August 2025

When my family lived on White Lake I took great comfort every year with the return of a Great Blue Heron that basically made the end of our dock it’s roosting spot.

It’s return each spring spoke to me in a couple of ways. First, aside from the installation of our boat hoist and the return of our boat out of storage, the Great Blue Heron was kind of the official notice that the new season had arrived. But it also told me that the familiar, solitary figure at the end of our dock had survived another migration ritual.

The Great Blue Heron may migrate for winter but returns each year to the same spot during what is generally considered a 15-year life span.

My interest in Great Blue Herons goes back a number of decades when a rookery for the herons was first discovered in the Wixom area, which is now part of the Lyons Oak County Park.

At the time I was running a publishing group in the west Oakland lakes area and we assigned our photographer to very carefully – as to not disturb the rookery – document the hundreds of Great Blue Herons in nests as they returned to the area. This was well in advance of digital photography so it was interesting to watch our photographer plan his photos to be taken from a great distance with high-powered long lens and the quietest 35 mm camera we could acquire. Members of our publishing group were all environmentally sensitive and this was certainly a highlight for us all.

Both the Great Blue Heron and the Great White Heron are majestic birds that we can often find around the waterways of Oakland County. So for this issue, I asked writer Mark H. Stowers to take a look at both, which gives all lakefront homeowners an understanding of these magnificent birds which are on a federal protected species list.

In this August edition you will also find information on the public access sites available on many of the lakes of Oakland County, researched and written by Michael Scott.

There was a time, during the administration of Michigan Governor William Milliken, from1969-1983, that the attempts to open lakes to the public with access sites was a major political issue, often pitting the lobbyists for sporting groups and the UAW – members of both favoring more access sites – against those who were living on the lakes of Oakland County.

I remember one of the state senators from the Oakland lakes area, after just getting elected, dismissed lake access sites as a major issue, only to have to admit months later that when we ran a story about a local lake slated as a target for an access site, his office received nearly 100 letters from his constituents opposed to the purchase.

The issue was just not one of lakefront homeowners being unwilling to share what are public resources. Opposition included those who felt that the decision-making process on land acquisition lacked specific guidelines and new access sites were mostly unmanned boat launching sites.

Milliken at one point enacted a temporary and short-term moratorium while rules governing access sites were reviewed. Eventually the increasing value of land basically priced out the state from acquiring many new access sites in this county, so what you see nowadays is most likely all that you will get in terms of lake access.

AUGUST FRONT COVER: This month our front cover was from shot by Kathy Bramwell on Davisburg’s Eliza Lake in Springfield Township. With the summer active lake season at a halfway point, we offer a quick reminder that we are still accepting photo contributions. Having lived on three lakes for over 30 years, I know there are many activities that we have yet seen captured in photos. Think tubing, sailing, wakeboarding, rowing, and any number of other activities that would make good photos capturing what is part of living on a lake. In return we will send a check for $100 if we select a photo. High resolution shots are a must. Vertical photos work best. Send photos to: lakephotos@downtownpublications.com.

David Hohendorf

Publisher

DavidHohendorf@DowntownPublications.com