Michigan Department of Conservation
Research and Development Report No. 95
Institute for Fisheries Research Report No. 1735, 1967
The Twenty-First Annual Report on the Rifle River
Recreation Area, Ogemaw County, 1965
Mercer H. Patriarche and Howard Gowing
The Rifle River Recreation Area, site of the Rifle River Research Station, is a 4,318-acre tract of wooded land in northeastern Ogemaw County. Six lakes, several ponds, and 9.5 miles of trout streams are within its fenced boundary. Free permits were given to visitors at the entrance which they returned upon leaving. Pertinent information on fish and game taken from the Area was recorded at the checking station.
Total attendance at the Area in 1965 amounted to a new annual high of 39,371 people. Exactly 34,300 permits were issued, of which 23,506 (68.5%) were for sightseeing, 6,640 (19.3%) for fishing, 4,081 (11.8%) for hunting, and 73 (0.4%) for trapping. At the campground on Devoe Lake, 1,690 camp nights were recorded. Campers who fished or hunted on the Area were required to conform to the Area rules for the daily reporting of fishing and hunting activities.
This is the final report in a series of annual reports dating back to 1945 when the Area was first opened to the public. Starting January 1, 1966 the daily registration requirement for visitors was dropped, and anglers and hunters no longer had to be questioned at the checking station. However, three lakes and a portion of Gamble Creek were closed to public fishing for a period of 5 years so that intensive studies of their fish populations could be continued. The three lakes are Grebe, Lodge and Jewett.