Michigan Islands Wilderness

The Michigan Islands Wilderness comprises Pismire, Scarecrow, and Shoe Islands, three of the eight islands designated as part of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Lakes Huron and Michigan. These islands provide nesting grounds for numerous bird species, including great blue herons, black-crowned night-herons, herring gulls, ring-billed gulls, great black-backed gulls, common terns, Caspian terns, and double-crested cormorants, which gather here in substantial numbers. The primary vegetation includes standing dead green ash trees, accompanied by a dense understory of common elderberry, scattered red-osier dogwood, and various weedy plants. The decline of ash trees is largely due to the high concentration of cormorants. To protect nesting birds, public access to these islands is prohibited.