OTG Program to Host Wildlife Volunteer Events This September and October

lschultz • August 13, 2020

On the Ground (OTG) is MUCC’s volunteer wildlife habitat improvement program. Through this program, hunters, anglers, trappers and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds have the opportunity to donate their time for the benefit of the species and wild places they enjoy. Since 2013, more than 3,000 volunteers have improved wildlife habitat through weekend projects like building brush piles, removing invasive trees, restoring grassland habitat through native flower and grass plantings, installing fish spawning structures, hinge-cutting trees for deer and snowshoe hare, installing wood duck boxes, regenerating aspen stands, performing river clean-ups and planting a variety of trees for wildlife food and cover.

After five months of limited field activity due to COVID-19, the OTG program will be getting the ball rolling again with a wildlife habitat improvement event in the Maple River State Game Area (SGA). Although the official date and project type have not yet been finalized, the OTG program intends to host a project in September that will improve both public access to the dikes and wildlife habitat within the SGA. All volunteers will receive a free lunch and a t-shirt for their participation. Please monitor mucc.org/on-the-ground and facebook.com/muccotg in the coming weeks for a registration link containing all project details.

We also intend to host a tree planting event in partnership with Consumers Energy at the Fulton SGA on Oct. 6. At this event, volunteers will help plant 2,500 native tree and shrub species to enhance habitat for local wildlife. The mixture of conifer and mast-producing species will provide food and cover for wildlife and benefit the ecosystem as a whole. The exact meeting location within the Fulton SGA is to be determined.

The OTG program is looking forward to returning to the field with volunteers to improve habitat for Michigan wildlife. For questions regarding the program, please email MUCC Habitat Volunteer Coordinator Makhayla LaButte at mlabutte@mucc.org.

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