time finding them.