On The Ground
On the Ground: Spring Tree Planting Projects
It certainly hasn’t looked or felt like Spring yet here in Michigan, but it looks like warmer temperatures are just in time for this weekend’s upcoming tree planting events with MUCC’s On the Ground program! On Saturday, volunteers will be planting trees for wildlife at the Crane Pond State Game Area. Then, on Sunday, volunteers…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Genesee Home-School Community Cleans Up Lapeer SGA
This week on Tuesday, over twenty home-school students ranging 4th-grade to 6th-grade from Genesee County got together with OTG Jr to clean up the Lapeer State Game Area’s Central Unit. This site has been accumulating trash and a large amount of shotgun shells and bullet cartridges over several years. There is a designated shooting pit…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Upcoming Events April and May 2018
On the Ground (OTG) and OTG Jr have a busy April and May to look forward to! Next week, MUCC’d Education Director Shaun McKeon and I will be hosting an OTG Jr event with a group of 30 home-school students from Genesee County in the Lapeer State Game Area. The group will be improving wildlife conditions…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Creating Safer Sawyers
For the fourth consecutive year, MUCC hosted a Chainsaw Safety Training course provided to members, volunteers with OTG, and the general public. In previous years, Chuck Oslund of Bay College has taught his safety system to groups of 15-35 participants with us. This year, there were 32 participants and instructors included Scott Peterson from SOS…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Dansville State Game Area
Last weekend, a group of 12 volunteers improved wildlife habitat in the Dansville State Game Area. The project goals were to improve hunter access trails and build brush piles in the area for rabbitat. A total of ten large brush piles were built using the trees cleared from the pathway. The volunteers completed a project…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Crane Pond SGA Annual Youth Rabbit Hunt 2018
Last weekend, I attended the Crane Pond State Game Area’s Annual Youth Hunt for the fourth year in a row. This year, there were over 30 participants and enough mentors and dogs for the entire group. The group split up into 5 smaller groups to hunt different sections of the state game area. Many of…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Falconry in Improved Habitat Areas
At the latest On the Ground event in the Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area, volunteers Christopher Martello and Kelly Haughn helped to build brush piles for rabbitat in the area. They also brought along their juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Vesper, and Small Munsterlander, Kita, to hunt a few areas where brush piles have been previously built by…
Read MoreHunter Education Course Recap
On Sunday, February 25th, MUCC partnered with the Michigan Learn to Hunt Program to host a hunter safety course at the Rose Lake Shooting range. If you were born after January 1, 1960, in Michigan, hunter safety is required to purchase a hunting license. A hunter education course is often required if you are planning…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area
Last weekend, a group of 17 volunteers completed work in a wildlife opening in the Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area. Groups have been improving wildlife habitat in this site for the past 3 years prior to this event. The objective was to remove any standing timber from the opening and build large brush piles for rabbit…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area Rabbitat
A group of 25 volunteers spent their Saturday improving wildlife habitat in the Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area this weekend. This project was partnered with Gib King of Land Ethics LLC who has acquired grant funding from the DNR Wildlife Habitat Grant Program, which also funds On the Ground. King has completed two previous habitat grants and…
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