A first look at your woods.
Find your land on the map, click your parcel, trace the boundary, or upload a boundary file, and read what the public record says about it before you call anyone: acreage, the legal description, soils and what they grow, land cover, slope, and whether the tax programs are worth a look.
Click inside your land. Where the county publishes its parcel map, the tool brings in your parcel's own outline, number and acreage. Where it does not, you get the survey forty instead, with a note saying why. If your county is not covered, you can bring the outline over from the county’s own map.
Imagery: Esri World Imagery. The outline you draw stays in your browser and in any link you copy; nothing is sent to a server.
· Your report
Find the land, then click inside it.
Search an address or use your location, then click inside your parcel. In a few seconds this side fills in with acreage, the legal description, soils, land cover, slope, and a first read on program fit.
· County maps
Bring your parcel from the county’s map.
In 23 of the 47 counties in Baird Forestry’s service area, Click your parcel reads the county’s own parcel map and the outline arrives by itself. Elsewhere the county’s viewer still draws your parcel, and a bookmark can read that outline off your screen and open it here. It reads only the outline, never the owner names or other details on the county’s page, and nothing leaves your browser until you choose.
- Save the bookmark. On a computer, drag this button to your browser’s bookmarks bar.Send parcel to First LookDrag the button to your browser's bookmarks bar. It runs on the county's map, not on this page.
- Open your county’s map from the lists below, find your land, and click your parcel so its outline is highlighted or its details are showing.
- Click the bookmark. A small panel opens on the county’s map. Choose Open in Parcel First Look, or download the outline and bring it in here with Upload a file.
Click your parcel works here
- Allegan
- Arenac
- Barry
- Branch
- Eaton
- Ionia
- Jackson
- Kalamazoo
- Kent
- Lenawee
- Macomb
- Mason
- Midland
- Monroe
- Montcalm
- Muskegon
- Oakland
- Oceana
- Osceola
- Ottawa
- St. Clair
- Van Buren
- Wayne
Use the bookmark on the county’s map
When you click inside one of these counties, the report offers a button that opens the county’s own map right where you clicked, wherever that map allows it.
- Bay
- Calhoun
- Clare
- Clinton
- Genesee
- Gladwin
- Gratiot
- Hillsdale
- Huron
- Ingham
- Lapeer
- Livingston
- Mecosta
- Saginaw
- Sanilac
- Shiawassee
- St. Joseph
- Tuscola
Trace or upload instead
The map terms in these counties restrict copying their maps or running scripts on them, so the bookmark is not offered here.
Each county name opens that county’s own parcel viewer. Outside these counties, Click your parcel falls back to the survey forty, and the bookmark still works on most county maps built with ArcGIS.
What each county allows
- Allegan
- Allegan County lets others use and share its parcel data under a license that asks for the credit line shown with this report.
- Arenac
- Arenac County publishes its parcel map for public reference. Its disclaimer notes the map is not a survey.
- Barry
- Barry County publishes its parcel map as open data that anyone may copy, reuse and share.
- Bay
- Bay County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Berrien
- Berrien County's map terms say its parcel data may not be reproduced without the county's written authorization, so this tool is waiting for that permission.
- Branch
- Branch County's parcel map is public and kept by the Coldwater Community GIS Partnership. A few townships are not kept current.
- Calhoun
- Calhoun County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Cass
- Cass County's map terms say its parcel data may not be reproduced without the county's written authorization, so this tool is waiting for that permission.
- Clare
- Clare County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Clinton
- Clinton County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Eaton
- Eaton County lets others use and share its parcel data under a license that asks for the credit line shown with this report.
- Genesee
- Genesee County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read. The county's parcel data leaves out the City of Flint.
- Gladwin
- Gladwin County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Gratiot
- Gratiot County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read. The Gratiot GIS Authority runs it.
- Hillsdale
- Hillsdale County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Huron
- Huron County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Ingham
- Ingham County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer. A public copy kept by the county Drain Office will be used here once the county confirms that is all right.
- Ionia
- Ionia County publishes its parcel map for public reference. It sells the data files separately and does not permit their resale.
