Michigan will be auctioning off state-owned land across 12 counties next month that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says are more suitable for private ownership.
The online auctions, planned for Aug. 4-28, will include 97 properties located across Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas — including a few in Metro Detroit — which range in size from less than an acre to 120 acres.
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Most properties on the list were designated as “surplus” during the DNR’s latest state land review, which isolated parcels that are 200 acres or smaller with a substantial private-public boundary.
Kerry Heckman, forest lands and special projects administrator with the DNR, says the parcels being auctioned have “severely limited” public benefits due to various factors, including size limitations, a lack of public access, and adjacent private properties negatively affecting public use such as hunting.
“The proceeds from our surplus-land sales are deposited into the Land Exchange Facilitation Fund,” Heckman said. “Those dollars are specifically used to acquire other properties that are more usable by residents and visitors, protect important natural resources and provide accessible, quality recreation opportunities throughout the state.”
Several of the properties included in the auction have river frontage, lake frontage, or forested acreage surrounded by privately-owned land, according to the DNR.
Surplus sales are a regular part of the DNR’s public land strategy, with public input helping to determine which parcels to auction off.
“When we’re making decisions about what happens with DNR-managed public lands, we seek out public involvement as early as possible, sometimes a year or two in advance, and through a variety of channels,” said Scott Whitcomb, acting DNR Lands and Facilities chief, in a statement. “That public feedback, the local stories about favorite places and the suggestions on how to improve challenging sites the DNR inherited — we make every effort to hear it all and then make decisions that best serve the resources, residents and future generations.”
Available properties will be auctioned off throughout the month of August on a county-by-county basis, for a total of 12 auctions. “Interactive” bidding will begin at 10 a.m. on each date and close at 7 p.m. Absentee bids can also be made up to 30 days before an auction.
See the date of each auction below.
- Aug. 4 – Lapeer County
- Aug. 6 – Allegan and Berrien counties
- Aug. 7 – Livingston County
- Aug. 14 – Alger, Chippewa, Delta and Luce counties
- Aug. 18 – Baraga, Dickinson, Houghton and Menominee counties
- Aug. 19 – Crawford, Kalkaska, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego and Roscommon counties
- Aug. 20 – Antrim and Charlevoix counties
- Aug. 21 – Alpena, Cheboygan, Iosco and Presque Isle counties
- Aug. 25 – Oakland County
- Aug. 26 – Oceana County
- Aug. 27 – Lake County
- Aug. 28 – Jackson County
Interested bidders must register before the property’s auction date, with pre-registration and more information available at tax-sale.info.
More detailed information about each property can be found here.