Warren Woods State Park, MI   Lee E. Frelich
  Sep 14, 2004 06:54 PDT 

...

Paul and I missed the ferry on the way back--it takes longer to drive to
Muskegon from Sleeping Bear Dunes than we realized. However, we decided to
take advantage of the situation by visiting Warren Woods State Park in the
southwestern corner of the state. This was the most magnificent
beech-sugar maple forest I have seen. There is nothing like it in the
Porkies, the Door Peninsula, Cook Forest, or the Berkshires. Obviously
Warren Woods has superior site quality. I had no idea that such forests
could grow in the Midwest. Lake Michigan must moderate the climate by
alleviating droughts and reducing the frequency of high winds compared to
the other side of the lake, where no beech tree would dare reach a height
of 130 feet.

Lee
RE: Sand dune forest   Lee E. Frelich
  Sep 30, 2004 07:20 PDT 

Neil, Ed, Bob:

Warren Woods, Michigan, is not on dunes, it is on flat, deep, black silt
that looks to me like loess. This forest is several miles from Lake
Michigan, and is just beyond the sand dune region.

Lee
Warren Woods   Paul Jost
  Aug 14, 2006 20:33 PDT 

Doug and Ed,

When Lee and I arrived at Warren Woods, Michigan, the sunset was already
progressing to twilight. In the little time that we had to scout the site,
we noted quite a few large diameter beech trees (3-4' dbh?) that exceeded
120' tall when
lasering straight up. It definitely is a MUST measure site for beech and
possibly a few other species.

Also, for a story on NASA lasering trees for canopy height and structrue,
refer to:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/woodpecker.html

Paul Jost