- Isabella
- Isabella County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, whose terms prohibit scripts that search or collect its records, so the bookmark is not offered here.
- Jackson
- Jackson County publishes its parcel map for public reference. Its lines are not survey-grade.
- Kalamazoo
- Kalamazoo County publishes its parcel map for public reference. Its disclaimer notes the map is not a survey.
- Kent
- Kent County lets others use and share its parcel data under a license that asks for the credit line shown with this report.
- Lake
- Lake County's map terms say its parcel information may not be copied into any digital format without the county's written permission, so this tool is waiting for that permission.
- Lapeer
- Lapeer County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Lenawee
- Lenawee County makes its parcel map available as a public service, for reference only.
- Livingston
- Livingston County keeps its parcel data to its own viewer and sells it under an agreement that forbids putting it online.
- Macomb
- Macomb County publishes its parcels as open data for general reference.
- Mason
- Mason County publishes its parcel map for public reference. Its disclaimer notes the map is not a survey.
- Mecosta
- Mecosta County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Midland
- Midland County shares its parcel data free with the public through its open-data site. The City of Midland keeps its own parcel map.
- Monroe
- Monroe County publishes its parcel map for public reference. The county updates it monthly.
- Montcalm
- Montcalm County publishes its parcel map for visual reference. Parcel shapes are updated once a year.
- Muskegon
- Muskegon County lets others use and share its parcel data under a license that asks for the credit line shown with this report.
- Newaygo
- Newaygo County's map terms say its parcel information may not be copied into any digital format without the county's written permission, so this tool is waiting for that permission.
- Oakland
- Oakland County publishes its parcels as open data that anyone may reuse for any lawful purpose.
- Oceana
- Oceana County publishes its parcel map for information purposes. It is not the county's official record.
- Osceola
- Osceola County publishes its parcel map for reference only. Land divisions are updated once a year.
- Ottawa
- Ottawa County licenses its public parcel service for use in public applications like this one.
- Saginaw
- Saginaw County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read. The Saginaw Area GIS Authority runs it.
- Sanilac
- Sanilac County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- Shiawassee
- Shiawassee County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read.
- St. Clair
- St. Clair County publishes its parcel map to help people research land. It is not a survey.
- St. Joseph
- St. Joseph County's parcel map is open only in its own viewer, which other websites cannot read. The county also gives out its parcel files free on request.
- Tuscola
- Tuscola County's data terms bar putting its parcel data online without the Board of Commissioners' written permission, so this tool is waiting for that permission.
- Van Buren
- Van Buren County publishes its parcel map for reference. Its acreage is estimated from the mapped parcel.
- Washtenaw
- Washtenaw County allows its parcel service only in applications the county approves, so the bookmark is not offered here.
- Wayne
- Wayne County publishes parcel data gathered from its cities and townships for public reference.
County data notices
Allegan, Eaton, Kent and Muskegon counties license their parcel data on condition that tools built on it carry this disclaimer and their credit lines.
The County and its elected officials, employees, and agents shall not be liable for damages of any kind (including, but not limited to, loss of use, time or data, inconvenience, commercial loss, business interruption, lost profits or savings, or the cost of computer equipment and software) arising from the use of the Data or any application that uses the Data including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, punitive and consequential, or special damages.
- Reproduced with permission granted by the County of Allegan, Michigan. Some information has been provided subject to a non-exclusive, limited, and revocable license granted by the County of Allegan, Michigan.
- Reproduced with permission granted by the County of Eaton, Michigan. Some information has been provided subject to a non-exclusive, limited, and revocable license granted by the County of Eaton, Michigan.
- Reproduced with permission granted by the County of Kent, Michigan. Some information has been provided subject to a non-exclusive, limited, and revocable license granted by the County of Kent, Michigan.
- Reproduced with permission granted Muskegon County, Michigan. Some information has been provided subject to a non-exclusive, limited, and revocable license granted by Muskegon County, Michigan.
· What this is
A starting point, not a verdict.
Everything on this page comes from public data that already exists for every acre in Michigan: the federal survey grid, the national land cover map, the USDA soil survey, and USGS elevation. The tool gathers it for your outline in a few seconds so the first conversation about the land can start with facts instead of directions.
