Landowners Can Help In The Fight Against Deer Disease

If you are a landowner and are concerned about the health of the Michigan deer population, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources needs your help and you can get paid for it.

If you are a landowner of 40 acres or more, the DNR Hunting Access Program needs your help in fighting deer diseases like bovine tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease by allowing hunters to hunt on your private land. The DNR is accepting applications in the northern Lower Peninsula and select counties in the southern Lower Peninsula.

According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking landowners to help fight deer diseases like chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis by opening their private property to hunters in 2018. The DNR’s Hunting Access Program currently is accepting applications in the northern Lower Peninsula and five counties in the southern Lower Peninsula. Landowners should have at least 40 acres of land with some wildlife habitat, such as forest or brush, to apply.

Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Newaygo and Mecosta counties are all on that list of qualifying counties available for the program.

Land owners will receive an annual payment that is based on the amount of acres, land cover and the type of hunting landowners will allow on their property. This helps in stronger management of wildlife on your property. There are a variety of hunting options available to landowners to maximize the number of hunters to match the amount of acreage and wildlife your property can handle even youth and apprentice hunting.

DNR Hunting Access Program coordinator Monique Ferris said. "You can help improve wildlife population management, support the local economy, reduce wildlife conflicts, and get paid to do it."

If you are a landowner that would like to participate there are local conservation staff in the area that can help you get your land involved in the program by clicking here. You can enroll now through September 1st.

For all information regarding these types of programs are found here.