The application period for the Upper Peninsula’s Deer Habitat Improvement Partnership Initiative competitive grant program is now open.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources initiative is a cooperative grant program designed to enhance deer habitat on private lands in the U.P.

“There are three primary goals applicants should strive to meet,” said Bill Scullon, DNR field operations manager and administrator for the grant initiative. “The projects should produce tangible deer habitat improvements, build long-term partnerships between the DNR and outside organizations and showcase the benefits to the public.”

The initiative is supported by the state’s Deer Range Improvement Program, which is funded by a portion of deer hunting license revenue.

“This important grant program has been operating in Michigan for more than 15 years now,” said John Pepin, DNR deputy public information officer. “Over that time, grant recipients have created almost 150 projects across portions of nearly all 15 Upper Peninsula counties, improving thousands of acres of deer habitat.”

The DNR has announced a March 14 deadline to apply for a total of $100,000 in UP deer habitat improvement grant funding for 2025. Scullon said the maximum amount of individual grants is $15,000 and the minimum is $2,000.

“These projects are prime examples of how conservation minded partners and landowners can come together to enhance deer habitat all across the UP,” Scullon said.

Project applications must be received electronically or postmarked by Friday, March 14 and successful applicants will be notified by Friday, April 4. The complete grant application package is available on the DNR website at Michigan.gov/DNR-Grants.

For more information or questions regarding eligibility, please contact Bill Scullon at 906-250-6781 or ScullonH@michigan.gov.

The Boone and Crockett Club unanimously approved a request by the Fort Peck Tribes to accept bison entries hunted on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northern Montana into their records program. The decision recognizes the Tribes’ success in building a wild, free-ranging bison herd on their reservation using a sustainable management plan since the first bison were transferred to the reservation from Yellowstone National Park in 1999.

“Bison restoration in collaboration with tribal fish and wildlife management agencies is truly a success story and we are very excited to recognize these incredible bison bulls from the Fort Peck Reservation in our records program,” commented the Boone and Crockett Club’s director of big game records, Kyle Lehr. “The origin of our program was to record what was thought to be the vanishing big game in the country and to mark conservation success based on the principle that the existence of mature, male specimens is an indicator of overall population and habitat health. The Fort Peck Tribes have led the way on establishing a wild, free-ranging herd of bison and it makes sense to include these incredible animals in the Club’s nearly century old Records of North American Big Game.”

The Fort Peck Tribes’ Fish & Game Department has developed a management plan for the bison herd that was moved to the reservation in 1999 using genetically pure bison from the Yellowstone National Park herd. The Tribes’ herd is now maintained through a managed hunting program at approximately 700 animals, which is the carrying capacity on the 30,000 acres of the reservation that provides quality habitat for bison. Each year the Fish & Game Department allows 40 management hunts and seven hunts for mature bulls, these tags are issued using a random draw system except for one bull permit that is auctioned off to benefit wildlife on the reservation. In addition to the wild, free-ranging herd of bison, the Tribes also manage a quarantine enclosure that houses bison captured through Yellowstone National Park’s population management program. This program houses animals entirely separate from the hunting program and serves to move bison to other tribes and entities looking to build a herd of genetically pure bison. Fort Peck has successfully transplanted animals through this program to areas like Oklahoma and Kodiak Island, Alaska. Read more

Bird feeders can support Great Lakes birds when natural food sources may be scarce or buried beneath snow and during migration come spring, but it’s essential to follow safety tips to keep them healthy and prevent the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza and other diseases.

To feed or not to feed

While most backyard birds are at low risk of HPAI, the virus is present in some wild bird populations in the Great Lakes. Positive HPAI cases have been documented in commercial flocks, backyard flocks, dairy cattle, wild birds and wild mammals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most cases occur in waterfowl and scavengers like eagles, hawks and owls, but other wild birds, including shorebirds and gulls, can harbor the virus.

