+ All Categories
Home > Documents > Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative

Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative

Date post: 31-Jan-2022
Category:
Upload: others
View: 5 times
Download: 0 times
Share this document with a friend
2
Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative About the MPRI The Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative (MPRI) is a conservation initiative to restore and enhance Michigan pheasant habitat, populations and hunting opportunities on private and public lands. The MPRI works by acquiring state and federal resources to assist landowners within cooperatives in improving wildlife habitat on their property and by improving habitat on selected state game areas, recreation areas and other public and private lands. MPRI partners also work to secure adequate staffing to accomplish MPRI habitat improvement, hunter access, education and outreach, hunter recruitment, retention and reactivation and population monitoring goals. Goals for 2016 to 2020 Staffing 1. Secure funding to maintain 7 Farm Bill Biologists and a Cooperaves Coordinator for the Michigan Pheasant Restoraon Iniave (MPRI) and secure funding to add 3 new Farm Bill Biologists for MPRI priority counes. 2. Hire an Adopt-A-Game-Area Program Coordinator to facilitate accelerated habitat restoraon on MPRI state lands. 3. Hire a mul-year Educaon and Outreach Coordinator (Pheasants Forever (PF)) and a Recruitment, Retenon and Reacvaon (R3) Coordinator (Naonal Wild Turkey Federaon (NWTF)). Cooperatives 1. Foster showcase co-ops in 3 areas within the MPRI priority counes, focusing added aenon on co-ops with the most potenal for success to set examples for other co- ops. 2. Provide 20,000 acres of habitat on co-op lands and conduct pheasant monitoring within co-ops. 3. Provide training and educaon opportunies for co-ops including Pheasant Rendezvous, habitat days and habitat workshops, mid-contract management meengs. Habitat Improvement 1. Enhance and restore 5,000 acres of grassland and wetland habitat on MPRI priority state lands, 1,400 acres of wetlands through the wetland migaon bank, 10,000 acres of CRP lands, 1,500 acres of CRP SAFE diverse grasslands and 500 acres of CRP SAFE Pollinator, 500 acres of HAP lands and over 100,000 more acres on public and private lands through Pheasants Forever, USFWS Partners for Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited and other coalion partner programs. 2. Advocate for 40-million-acre cap on CRP acreage in the next Farm Bill as well as offer rang criteria that increases acceptance rates for landowners in the MPRI. 3. Secure substanal new acreage in CRP SAFE targeng pheasants, ducks, savannah sparrows, and monarch buerflies.
Transcript

Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative

About the MPRI

The Michigan Pheasant

Restoration Initiative

(MPRI) is a conservation

initiative to restore and

enhance Michigan

pheasant habitat,

populations and hunting

opportunities on private

and public lands. The MPRI

works by acquiring state

and federal resources to

assist landowners within

cooperatives in improving

wildlife habitat on their

property and by improving

habitat on selected state

game areas, recreation

areas and other public

and private lands. MPRI

partners also work to

secure adequate staffing

to accomplish MPRI

habitat improvement,

hunter access, education

and outreach, hunter

recruitment, retention and

reactivation and

population monitoring

goals.

Goals for 2016 to 2020

Staffing

1. Secure funding to maintain 7 Farm Bill Biologists and a Cooperatives Coordinator for the Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative (MPRI) and secure funding to add 3 new Farm Bill Biologists for MPRI priority counties.

2. Hire an Adopt-A-Game-Area Program Coordinator to facilitate accelerated habitat restoration on MPRI state lands.

3. Hire a multi-year Education and Outreach Coordinator (Pheasants Forever (PF)) and a Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (R3) Coordinator (National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF)).

Cooperatives

1. Foster showcase co-ops in 3 areas within the MPRI priority counties, focusing added attention on co-ops with the most potential for success to set examples for other co-ops.

2. Provide 20,000 acres of habitat on co-op lands and conduct pheasant monitoring within co-ops.

3. Provide training and education opportunities for co-ops including Pheasant Rendezvous, habitat days and habitat workshops, mid-contract management meetings.

Habitat Improvement

1. Enhance and restore 5,000 acres of grassland and wetland habitat on MPRI priority state lands, 1,400 acres of wetlands through the wetland mitigation bank, 10,000 acres of CRP lands, 1,500 acres of CRP SAFE diverse grasslands and 500 acres of CRP SAFE Pollinator, 500 acres of HAP lands and over 100,000 more acres on public and private lands through Pheasants Forever, USFWS Partners for Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited and other coalition partner programs.

2. Advocate for 40-million-acre cap on CRP acreage in the next Farm Bill as well as offer rating criteria that increases acceptance rates for landowners in the MPRI.

3. Secure substantial new acreage in CRP SAFE targeting pheasants, ducks, savannah sparrows, and monarch butterflies.

Education, Outreach and Communications

1. “Grasslands are Great” communications campaign with email blasts each month, periodic social media posts and radio spots/interviews about the importance of grasslands to pollinators, songbirds, humans, etc.

2. Prepare accomplishment reports annually and at the end of 2020.

3. Host workshops and open houses at premier DNR grassland management properties each year for the public and to bring about Legislative support.

Hunter Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation

1. Host Pheasant Fridays, Great Outdoor Jamborees, Mentored Hunts, novice adult hunts and shooting events with bb-gun trailer each year, with the goal of raising participation each year.

2. Participate in developing a comprehensive plan for addressing gaps in the hunter recruitment continuum discovered through a statewide survey of government and conservation organization programs. In addition, conduct a survey to determine trends in pheasant hunter numbers and determine amount of recruitment, retention and reactivation brought about by MPRI programs.

3. Provide at least 2 learn to hunt trailers for DNR and conservation organizations to use.

Hunter Access

1. Apply for another Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) federal grant for $2 million to grow the Hunter Access Program.

2. Maintain 20,000 acres of HAP lands in MPRI counties.

3. 2500 acres will be purchased by the DNR in the MPRI area, with potential for grassland restoration and associated recreation. 1500 of these acres will be in the primary MPRI counties.

Population Monitoring

1. Continue the rural mail carrier survey of pheasants for broad population trend monitoring.

2. Maps of habitat will be developed for all active pheasant landowner cooperatives.

3. Pheasant surveys to be conducted in each active landowner cooperative according to procedures provided by DNR, and survey results will be submitted to DNR for recordkeeping and publicity.

Pheasant Translocations

1. Translocation criteria will be established to clarify the situations when the DNR will translocate pheasants.

2. DNR completes Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with donating state for future wild pheasant translocations.

3. Co-ops that meet habitat criteria that do not have remnant pheasants responding to habitat improvements to receive a translocation of wild pheasants.

Funding

1. Apply for grants and request funding for MPRI with a focus on grassland and wetland habitat and pheasant restoration, including CRP-SAFE, CRP, GLFWRA, NAWCA, CREP II, USDA-EQUIP, DNR Wildlife Habitat Grants, HIP and Monarch/Pollinator Program funding sources.

2. Raise funds through a new Adopt-A-Game-Area Program.

3. Advocate for MPRI Pheasant Plan priority to continue beyond 10 years.

Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative * Goals for 2016-2020


Recommended