Michigan’s DNR says an endangered family of cougars has been spotted in the state’s UP.

The DNR calls the sighting, in Ontonagon County, a conservation milestone.

The female cougar and two cubs were spotted by a trail camera on December 6th, nine months after they were last documented when the cubs were just two months old.

The new verified photo from a private landowner shows the trio on a snowy trail. The DNR says the photos of the family are the first verified cougar reproduction east of the Mississippi River, and possibly east of the Missouri River.

Cougars are listed as endangered mammals, and have an especially fragile population in Michigan.