On the low parabolic dunes along the sandy lake plain of Lake Michigan, the moist air and presumably higher precipitation and soil moisture caused most of the dunes to be dominated by northern hardwood forests of sugar maple, beech, hemlock, red oak, yellow birch, paper birch, and basswood. The Brevoort Lake dunes, located near the Lake Michigan shore, are a good example of this forest type. There were both wildfires and windthrows on Little St. Martin Island and the beach ridges near the mouth of the Crow River were burned off at the time of the surveys. Many windthrows were noted by surveyors on both the uplands and wetlands along the shorelines of both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, especially on the islands. Thin soils over bedrock and poorly drained soils, common along the shoreline, combined with the strong lake winds to produce extensive windthrow areas.
White pine appears to be especially susceptible to coastal wind storms.
European settlements were well established at St. Ignace, Bois Blanc Island, and at Gros Cap at the time of the GLO surveys in the 1840's. The 1829 survey of Mackinac Island showed only small second-growth timber over the entire island, probably as a result of firewood cutting. A British military outpost was established at the southwest end of Drummond Island. Fishing camps were based at various locations along the shoreline from Epoufette west to Seul Choix Point. Native American settlements were also located on Bois Blanc Island and St. Martins Island.