In the Field: County Line Cooperative

On Saturday I had the pleasure to attend the Third Annual Cooperative meeting with the County Line Cooperative. I am impressed by this group (along with many other of the great cooperatives we have in Michigan)!  They hosted the Deer Rendezvous the past two years and even allowed other cooperative and QDMA branch leaders to…

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In the Field: Pollinator Habitat Workshops Continue

by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC Wheew! What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been, with a couple more yet to go. I want to thank the local Conservation Districts, PF Chapters, QDMA Branches, cooperative leaders, DNR staff, and Farm Bill Biologists for presenting and sharing with event attendees. Also, a special thank…

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In the Field: Conducting a Browse Survey

 by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC When you are looking to “manage” deer, it is very helpful to collect information that clues you into understanding deer numbers in your area and their impact on their habitat. Trail cameras can help estimate numbers of deer, and browse impact studies can help determine the impact they…

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In the Field: Keeping it Relational (Meeting Ideas)

by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC We are all part of various social groups. Church groups, sports groups, hunting groups, family groups, party groups… you name it. The common factors of why we are part of these groups is time together and common interest. If you never spend time with the people of the…

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In the Field: Pollinator Habitat Workshop Series

FREE Wildlife and Pollinator Habitat Workshop Looking to attract deer, songbirds, pheasants and butterflies onto your property, at the same time improving air, water, and soil quality? Come to a free workshop near you to learn about programs and tools available to help you create quality wildlife habitat on your property! Grassland habitats provide significant…

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In the Field: Shed Hunting

by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC This past weekend we had freakish spring weather, followed the next day by more typical Michigan winter. Michigan, right? But regardless, it sure is fun taking advantage of random beautiful days in the winter. I took the opportunity to (finally) grab my trail cameras. I had not checked…

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In the Field: It takes Partners

by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC The most valuable part of cooperatives is the collaboration that takes place among neighbors, friends and family. The same applies to a program to help support cooperatives – the most valuable part of this program is the network of partners that have come together to support a growing…

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In the Field: Winter Pheasant Cover

by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC Did you have great pheasant habitat in the spring and summer? Then the snow came and your grass is as flat as a pancake – doing very little for pheasants throughout the winter? What you are missing are cool-season grasses like switch-grass and some nice sturdy shrubs to…

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In the Field: Cooperative Meeting in the Northeast

by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC On Saturday, I had the privilege of attending and speaking at the Anchor Creek Rendezvous. Galen, a Dairy Farmer in the Cooperative talked about the importance of cooperative, from an agriculture perspective and not a hunter. Managing deer and cows do run parallel together, we just have different…

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In the Field: In with the New

by Anna Mitterling, Wildlife Cooperative Coordinator, MUCC Now that hunting seasons have wrapped up (click here to read about special January hunts), I welcome you to the first day of the 2018 season: preparation. Hopefully, you took note of your habitat conditions when you were out hunting or running your dog. If not, get back…

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