According to a Tuesday press release, State Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, secured $144,300 this month for improvements at the Ocqueoc Outdoor Center in Presque Isle County. This state funding comes from the Natural Resource Trust Fund (NRTF), which is earned through state land leases for oil and gas mineral exploration. The NRTF proposals for 2025, if signed into law and approved by the Senate, would provide $41.8 million for 17 land acquisition and 68 recreational development projects.

“The Ocqueoc Outdoor Center, formerly Camp Black Lake, has served our Northern Michigan community for nearly 100 years,” Cavitt said in the press release. “This facility has remained operational despite a laundry list of headwinds – any one of which could’ve closed the camp if not for the overwhelming community support that continues to keep the outdoor center running. This new funding marks a turning point for the relationship between the state and the Ocqueoc Outdoor Center. Instead of threatening another shutdown, the state is partnering with the local community to expand the camp’s educational and recreational opportunities, further cementing it as a pillar in outdoor learning for generations to come.”

The Ocqueoc Outdoor Center project would allow for the replacement of the dock on Ocqueoc Lake at the outdoor center, the release said. Other new amenities from the project will include a barrier-free fishing pier and kayak launch with an accessible landscaped path, picnic pods overlooking the lake, ADA-compliant parking, and portable restroom facilities. The total project cost is $206,400, with the remainder paid by Presque Isle County.