Spring into April with these On the Ground Opportunities

Americorps • April 12, 2023

Warm weather has finally arrived in Michigan; the birds are singing, and the spring buds are blooming. What better way to enjoy this warm weather than by going outside to help enhance habitat for Michigan’s wildlife?

There are multiple opportunities to volunteer with On the Ground (OTG) this April. From watershed cleanups to building brush piles to enhance wildlife habitat, there are ways for every conservationist to get involved. Click on the links below to view more details about these upcoming April opportunities.

Upcoming OTG Projects:

Saturday, April 15, 2023 – Clinton River Watershed Clean-Up

Volunteers will assist in cleaning up Dawson’s Millpond at Beaudette Park and Upper Silver Lake at Hawthorne Park in Pontiac, MI (Oakland County).

Friday, April 22, 2023 – Brush Pile Building in Kalkaska County with Mark Kenyon

Volunteers will assist with building brush piles for game habitat, maintaining and improving wildlife openings, and softening forest/opening edge within a forested landscape to improve habitat for wildlife, particularly game species on public hunting land in Kalkaska County.

If you can’t make it up to the Northwoods on Earth Day, there’s another opportunity to get involved down in Barry County! Join the Michigan DNR at Barry State Game Area for an Earth Day cleanup ! The event will start at the Yankee Springs Township Fire Department, located at 1425 Pine Lake Road in Wayland, MI. We will begin with a short briefing at 9:00 AM, after which participants will disperse to various locations within the game area to pick up trash. Dumpsters and trash bags will be provided by the organizers. All you need to bring is your enthusiasm and dedication to keeping our beautiful game area clean and pristine. This is a great opportunity to give back to the community and help preserve the natural beauty of our environment.

Friday, April 29, 2023 – Brush Pile Building and Edge-Habitat Enhancement at Port Huron State Game Area

Volunteers will work to remove woody invasive vegetation and create brush piles for wildlife habitat at Port Huron State Game Area in St. Clair County.

We hope to volunteer with you this spring! Please contact Habitat Volunteer Coordinator Kristina Kennedy at kkennedy@mucc.org with questions regarding the OTG program.

The post Spring into April with these On the Ground Opportunities appeared first on Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

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Uncommon Whitetails: Antlered Does

By Olivia Triltsch • November 20, 2025

If you have ever seen a deer with velveted antlers at strange times of the year, it may have been a rare sighting of an antlered doe. Unusual circumstances like this allow for the antlered and antlerless deer tags to still apply as imposed by the Michigan DNR deer regulations, as it can be difficult to identify a doe from a buck while in the field, aside from the presence of antlers. Often, hunters who tag an antlered doe do not find out it is a female until they go to field dress their kill.