Conservationists, organizations turn out to support Michigan’s youth conservation legacy

lschultz • August 17, 2021

Conservationists took to the range last Friday to raise money for the Michigan Out-of-Doors Youth Camp and its conservation steward programs aimed at ages six through 14.

More than 100 shooters  circled the Multi-Lakes sporting clays range vying for the title of top-gun. In total, 19 teams participated in three flights of competition.

A bipartisan showing of legislators turned out to support efforts to further youth conservation stewardship and help the next generation of hunters and anglers. They included: Rep. Kyra Bolden (D-Southfield), Rep. Ryan Berman (R-Commerce Twp.), Rep. John Cherry (D-Flint) and Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake).

Michigan Out-of-Doors (MOOD) Youth Camp operates each summer near Chelsea in the Waterloo Recreation Area. Since its inception in 1946, the camp has fostered the growth of 58,000 youth conservationists through activities like becoming hunter safety certified, watershed modeling, fishing, paddling, trappers safety, Leave No Trace training, archery, shelter building and orienteering.

MOOD Youth Camp Director Max Bass said the funds raised will be used to support the overall programming and operations of camp and the historic Cedar Lake property.

“Each dollar raised helps one child shoot their first firearm, see their first star or paddle their first canoe,” Bass said. “Michigan Out-of-Doors Youth Camp alumni are spread from Washington D.C. to California and in positions of leadership throughout the natural resources and conservation world.” 

Lomas Brown, an 18-year veteran of the National Football League and color commentator for the Detroit Lions, was in attendance shooting for team Güd (Güd Marketing based in Lansing). This was his first time shooting clay targets, and it was an experience he said he won’t forget.

Top-gun Dana Farrel won the event breaking 46 of 50 clays. Runner-up Brandon Phelps also broke 46 clays, but Farrel’s consecutive streak of breaks (24 in a row) was longer. MUCC congratulates both shooters.

Multi-Lakes Conservation Assocation team

The home team, Multi-Lakes, scored first place as a team with a score of 212.

Ervin Industries provided steel shot for the event in both 20 and 12 gauge. The company has been an integral part of the shoot in recent years, and without their generous donation of ammunition, this event would not raise the amount of money it does.

Platinum sponsors ($3,500 or more) included Greenstone Farm Services, whose team showed up with personalized t-shirts and contagious excitement, the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation and Enbridge.

Recent Posts

May 2025 NRC Recap

By Justin Tomei • May 8, 2025
The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) met for their May meeting today at Lansing Community College West Campus. The commission voted to return antlered opportunities to the Independence and Liberty hunts at the May Natural Resources Commission meeting. The amendment to restore this opportunity passed after Commissioner Walters withdrew his amendment from April to only partially restore antlered opportunity during these hunts. MUCC testified for the complete restoration of antlered opportunity during these two hunts, per a member passed policy from our 2025 Annual Convention. The commission also voted on, and ultimately accepted, a proposal to allow archery antlerless take in the high snowfall zone in the Upper Peninsula. Additionally, the commission also chose to leave on the table and postpone indefinitely the order to reopen the illegally partially closed coyote season. This prevents the order from dying after today's meeting and makes it eligible for action at a later date. This amendment will remain postponed until the June meeting at the earliest.  MUCC has created the Coyote Coalition to assist in unifying the voice of conservationists in support of Proposal G. To join the Coyote Coalition, visit https://www.mucc.org/coyotecoalition . The commission did adopt proposed fall turkey regulations unanimously. The June commission meeting is Thursday, June 12 in Bay City. To ensure our natural resources remain protected and managed thoughtfully and our outdoor heritage defended, join Michigan United Conservation Clubs today: http://bit.ly/JoinMUCC .

On The Ground: Volunteers at the Annual Jack Pine Planting Day

By Olivia Triltsch • May 8, 2025
In total, volunteers improved about 6 acres of habitat and planted around 6,000 trees in this stand to continue regeneration.

On the Ground Junior: Spring Event Recap

By Katelyn Helsel • May 7, 2025
Our student volunteers have been hard at work improving wildlife habitat on public lands! MUCC’s On the Ground Junior (OTG Jr.) program, a subset of the On the Ground program, is a fully funded field trip program that brings grade-school classrooms into the outdoors to improve fish and wildlife habitat in their local communities. Through activities like native plantings, brush pile building, and invasive species removal, students gain hands-on experience with conservation and positively impact the world around them. Students also participate in educational activities like predator-prey tag to teach them about population dynamics and other natural resources concepts. So far this spring season, MUCC welcomed 69 students, teachers, and chaperones who participated in multiple OTG Jr projects with more on the way! In total, they improved over 12 acres of wildlife habitat. Read on for a recap of each OTG Jr project and see what all our awesome student volunteers have been up to. 
More Posts