In the Field: Catching up with MWC

lschultz • September 24, 2019

The last couple of weeks have been filled with events and outreach for the Michigan Wildlife Cooperatives Program (MWC). I have covered the state with different partners and had the privilege to talk with hundreds of kids and adults. These busy weeks have proven to me (again) how diverse my role is and how much fun that is. I hope you enjoy catching up with the program and where I have been through this blog!

Pheasants Forever District Meetings

Each year, Michigan Pheasants Forever holds district meetings for each Chapter to attend. The main purpose of these meetings is to showcase the banquet packages that are sold. The four Michigan PF staff members attended every meeting to talk about their programs, what we have accomplished this year and what our future goals are. MWC highlighted the Pheasant Rendezvous, Habitat Series, workshops that took place in 2019.

Ottawa County Field Day

After attending a PF District meeting, I was invited to an agricultural field day by a Chapter member. The partnership between agricultural producers and the cooperatives program has been a long-standing one and we hope to expand it in the future with a Precision Ag workshop. Attending this field day was a great opportunity to meet with landowners on the west side of Michigan, promote MUCC and the program and also get a sense of the current interest in conservation practices as they relate to agriculture. MUCC’s AmeriCorps member, Autumn, was also able to attend and gain some of her first agriculture experience.

Barry County Youth Day

On September 7, the Barry Conservation District and partners hosted their annual youth day. The event is held to introduce and excite kids about outdoor recreation activities like fishing, hunting, trapping, shooting sports and more. The MUCC table was filled with animal pelts, TRACKS magazine and camp information.

Over 700 kids walked through the event and 540 adults.

 

Great Outdoor Jamboree 

The Jamboree is an annual event put on by Pheasants Forever. Multiple organizations get together to host a full day of outdoor learning and activities for kids of all ages. There was everything there from the PF shooting trailer to duck ID with MUCC.

There was even an opportunity to participate in a live youth chukar hunt with field guides and dogs. Any kid ages 12-17 could hunt as long as they had their hunter safety certificate.

Upland Habitat Field Day

I am privileged to work closely with Michigan’s five Farm Bill Biologists. Recently, Hunter Salisbury (Sanilac/Lapeer), hosted a habitat event at Seven Ponds Nature Center. Topics included Michigan’s grassland history, restorations, landowner opportunities, cooperatives, grass ID and a field tour.

Attendees ranged from small backyard habitat enthusiasts to large scale landowners. Having a diverse crowd offers the opportunity to share how cooperatives can help both types of conservationists.

Oakland Habitat Day 

The Genesee Conservation District held a habitat day and invited me to speak about cooperatives. The location was a fantastic example of multiple ecosystem types working together on one property. Grasslands, woodlands and wetlands were all key features and well managed.

This property also promoted the power in conservation partnerships because of the many restoration projects they had completed with other groups and organizations.

It is certainly the season for field days and outreach! Thank you to the many organizations and partners that invited me to their wonderful events. These summaries are brief but the impact you have all had on your communities is lasting and I am honored to be a part of it. Stay tuned for more updates!

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