[3] The state park is operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which has, as of 2006, approved a proposal that 4,492 acres (1,818 ha) be officially dedicated as a wilderness area.

The corps' workers built various structures, eight miles of trails, a public campground, and four-acre Goose Pond.

[6] The park supports populations of many animals that are part of the traditional image of the northern Great Lakes ecosystem, including American black bear, snowshoe hare, beaver, porcupines, bobcats, mink, muskrats, and otter.

[3] The park's cobble beach areas provide an excellent habitat for the federally endangered piping plover.

As of 2002, approximately one-third of Michigan's nesting pairs of piping plovers were found in Wilderness State Park.