Put your Saturday where your mouth is

lschultz • March 8, 2022

We often default to giving in the form of a check or a recurring donation (which we love) , but there are other, just as important, avenues that a well-rounded conservationist travels.

It’s true that we couldn’t keep the lights on here at Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) without your generous, repeated giving. Your dollars directly help us protect your rights to hunt, fish and trap, and these dollars often come in the form of unrestricted funding — providing the organization the flexibility to leverage those dollars even further.

We aren’t a one-trick pony, though, and that is repeatedly proven through our continuous bettering of Michigan’s wild spaces, places and things.

MUCC’s On the Ground (OTG) program is your opportunity as a conservationist to walk the walk, give back and “put your Saturday where your mouth is,” as MUCC member Jen Davis said.

Since 2013, OTG projects have included wood duck nest box building and placing, small game habitat improvements, tree planting events, placing fish structures in lakes and many other meaningful, boots-on-the-ground events to get your hands dirty.

Hunters, hippies and hikers can join together to better access for Michiganders and to help make a difference for conservation tomorrow and into the future. OTG is the conduit that can link hunters and anglers with bird watchers and paddlers. Together, the program helps conservationists understand the intrinsic link between all demographics and nature.

OTG is funded through a memorandum of agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division.

Please consider donating a Saturday to an OTG project near you. For a full list of events, please visit our OTG Events webpage.  Email MUCC Wildlife Volunteer Coordinator Kristina Kennedy if you have any more questions.

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