It is not a survey and it is not an appraisal. Land cover pixels are thirty meters wide; soil map units are drawn at a scale meant for a county, not a back forty; the survey grid records where the line is supposed to be, not where the fence ended up. Boundaries are the landowner’s responsibility, and a licensed surveyor is the only person who can set one.
What it is good for: knowing what to ask. Whether the soils will grow the pine someone wants to plant, whether the parcel clears the acreage and cover lines for the Qualified Forest Program, whether the slope will make a harvest expensive, and roughly how much of the land is actually wooded. Bring the report to the walk.
· Sources
Where the numbers come from.
- County parcel maps
In 23 counties the county's own public parcel map supplies the outline, parcel number and acreage, credited to the county on the report. For the 7 counties whose licenses allow it, this site keeps a copy and draws their parcel lines on the map. Owner names are never fetched.
- BLM PLSS survey grid
The federal Public Land Survey System: townships, ranges, sections and the quarter-quarters that most rural deeds are written against. It supplies the forty outline and the legal description.
- National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2021)
Thirty-meter land cover for the whole country, sampled inside your outline to estimate how much is forest, wetland, open land or something else.
- USDA soil survey (SSURGO) through Soil Data Access
Soil map units with drainage, hydrologic group, and the forestry tables: site index and rated wood productivity by species.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program
Lidar-derived elevation and slope, summarized over the outline.
- U.S. Census TIGER boundaries
Which county the land sits in.
- Esri World Imagery and OpenStreetMap
The aerial basemap and the address search.
· Questions
Things people ask first.
Where does the parcel outline come from?
Where the county publishes its parcel map, Click your parcel brings in the county's own outline, parcel number and acreage, with credit to the county. County parcel maps are drawn for tax purposes and are not surveys. Where the county keeps its map to itself, the tool uses the survey forty your click lands in, or you can bring the outline over from the county's viewer with the capture bookmark. Owner names are never fetched.
How accurate is the acreage?
A forty fetched from the survey grid carries the government's own GIS acreage, usually within a fraction of an acre of the deed. A traced outline is only as good as your clicks and the imagery, so treat it as a close estimate, not a survey. Neither replaces a licensed survey where a boundary matters.
Why does my forty look off from where I thought the line was?
The survey grid is a mathematical grid drawn in the 1800s by chain and compass; fences and roads drifted from it over a century. The outline shown is where the record says the quarter-quarter is. If your deed describes the land by metes and bounds instead of aliquot parts, trace the boundary instead.
What does site index mean?
Site index is how tall the dominant trees of a species are expected to be at a reference age, usually 50 years, on that soil. Higher means the soil grows that species faster. The productivity figure next to it, in cubic feet per acre per year, is the rated wood yield, and it is the number the Qualified Forest Program uses for its 20 cubic foot productivity test.
Can this tell me what my timber is worth?
Not yet. Value depends on species, size, grade, volume, access and the market that season, and none of those are in public map data. A timber value estimate is coming, powered by the Stumpage price record. In the meantime the standing timber volume calculator and a walk with a forester are the honest path.
Can I upload a boundary file instead of tracing?
Yes. GeoJSON, KML and KMZ files work, and so do shapefiles zipped together with their .prj file. Exports from a surveyor, a county GIS site, Google Earth or a hunting app are all typical. If a file holds several shapes the largest one is used, and a very detailed boundary is simplified to a few hundred corners for the report. The file is read in your browser and is never sent to a server.
Is my parcel outline stored anywhere?
No. The tool runs in your browser and asks public services for data about the outline; nothing is saved on a server. The share link carries the outline inside the link itself, so only someone you send it to can see it. If you send the report to Brandon, the outline goes with your note, and only then.
Contact
Ready to talk about your woods?
Tell me about your property: county, acreage, and goals. When the project is a fit we walk the land together, and a clear written scope and quote follows.
By telephone
(517) 290-0043Direct line for landowner inquiries. Calls and messages returned within 24 hours
Brandon Baird · Michigan Registered Forester · #47097 · Works only for landowners, never for mills or buyers.
Service area: The southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, within about a two-hour drive of Lansing