Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the 3+1⁄2 miles wide, 295 feet deep, Straits of Mackinac, giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart; the two are technically a single lake.
The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge is a 9,870.35 acres (39.9439 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in Saginaw County managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It is located in the central portion of the lower peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of the Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron and five miles (8 km) south of the city of Saginaw in the county's Spaulding and James townships. It was established in 1953 to provide habitat for migratory waterfowl.
The protected areas of Michigan come in an array of different types and levels of protection. Michigan has five units of the National Park Service system. There are 14 federal wilderness areas; the majority of these are also tribal-designated wildernesses. It has one of the largest state forest systems as well having four national forests. The state maintains a large state park system and there are also regional parks, and county, township and city parks. Still other parks on land and in the Great Lakes are maintained by other governmental bodies. Private protected areas also exist in the state, mainly lands owned by land conservancies.
The Huron Islands are a group of eight small, rocky islands in Lake Superior, located about three miles (4.8 km) off the mouth of the Huron River in northwestern Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Together they comprise the Huron National Wildlife Refuge, which was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905. The refuge is also known as the Huron Islands Wilderness and is a unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The underwater area around the islands is part of the Huron Islands unit of the Marquette Underwater Preserve and several shipwrecks can be visited by divers.
Gull Island is the name of a dozen small islands in the U.S. state of Michigan.
The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is a managed wetland in Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It has an area of 95,212 acres (385 km2). It is bordered by M-28 and M-77. The nearest town of any size is Seney, Michigan. The refuge contains the Seney Wilderness Area and the Strangmoor Bog National Natural Landmark within its boundaries.
Little Charity Island is a small island in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron. The 5.4-acre (0.02 km2) island is located in Sims Township, Arenac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Acquired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999, it is administered by staff from the Seney National Wildlife Refuge as a unit of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Thunder Bay Island is a 215-acre (87 ha) island in Lake Huron. The island is one of eight constituent islands of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The island is part of Alpena Township in Alpena County. It marks the entrance to Thunder Bay, the harbor of Alpena, Michigan and the location of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Scarecrow Island is a small, 7-acre (0.03-km2) island in Lake Huron. It forms the southern limit of Thunder Bay and helps define the harbor of Alpena, Michigan. It is part of Sanborn Township, in Alpena County, Michigan.
Gull Island, located in St. James Township, Charlevoix County, Michigan, is the largest of approximately one dozen islands bearing this name in Michigan. 230 acres (0.9 km²) in size, it is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge was created in 1943.
Pismire Island is a small island in Lake Michigan of approximately 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) in size. It is part of the Beaver Island archipelago, the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge, and the Michigan Islands Wilderness Area. It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a satellite of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. It is located in St. James Township, Charlevoix County, Michigan.
Hog Island is an uninhabited island located off the eastern shore of Washington Island in the town of Washington, Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The island has a land area of 2.14 acres (8,656 m2) and an elevation of 10 feet or 20 feet above Lake Michigan.
The Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 695-acre (281 ha) horseshoe-shaped island and National Wildlife Refuge in Potagannissing Bay north of Drummond Island in the U.S. state of Michigan. The island was acquired in 1983 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from its previous owner, The Nature Conservancy, and set aside as a refuge. It is located in Drummond Township, in Chippewa County.
Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located off the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin. Founded in 1913, the refuge consists of two Lake Michigan islands that act as nesting grounds for native bird species. It is inhabited by large colonies of shore birds and waterfowl in addition to hosting a pair of great black-backed gulls, one of farthest westward breeding sites of the species.
Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in the state of Wisconsin. It includes five all or part of six islands in Lake Michigan: Hog Island, Plum Island, Pilot Island, part of St. Martin Island and Rocky Island. Additionally it includes part of Detroit Island. The islands are near Washington Island off the tip of the Door Peninsula of Wisconsin and the Garden Peninsula of Michigan.
Huron Island Light is a lighthouse on Lake Superior near Big Bay, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Huron Islands Lighthouse in 1975. It is on one of the Huron Islands Wilderness.
Michigan Islands Wilderness Area, a relatively small wilderness area of 12.5 acres (0.05 km2.), consists of Pismire Island, Scarecrow Island, and Shoe Island within the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. These three islands, which constitute part of the group of islands that make up the larger refuge, were elevated to the rank of a United States wilderness area in 1970. All three islands are noted for their infrequent human visitation and their roles as breeding grounds for freshwater wading birds, such as the great blue heron.
The Wisconsin Islands Wilderness is a 29-acre (12 ha) wilderness area located in Door County in northeastern Wisconsin. It is one of the smallest wilderness areas in the United States. Managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the wilderness area is composed of three islands in Lake Michigan.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