Since December, there has been an uptick in HPAI wild bird deaths, primarily in Canada geese, trumpeter swans and scavenging birds. HPAI is shed – or released via viral particles – through feces, saliva and nasal discharges. Though some human cases have been reported, the general population’s risk remains low.

In Michigan, you can still feed your backyard birds, but wildlife experts urge you to keep birds safe with some simple steps. Read more

Whether you are hoping to dip your toes into a new field, seeking a summer gig or ready to share years of comprehensive experience, the DNR has job opportunities available throughout the state.

This spring, we’re looking for:

• More than 1,300 summer park workers and many seasonal park rangers.
• 30 seasonal park interpreters to lead activities and present fun programs tied to each park’s unique natural and cultural resources as part of the explorer guide program.
• Dozens of nature educators who can deliver engaging, hands-on programming for K-12 students at visitor centers and for the Nature Awaits fourth grade field trip program.

For many, working with the DNR is a unique and rewarding experience. Whether the duties are in an office, in the field or on the water, it’s about helping people connect with and enjoy our state’s natural resources and outdoor stories! Get a glimpse of several DNR positions (including park interpreter and park ranger) in the Michigan DNR Careers video playlist.

All DNR jobs

In addition to these opportunities, there are postings for positions such as license sales technician, marketing strategist and fisheries census

Washington Fish and Wildlife Slow-Walks Public Records Request for 16 Months

Today, Jan. 28, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation sued the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in state superior court for the department’s withholding of public records in violation of the state’s public records act (PRA). The Sportsmen’s Alliance initially sought public records in September 2023 pertaining to the business of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the department has yet to deliver even a tiny fraction of the documents it identified as relevant to the Sportsmen’s Alliance’s request.

“Over 500 days have passed, and we’ve received less than 0.01% of the documents the department identified as relevant to our request,” said Dr. Todd Adkins, Senior Vice President at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Instead, we’ve been consistently strung along, with delivery promised by ever-extending deadlines. Which begs the question – what is the agency hiding? It’s no wonder the state’s sportsmen and women have little confidence in this process.”

On November 18, 2022, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission held a meeting at which it voted to cancel spring bear hunts. The vote came as a surprise to the Sportsmen’s Alliance and Washington hunters, as the meeting’s agenda gave no indication that a cancellation vote would be considered by the commission. Ultimately, spring bear hunting in Washington was canceled without providing sportsmen the opportunity to provide meaningful comments.

The Sportsmen’s Alliance suspected that members of the commission had violated open public meeting laws that would have allowed members of the public, including the Sportsmen’s Alliance and its members, to know that such a momentous vote was about to happen. The surprise vote raised concerns that members of the commission had routinely engaged in private communications among themselves concerning commission activities, meetings and votes. In order to investigate the activities of the commission leading up to the meeting and vote, the Sportsmen’s Alliance sought public records under the PRA.

Washington’s PRA requires the department to compile, and release, requested records in a reasonable amount of time. At its current rate in processing our request, the department will take 1,975,034 days, or over 5,411 years, to produce the responsive records. Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise. We’ve heard from sportsmen throughout Washington who wait for months and even years to get a response to their own requests.

“The department’s PRA request system is broken, and we’re hopeful our lawsuit results in a voluntary or mandatory fix,” said Michael Jean, Litigation Counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “In the meantime, however, we are asking the court to compel the release of the public records we’ve lawfully requested in order to hold the commission accountable for any statutory missteps it may have taken.” Read more

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a variety of local and regional organizations, has completed its 2024 spotted lanternfly monitoring efforts. Throughout the summer and fall, teams across Michigan worked collaboratively to monitor and track the spread of this invasive pest, resulting in new detections in Macomb and Lenawee counties, as well as new findings in previously affected areas.

“We are grateful to our partners for their ongoing work helping us monitor the spread of spotted lanternfly in Michigan,” said Steve Carlson, MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. “This collaboration allows us to collect critical data on new infestations which helps better understand how this pest is spreading across the state.” Read more