As weather cools, piers will be taken from public lakes

The leaves have changed color and fallen. The temperatures have turned colder, and the days have grown shorter. It’s only a matter of time before the first snowfall and before the lakes begin to freeze — which means it’s time for boating piers to be removed from west Oakland’s public access lakes.

The state parks and recreation areas that operate some of the boating access sites will be removing boat ramp piers within the first couple weeks of November.

Here is a list of state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) public access sites in the area and the dates of their scheduled pier removal:

• Big Lake in Springfield Township, Nov. 14;

• Cass Lake in Waterford and West Bloomfield townships, and Keego Harbor and Orchard Lake Village, Nov. 7;

• Loon Lake in Waterford Township, Nov. 14;

• Maceday Lake in Waterford Township, Nov. 14;

• Lake Oakland in Waterford Township, Nov. 14;

• Orchard Lake in Orchard Lake Village, Nov. 7;

• Lower Pettibone Lake in Highland Township, Nov. 14;

• Teeple Lake in White Lake Township, Nov. 14;

• Tipsico Lake in Rose Township, Nov. 14;

• White Lake in Highland and White Lake townships, Nov. 14;

• Long Lake in Commerce Township, Nov. 13;

• Union Lake in West Bloomfield and Commerce townships, Nov. 13;

• Bass Lake, Nov. 13;

• Wolverine Lake, Nov. 13; and

• Proud Lake in Commerce Township, Nov. 13.

While campground staff workers at the Proud Lake Recreation Center will pull out the pier at Proud Lake, the rest will be pulled out by the state Department of Natural Resources Mount Clemens staff, according to Andrew Cole, the park supervisor at Dodge Park No. 4 on Cass Lake in Waterford Township.

And the piers won’t be back until sometime in the spring.

“Normally they are put back in, I would guess, the early part of April,” Cole said.

A Recreation Passport is required at the following DNR boating access sites in western Oakland County:

• Orchard Lake;

• Union Lake;

• Lake Oakland;

• Wolverine Lake;

• White Lake;

• Big Lake;

• Long Lake;

• Loon Lake;

• Maceday Lake; and

• Tipsico Lake.

A Recreation Passport — which has replaced traditional state park/recreation area vehicle entry permits/stickers and special permits for use of designated boating access sites — when renewing a license plate online, by mail, at self service stations, at a Michigan Secretary of State office; or when getting a new license plate. The passports cost $10. The revenue goes toward preserving and protecting locals parks, trails and historic and cultural sites in state parks and recreation areas across Michigan.

For more information, e-mail DNRE-passport@michigan.gov or contact the Recreation Passport call center, open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, at 517-241-PARK (7275).