Deer Habitat Restoration Grants Available In Six Michigan Counties

The year 2021 is doing great for the deer in the U.S.

First, New Mexico purchased 1,200 acres of land to protect seasonal grazelands for elk, and now six counties in Michigan are offering grants to property owners who want to improve deer habitats on their land.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Deer Private Land Assistance Network Grants program is available in Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Presque Isle counties in the northern Lower Peninsula.

“The Northern Lower Peninsula Deer Private Land Assistance Network (NLP Deer PLAN) is a grant program designed to produce tangible deer habitat improvements, foster productive relationships between the DNR, sportsmen’s organizations, and private landowners, increase deer availability to the public and private land hunters, reduce transmission of Bovine Tuberculosis and agricultural damage caused by deer and encourage the harvest of deer, especially antlerless deer and testing of deer for Bovine Tuberculosis.”

The deer plan focuses on improving deer habitat on privately owned rural lands. Although public access to the land is not required for qualification, it’s highly desired and will reflect highly in the project scoring process.

Another perk that is highly desirable is the proximity to agricultural lands, as the project also aims to reduce negative impacts to agricultural operations.