On the Ground: Spring 2018 Events
Among several On the Ground (OTG) wildlife habitat improvement events, OTG will be assisting with a few other events in the upcoming weeks. These events include a Hunter Safety Education Field Day with Learn To Hunt (LTH), a Youth Rabbit Hunt in the Crane Pond State Game Area, and a Chainsaw Safety Course hosted with the Heavy Equipment Response Coalition at the Hal & Jean Glassen Building in the Rose Lake State Game Area. Each one of these events is relevant to On the Ground in different ways and these partnerships are valuable to the program in providing unique opportunities to the public and local communities. Read more to see details about each of these events as well as the upcoming OTG events.
MUCC’s Education Director- Shaun McKeon and I will be assisting with a Hunter Safety Education Field Day at the Rose Lake SGA on Sunday, February 25th. This field day is being hosted by Johanna Dart with the Learn To Hunt program. We have assisted with field days, shotgun range days, and parts of the Learn To Hunt Spring Turkey programs. This program is a great way to introduce new adults to hunting. LTH offers sessions for various game species that include mentored scouting, mentored hunts, and Hunter Safety opportunities. Learn more about the Learn To Hunt program here!
On Saturday, March 10th, I will be attending the Crane Pond SGA Annual Youth Rabbit Hunt to provide lunch for the participants. Each year, OTG has provided lunch for participants in the Annual Youth Rabbit Hunt hosted at the Crane Pond State Game Area. This event introduces youth to small game hunting on public land while utilizing improved habitat areas with brush piles built by volunteers at previous OTG events. Dedicated OTG volunteers Larry Dame and Steve Wakzmundski both help as mentors at this event. See more information about this event here!
OTG will be teaming up with the Heavy Equipment Response Coalition to host a Chainsaw Safety Course on March 24th and 25th. Bill and Denise Dawson and Bill Rushford have dedicated their spare time to forming this great organization and still make time to help out with OTG. We are excited to be offering a course to volunteers with OTG and the general public to teach safe sawyer techniques for all levels from no experience to very advances sawyers. This course will be hosted at the Hal & Jean Glassen building at the Rose Lake Shooting Range. There will be more details highlighting this event in next week’s blog, but you can see current details and register here!
More Upcoming OTG Events:
February 17, 2018 Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area
On Saturday, February 17th, volunteers will be meeting in the Tuttle Marsh Wildlife Area to build brush piles for rabbitat. This project is coordinated with Gib King of Land Ethics LLC and will also provide a unique opportunity to enjoy improved habitat by hosting an afternoon clay shoot and rabbit hunt in the area- see more details and RSVP to volunteer here!
February 24, 2018 Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area
On Saturday, February 24th, we will be completing habitat work in a wildlife opening in the Gratiot-Saginaw SGA. For the past 3 years, volunteers and students from the Midland-Dow High Conservation Club have been working hard to restore a wildlife opening by cutting encroaching timber and shrubs and building brush piles for rabbitat- see more details and RSVP to volunteer here!
March 10, 2018 Crane Pond SGA Annual Youth Rabbit Hunt
For the 4th year in a row, OTG will be assisting with the Crane Pond SGA Youth Rabbit Hunt. This event allows for youth to enjoy habitat improvements on state land by utilizing brush piles previously built by volunteers during On the Ground wildlife habitat improvement events in the area- see more details about the event here!
March 17, 2018 Dansville State Game Area
On Saturday, March 17th from 9am-2pm, volunteers will be meeting at the Dansville State Game Area Shooting Range to complete and wildlife habitat improvement project in the area. Volunteers will be improving hunter access trails and building brush piles for rabbitat- see more details and RSVP to volunteer here!
April 7, 2018 Keeler State Game Area
On Saturday, April 7th from 9am-2pm, volunteers will continue wildlife habitat improvements in the area by building brush piles for rabbitat. This project has been completed in the region each year since the start of the program in 2013- see more details and RSVP here!
April 14, 2018 Crane Pond State Game Area
On Saturday, April 14th from 10am-2pm, volunteers will be planting 300 tree seedlings in 3-gallon pots at the Crane Pond SGA DNR Field Office. These trees will be monitored and cared for until they are large enough to plant in wildlife openings in the area to provide browse and thermal cover for the area’s wildlife- see more details and RSVP to volunteer here!
MUCC’s On The Ground Program is supported by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division
