Aug. 8, 2016

Contact: Anna Mitterling, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, 517-346-6454

Grassland Habitat Field Day at Sharonville State Game Area Thursday

The Department of Natural Resources will host a Grassland Habitat Field Day Thursday, Aug. 11, at Sharonville State Game Area in Jackson County, Michigan. This is a free, family-friendly event to help local landowners and other interested individuals learn about the benefits of native grasslands and to how to improve grassland habitat on their own properties.   

A free dinner will be served at 6 p.m. at 5754 Fishville Road in Grass Lake. Educational presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m. and a grassland field tour will follow at 7:30 p.m.

Several partners of the Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative are hosting this Grassland Habitat Field Day, including the Pheasants Forever chapters in Jackson and Washtenaw counties, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, and the Jackson and Lenawee conservation districts. 

The Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative is a partnership, among many agencies and nonprofit organizations, that seeks to expand and enhance grassland habitat for the benefit of wildlife and the surrounding ecosystems. One of the focuses of the initiative is expanding these habitat areas by developing landowner cooperatives around public land hubs that have enhanced grassland habitat.

The Sharonville cooperative is looking for new landowners, and this meeting will help answer questions about grasslands, cooperatives and the Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative. 

“Private landowners have the ability to expand the core areas that the DNR has been able to improve on public land,” said Anna Mitterling, wildlife cooperative coordinator with MUCC. “Events like these allow landowners to gain the information they need to make decisions about how they can improve their own habitat.”

The Aug. 11 event aims to provide an overview of projects that have been completed and what is yet to be done on the local state game areas, as well as provide information and resources to landowners who are interested in implementing or improving habitat on their own property.

“We’ve partnered with Pheasants Forever and completed some really great grassland projects on public properties, including Sharonville State Game Area,” said Kristin Bissell, DNR wildlife biologist. “We are seeing pheasants and unique song birds on these parcels, and would like to see these efforts and benefits expand onto private lands as well.”

Participating in a wildlife cooperative does not open private land to hunting; the property rights remain fully in the hands of the landowner. The cooperative partnership does provide networking with individuals who can help provide guidance and, potentially, labor or funding to see grassland habitats installed or maintained within the cooperative area.

Those interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP at https://goo.gl/forms/tZWbvkXwSUimGOVs1 or by contacting Anna Mitterling at amitterling@mucc.org or 517-346-6454.

Online resources for more information about wildlife cooperatives and the Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative include www.mucc.org/cooperatives, mi.gov/pheasant and www.michiganpheasantsforever.org.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.