On The Ground

This past weekend, 20 volunteers from Marquette County planted 130 trees to improve wildlife habitat in the Gwinn State Forest. A great amount of support was shown by locals including MUCC Vice President-George Lindquist, UP Whitetails member-John Strom as well as local DNR staff including DNR Deputy Public Information Officer-John Pepin and family, DNR Forester-Rachel…

A total of 2,600 trees were planted by volunteers with MUCC’s Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program and school groups participating in OTG Jr events this month. The trees and shrubs planted included conifers to provide thermal cover and also, mast-producing trees to provide browse for wildlife. Projects were completed this month in the Southwest, Southeast, and…

Two more wildlife habitat improvement projects will be completed in different regions of the state by the end of this week.  Tomorrow, we will be teaming up with the Reese High School Out-of-Doors Club to maintain wood duck nesting boxes in the Fish Pointe Wildlife Area. Then, on Saturday, we will be teaming up with…

Volunteers with MUCC’s Wildlife Habitat Program have already completed three wildlife habitat improvement projects in the past week and a half! Crabapple trees were planted in the Southwest region, brush piles were built for rabbitat in the Southeast region, and Scotch pine was removed from a Jack pine plantation and brush piles were built in…

With the warmer temperatures and frequent rains that come along with the spring season, it’s the perfect time to start planting trees for wildlife! Volunteers with MUCC’s Wildlife Habitat Program aren’t hesitating to get started and will be planting mast-producing trees and shrubs this Saturday in the Barry-Middleville State Game Area.  Then, next week on…

Last weekend, a group of 13 volunteers built new brush piles in the Fulton State Game Area. In previous years, volunteers have built brush piles for rabbitat at four separate events with MUCC’s Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program, making this the fifth event in the Fulton SGA. This weekend’s event was hosted in the north end…

Last weekend, the Crane Pond State Game Area hosted its Annual Youth Rabbit Hunt. The area’s DNR Wildlife Biologist, Ken Kesson, DNR Wildlife Assistant, Dean Boerman, and DNR Wildlife Technician, Nate DeVries organize the event each year with local mentors that volunteer to guide groups of youth hunters during the hunt. Areas of recent habitat…

Last weekend, a group of 18 volunteers including members from the Midland-Dow High Conservation Club, Boy Scouts from Troop 337, local hunters and trappers continued habitat maintenance in a wildlife opening in the Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area. Volunteers removed encroaching brush from the wildlife opening and stacked it into large brush piles for rabbitat. The…

This past weekend, a group of 13 volunteers along with the DNR Wildlife Biologist, Brian Piccolo, and Wildlife Technician, Tim Riley continued efforts of restoring snowshoe hare habitat in the Grayling State Forest. The group covered close to 60 acres of lowland conifer type forest and hinge-cut over 350 trees to provide horizontal cover for…