News Photo by Kayla Wikaryasz On Monday, the entrance of Long Lake Park is surrounded by broken branches and a downed power line. Long Lake Park is one of many campgrounds in the county affected by the recent ice storm.

ALPENA — On Friday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that all state-managed trails in a dozen northern Michigan counties will remain closed indefinitely, following the recent ice storm that left thousands without power, heat, and other resources. Besides trails, many state-managed sites are also closed due to storm damage, according to a DNR press release.

According to Richard Hill, district supervisor of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, assessing damage early last week was greatly hindered by fallen trees and downed power lines. Eventually, crews were able to access state-managed sites and began some of the initial assessments of damage.

Overall, Hill explained that there hasn’t been any major infrastructure damage to sites besides some minor electrical damage and damage to roofs. Hill stated that the general cleanup will encompass the restoration efforts.

Ron Olson, chief of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, explained that the amount of time it will take for cleanup will depend on the location.

“Not all the parks have experienced as much damage,” Olson said. “Some parks might be open prior to Memorial Day.”

Both Hill and Olson were optimistic that parks across Northern Michigan will open in time for the upcoming camping season. However, restoration efforts have just begun in many places.

According to Olson, there have been state park closures before in Northern Michigan because of storm damage, but he noted that this storm has presented some unique challenges.

Additionally, Hill noted that some of the hardest hit state-managed parks in the surrounding areas include Tomahawk Creek Flooding State Forest Campground, Clear Lake State Park, and Little Wolf Lake State Forest Campground.

As far as cost, Olson and Hill were reluctant to name a price that would cover the damages at state-managed sites.

“It is too early to tell what the total is,” Olson said.

Not only have state-managed sites been affected by the recent ice storm, but so have some county-owned campgrounds.

According to Kevin Osborne, vice-chair of the Alpena County parks commission, most of the campgrounds in the county received minimal damage, though cleanup labor might vary.

Osborne said that Long Lake Park has a lot of branches down, but there wasn’t much damage to individual sites. Manning Hill Park has a few branches on the pavilion.

According to Osborne, Sunken Lake Park sustained the most damage when compared to the campgrounds he’s been able to assess thus far. Osborne said there are at least 10 sizable trees down at Sunken Lake Park, and there are also branches that have fallen onto the campground’s store.

Despite the restoration and cleanup ahead of them, Osborne is confident that campgrounds across the county will be able to open in time for the camping season. However, he did note that Sunken Lake Park may have a harder time opening on time due to the amount of work cleanup will take.

One local nature preserve seemed to withstand the storm relatively well, considering the number of trees that have fallen across Northeastern Michigan.

Julia Butch, a conservation specialist at Huron Pines, said that Emily Mun Hunt Preserve, located on Shubert Highway, made it through the ice storm relatively unscathed.

“It didn’t do as badly as some places,” Butch said. “No big trees down but plenty of branches and brush to pick up on the main trail.”

Butch is hopeful that the cleanup process at the preserve will be completed this week.