The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) recently helped establish three wildlife management cooperatives that unite public and private hunting lands for better deer habitat and hunting thanks in part to a $50,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The three cooperatives – two in Oklahoma and one in Michigan – are built on and around National Wildlife Refuges and encompass nearly 65,000 acres of public and private hunting land.

Wildlife management cooperatives (WMC) are groups of neighboring landowners or property lessees working together to improve wildlife and/or habitat management programs. The grant to establish the three new WMCs was announced last September, and as of late March, all three Cooperatives have now been launched:

·  The Shiawassee Flats QDM Cooperative, which surrounds the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Michigan, was formed on March 12 and includes 25 individual landowners and 12,039 acres.

·  The Washita River Deer Management Association, which surrounds Washita River NWR in Oklahoma, was formed on March 26 and includes 12 individual landowners and 40,311 acres.

·  The Deep Fork Deer Management Association, which surrounds Deep Fork NWR in Oklahoma, was formed on March 28 and includes 15 individual landowners and 12,484 acres. Read more