Michigan Islands Wilderness Area, a relatively small wilderness area of 12.5 acres (0.05 km².), consists of Pismire Island, Scarecrow Island, and Shoe Island within the

Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge The Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for nine Michigan islands in the North American Great Lakes. Owned by the United States federal government, they were set aside for ecosystem protection purposes by President Franklin ...

. These three islands, which constitute part of the group of islands that make up the larger refuge, were elevated to the rank of a United States wilderness area in 1970. All three islands are noted for their infrequent human visitation and their roles as breeding grounds for freshwater

wading birds 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

, such as the

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...

. The three islands that make up this Wilderness Area are widely separated from each other. Scarecrow Island is in

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

, and Pismire Island and Shoe Island are 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 ...

Lake Huron

Scarecrow Island is located in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

, a

U.S. National Marine Sanctuary A U.S. National Marine Sanctuary is a zone within United States waters where the marine environment enjoys special protection. The program began in 1972 in response to public concern about the plight of marine ecosystems. A U.S. National Marine ...

in northwestern

. The island is situated approximately 2 miles (3 km) off shore of Michigan's Negwegon State Park south of Alpena in Sanborn Township, Alpena County.

Lake Michigan

Pismire Island and Shoe Island are located in the Beaver Island archipelago in far northern Lake Michigan. Pismire Island is located approximately 3.5 miles (5.5 km) northeast of St. James, a harbor on the northern end of Beaver Island, while the secluded Shoe Island is located approximately 14 miles (22.5 km) west of

Waugoshance Point Waugoshance Point (GNIS ID#) is a cape or peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan from the northwest coast of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan in Emmet County. It separates the Straits of Mackinac to its north from Sturgeon B ...

References

{{Protected areas of Michigan Protected areas of Alpena County, Michigan Protected areas of Charlevoix County, Michigan IUCN Category Ib Wilderness areas of Michigan