Volunteers needed to fight invasives at state park

Participants will remove woody invasives at Saugatuck Dunes State Park on Oct. 12.

Volunteers Liz Uppleger, left, Mike Ricco, center, and Tyler Lidgard, right, natural resource steward with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, pick spotted knapweed at a volunteer stewardship workday on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, at Saugatuck Dunes State Park, 6575 138th Ave.

Volunteers are needed to help control invasive species at Saugatuck Dunes State Park in Laketown Township on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Participants will be working near the park entrance, controlling woody invasive species to protect the open dune ecosystem. All tools and equipment will be provided.

Meet at the main parking entrance off 138th Street in the park, 6575 138th Ave. A Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into Michigan state parks.

Long pants and closed-toed shoes are recommended.

Register by emailing Tyler Lidgard at LidgardT@Michigan.gov.

For more information, visit here.

Events may be canceled due to inclement weather and other reasons.

For the volunteer day at the state park, please call the park to confirm dates/times prior to your arrival. Lidgard can be reached at (517) 388-8517.

The 1,000-acre park includes hiking trails of varying difficulty through dunes to Lake Michigan with 2.5 miles of lake front. The park’s 300-acre Patty Birkholz Natural Area contains a coastal dune system and three endangered plant species.

Tyler Lidgard, left, natural resource steward with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, explains how to remove spotted knapweed to Joshua Gilmore and Liz Upplegar on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, at Saugatuck Dunes State Park, 6575 138th Ave. in Laketown Township.

For a look at some past cleanups, visit:

March 23

Aug. 3

Aug. 24