There’s often a silver lining to every storm. Sometimes, you just have to look to find it.
In late March 2025, an historic ice storm coated northern Michigan with one half to up to an inch and a half of ice. The weight of the buildup snapped trees and limbs, left many roads impassable, closed businesses and knocked down power poles cutting electricity to 90,000 people. The state’s governor declared a state of emergency to coordinate cleanup and restoration efforts.
The devastation also forced Michigan officials to temporarily close state hiking trails, campgrounds and boating access sites.
While the storm destroyed nesting habitat for birds, squirrels and other animals, it is a boon for elk. Or maybe a better word is smorgasbord.
“I always make the joke that they’re just ‘walk stomachs.’ They’re really guided by their food sources,” Shelby Adams, Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist, told mlive.com.
The weight of the ice caused the tops of many young pines and some aspen trees to snap off and fall to the ground, as this bird’s eye view mlive video shows. The fresh, young greens are highly palatable and, of course, usually well out of reach for ungulates but are now on the ground and served up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“From a habitat perspective their populations will do really well with a high disturbance event like this,” Adams told mlive. “As the forest regenerates in the next 10 to 15 years they really do thrive in that young forest landscape.”
The Michigan Forest Resources Division is coordinating a plan to restore state forests. Possible actions include spring tree planting, timber sales and salvage operations, wildfire risks and assessment, and other efforts to help the forest bounce back and thrive.
(Photo credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources)