Grasslands are great: Pheasant cooperatives help improve wildlife habitat



Michigan Wildlife Cooperatives logoThroughout Michigan, neighbors have formed wildlife cooperatives and are working together to improve habitat for the benefit of pheasants, white-tailed deer and many other wildlife species.

The Michigan Wildlife Cooperatives program – funded by the Department of Natural Resources, the Quality Deer Management Association, Pheasants Forever and Michigan United Conservation Clubs – promotes the development and growth of wildlife cooperatives in Michigan. Deer and pheasants are the primary species of focus within these cooperatives.

Deer cooperatives strive to improve white-tailed deer habitat and hunting opportunities. Together, landowners work to set deer harvest goals as well as strategize to improve habitat by planting food plots, grasslands and trees that provide important mast (acorns and other fruit and nuts) for deer, turkey, rabbits and many other wildlife. The Quality Deer Management Association encourages hunters to become good stewards of the deer herd and to help Michigan's deer herd thrive in balance with the habitat.

The Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative is working to improve and enhance Michigan's grasslands on private and public lands in southern Michigan. Much of this work is accomplished through wildlife cooperatives, consisting of private and public landowners and generally situated around a state-land hub. For example, the Lake Hudson Pheasant Cooperative encompasses land in and around Lake Hudson State Recreation Area. This cooperative and 10 other pheasant cooperatives around the southern part of the state work together to improve grasslands for pheasants, deer and other grassland wildlife.

ring-necked pheasant"Pheasant cooperatives are a great way for neighbors to build relationships with each other, while working toward a common goal of improving habitat on their properties," said Michigan United Conservation Clubs' wildlife cooperative coordinator, Anna Mitterling.

There are many benefits to participation in wildlife cooperatives. They offer increased social engagement with neighbors and fellow hunters. Organized cooperatives allow for important discussions to occur and help to facilitate conversations about how to improve hunting conditions in your area. They also offer landscape-level management for wildlife. While it certainly helps when one landowner improves the wildlife habitat on his property, most wildlife wanders over a home range that is larger than one parcel size. Having neighbors group together and improve habitat on a larger scale makes the landscape more appealing to wildlife within a broader context.

Wildlife cooperatives have access to shared resources. By collaborating, landowners in a cooperative can share equipment or split the cost of seeds for wildlife plantings. Working together cooperatively also makes the work more enjoyable! Cooperatives also have greater access to support. Many experts and authors are interested in sharing their knowledge with fellow hunters. Cooperatives with active participants can invite those speakers to meetings to share their knowledge and expertise.

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

For more information about wildlife cooperatives, contact Anna Mitterling at amitterling@mucc.org or visit www.mucc.org/cooperatives.

Made up of many partners, the Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative is a conservation initiative to restore and enhance Michigan pheasant habitat (grasslands), populations and hunting opportunities on private and public lands via pheasant cooperatives. It works by acquiring state and federal resources to assist landowners in the cooperatives to improve wildlife habitat on their properties and by improving grassland habitat on selected state game areas, recreation areas or other public lands. To learn more visit www.mi.gov/pheasant.