Detroit Island is an island in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

in the southern part of the town of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in Door County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. The island has a land area of 2.578 km² (0.9955 sq mi, or 637.12

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ya ...

), out of which 27.6% is open to the public.Door County Web Map
/ref> The northern end of the island borders the waters of Detroit Harbor. In 1967 there were no taxable buildings erected on the island, but after one of the four landowners began subdividing and selling lots, seasonal residences were built. Six residences were developed by 1978. The Door County Board of Supervisors, the Town of Washington, and the Detroit Island Landowners' Association opposed plans by the state Department of Natural Resources to acquire the entire island for use as a park. Grand Traverse Island State Park was founded in 1970 and protects slightly more than of land on Detroit Island. It consists of five discontiguous parcels and there is no ferry access. adjacent to two of the state park parcels are owned by the Door County Land Trust and are open to the public as part of the Detroit Harbor Nature Preserve. The current purpose of the state park is to "maintain public access to provide opportunities for hunting, fishing, trapping, walking, wildlife watching and nature study and other compatible nature-based outdoor recreation activities." Deer,

ruffed grouse The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only specie ...

, and waterfowl have been hunted on the island. The state park includes areas mapped as "upland deciduous forest" and "open wetland/marsh". on the southeast side is part of the

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in the state of Wisconsin. It includes five all or part of six islands in Lake Michigan: Hog Island, Plum Island, Pilot Island, part of St. Martin I ...

.Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Hunt, Fish & Public Use Regulations 2021-2022
''USFWS'' (Archived February 23, 2022)

History

The border between Wisconsin and Michigan was originally defined as "the most usual ship channel" into Green Bay from

but commercial routes existed both to the north and south of the island which lead to a border dispute. In 1936, the U.S. Supreme Court decision ''

Wisconsin v. Michigan Two Supreme Court cases, ''Wisconsin v. Michigan'', 295 U.S. 455 (1935) and ''Wisconsin v. Michigan'', 297 U.S. 547 (1936), settled a territorial dispute between Wisconsin and Michigan. Background The 1836 boundary description between Wiscons ...

'' found that Detroit and other nearby islands were part of Wisconsin.

Gallery

Nearby islands

Plum Island Pilot Island Detroit Island and Southern Washington Island Wisconsin

References

External links

Detroit only hitch in desire to preserve islands for park
by Keta Steebs, ''Door County Advocate'', August 24, 1976
Wisconsin Will Go it alone on Traverse Island park
''Door County Advocate'', January 31, 1978
Islanders oppose Islands state park
''Door County Advocate'', Vol. 116 - No. 42, August 10, 1978
Area legislators oppose Grand Traverse Islands
''Door County Advocate'', January 30, 1979
Kayaker Paddles for Island Unification
by Craig Sterrett, ''Peninsula Pulse'', November 5, 2021 {{authority control Islands of Door County, Wisconsin Islands of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin Former disputed islands