Michigan Department of Conservation
Research and Development Report No. 56
Institute for Fisheries Research Report No. 1714, 1966
The Twentieth Annual Report on the Rifle River Recreation Area,
Ogemaw County, 1964
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 are given to visitors at the entrance which they return upon leaving. Pertinent information on fish and game taken from the Area is recorded at the checking station.
Total attendance at this Area in 1964 amounted to 38,284 people, which exceeds the record total for 1963. Approximately 35 thousand (35,014) daily use permits were issued, of which 24,320 (69.4%) were for sightseeing, 6,420 (18.4%) for fishing, 4,167 (11.9%) for hunting, and 107 (.3%) for trapping. Seven hundred and forty-one camps were established at the campground on Devoe Lake. 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.
As in previous annual reports, the major portion of this report concerns fisheries research. This section, which immediately follows, will provide Job Completion reports that are required annually for Federal Aid (Dingell-Johnson) projects, as well as furnish a continuing record of the work done at the station for the information of the Department of Conservation. A section at the end deals with hunting and trapping done on the Area in 1964.