Although many of the high coastal dunes have been stabilized by forest vegetation, large blowouts are common on the dunes next to Lake Michigan. The blowouts are large features, often extending as much as a half mile inland. Signs of wildfires on sandy outwash deposits were noted several times by surveyors. Occasional, relatively small windthrows were encountered on the moraine ridges of the subsection. The dunes are largely managed as recreational lands, including State and federal parks.
Residential development is also popular on the dunes.
White pine and red pine were extensively cut from the lake plain. The flat, sandy lake plain supports second-growth forest, used both for timber and recreation. Pine regeneration has generally been poor on the pine plains, with trembling aspen, red maple, and paper birch increasing in dominance after logging. Sand mining occurs on the dunes within the subsection, and oil fields tap the underlying Devonian petroleum reservoirs in the south. Urban development has been concentrated along the shoreline in the town of Manistee and several other smaller towns.