Popular MI Trail Closes For Summer Due To Invasive Bug: Officials

LEELANAU, MI — A popular northern Michigan trail is closed through the summer due to an invasive bug invasion, according to park officials.

The Old Indian Trail and its surrounding area in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) is closed due to invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, according to park officials.

The roughly 3-mile trail, which includes a Lake Michigan view, is best-known for walks and bird watching in the summers.

Park officials said they found a large infestation of the invasive bug on the southern boundary of the National Lakeshore, along and around the area of the Old Indian Trail earlier this year.

Park officials said they hope to reopen the trail by the fall of 2024.

The pest eats away the tree's nutrients at the base of the needles, essentially starving the tree and killing the tree in as little as four years, according to park officials.

During the fall and winter months, the adelgids cover themselves with a white, waxy coating for protection that appears as wool bundles the size of a pinhead at the base of hemlock needles, according to park officials.

The aphid-like insect has been moving north along the Lake Michigan coastline since 2015 and is known to be present in seven Michigan Counties: Allegan, Benzie, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, and Washtenaw, according to park officials.

The bug spreads by wind, wildlife and by humans through clothing, vehicles and by moving firewood, according to park officials.

Park officials asked those visiting the National Lakeshore - especially those coming from an area with known infestations - to help slow the spread by following these recommendations:

• Obey closures, stay on trails, and treat clothes and hiking equipment by machine drying on high heat after a hike.
• Do not park under low-hanging branches and wash vehicles often when traveling between areas in the region.
• Learn how to identify Eastern hemlock trees and hemlock woolly adelgid.
• Report possible sightings to the National Lakeshore or Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network.
• Use the citizen science app MISIN (Midwest Invasive Species Network) to post location-specific photos of HWA.

Hemlock trees are common in the National Lakeshore and throughout the region. These trees provide food, shade, and cover for many species of birds and mammals. They are especially important during the spring before other plants have grown back their leaves. Eastern hemlock trees often grow around freshwater rivers and streams. In these areas, their shallow roots help to stabilize the soil and limit erosion. The shade also keeps water temperatures cool for animals like fish and aquatic invertebrates.