The Establishment of the Drummond Island Full Size ORV Trail System

In May of 2009 Michigan’s first full size ORV trail system was opened in northern Michigan on Drummond Island after a two year odyssey. Through relentless hours, weeks, and months of hard work, hundreds of letters, numerous studies and expert analysis’, and dozens of negations that ranged from local to the highest levels of state government, what at many times appeared to be a doomed endeavor finally resulted in the “Drummond Island ORV System”. The primary characteristics that made this possible was the efforts of a handful of people who worked quietly behind the scenes, maintained their personal integrity through the entire process, and refused to publically embarrass any of the stakeholders – even those in opposition to the initiative.

Drummond Island is a 114 square mile northern outdoor mecca at the eastern tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and is primarily accessed by ten minute ferry boat ride from the mainland. The closest major metro areas are Detroit, about a six hour drive, and Chicago, about a nine hour drive away. Drummond Island’s primary industry is tourism and outdoor recreation, and it is truly a remarkable venue for a myriad of outdoor endeavors including but not limited to fishing, hunting, camping, kayaking and cycling. ORV usage is only a part of what Drummond Island has to offer the outdoor enthusiast, but – unlike many other ORV venues – ORV usage can be combined with other outdoor recreational pursuits to make for a very enjoyable and unique trip to Drummond Island.

Full size ORV recreation gained public awareness on Drummond Island with the first Drummond Island Jeep Jamboree taking place in 1994. However, many miles of Drummond’s rugged trials had been first created and traveled by Island men returned home from WW11 and Korea, bringing along their trust worthy Willys Jeep’s. Since that time full size ORV use has slowly grown year after year, to the point where ORV usage has become a staple of the Island’s economy, with a season stretching from May through November. Although this white paper primarily concerns full size ORV usage, also notable is that Drummond Island also has an extensive network of ATV-only ORV trails, too.

As ORV usage grew on the Island organized events also became more common. In addition to the Jeep Jamboree, other events that have become common to the Island over the years are the Hummer Club’s Annual event and the “DOA” (Drummond Offroad Adventure!) event hosted by the Mud Sweat & Gears Offroad Club from the Detroit area. These organized events bring a substantial amount of revenue to the Island, and most of the Islanders energetically welcome these groups to the Island. However, the bulk of the ORV usage is individuals and small groups that spend anywhere from a weekend to a week on the Island with their Jeeps, Hummers, Broncos, and other SUVs.

Once the desire to save Drummond’s ORV trails and establish the state’s first DNR certified full size ORV Route System was out in the open, the real work began. Off Road enthusiasts from all over the State contributed time and effort; people ranging from state staff members to State Senators and Representatives were involved on a political level that reached right into the Governor’s office. Countless hours were spent behind the wheel identifying the actual route being proposed and points of contention and concern. Much travel time was expended between the state capital in Lansing to attend state wide ORV advisory meetings, and traveling from major to driving 350 miles north to attend stake holder meetings on Drummond.

The final victory came when through the efforts of the ORV advocates were able to show leadership in the DNR that the proposed route system was ecologically sound, economically necessary, and within the statutes and administrative regulations of the State.

The final implementation came at a series of meetings up on the Island in Late November and December 2008 where literally all stakeholders as follows: the DNR (with representatives from Forestry, Wildlife, Fisheries, Law Enforcement, as well as senior managers), all interested ORV user groups , the Drummond Island Tourist Association, various Island business leaders, and even Sportsman’s Club representative, Snow Mobile Association, and the Nature Conservancy.

These meetings worked out all the final details and compromises to enable the ORV Route system’s establishment. And yes, there were compromises, on all sides. But true to the nature of compromise, the nature of all the compromises in finalizing the trail system was such that the integrity and core values of both parties to the compromise was not significantly impacted, and the core objectives and goals of all stakeholders are still being met.

The Drummond Island ORV Route System was kicked successfully off in May of 2009 with numerous Michigan clubs, organizations and individuals meeting on the Island for the initial placement of signage to effectively and accurately mark the trail system.

Special thanks goes to all involved, who were instrumental in the establishment of this trail system, putting in many, many long, hard, and sometimes grueling hours, and at times with what looked like a dead end in front of them.

This post is from an article written by Mike Olmstead and Steve Walker which was and has been previously published. I have edited and altered the article slightly with the intent to be brief. My intent was/is not to distort their original writing which has been submitted to the Editor of The Boondocker in its’ entirety.