HILLMAN — U.S. Sen. Gary Peters was in Montmorency County on Tuesday as part of his third annual #RIDEMI motorcycle tour.

Peters does his motorcycle tour every year to go to the rural parts of Michigan. He plans to stop at farms and manufacturing facilities during the week.

While in Montmorency County, Peters was surveying the elk management by the state with Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

“It’s an opportunity to get out to areas that are more difficult for me to go to during the rest of the year because I’m in Washington, D.C., during the week but I’m back on the weekend and tend to be in the more urban areas,” Peters said. “This is an opportunity to get out, see the state, and there’s no better way to see the state than on a motorcycle.”

Visiting Montmorency County was on Peters’ radar because of how beautiful the county is.

“I’m particularly impressed with the elk management program,” he said. “I wanted to see that firsthand and get a sense of some of the challenges there, but it’s been successful, it’s clearly a successful program.”

The elk herd continues to grow and be healthy in Montmorency County and Peters said it’s because of sustained and thoughtful management.

Peters said it’s important for him to visit all 83 counties and get a sense of the major projects that are going on around the state. He said he would love to come back to the county.

“I would love to be back more often,” Peters said. “This is absolutely beautiful, I love it up here and riding up here, it’s just such a beautiful part of Michigan.”

Peters said a drawback is that Michigan is a very big state and he has to be in a lot of different places.

“Hopefully, I’ll be back here soon,” Peters said.

Peters began his #RIDEMI tour on Monday in Tuscola County and is set to continue traveling in northern Michigan through the rest of the week.

Julie Goldberg can be reached at jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com or 989-358-5688.