Hunting Access Program and Mi-HUNT application are invaluable tools for hunters

As hunters prepare for their upcoming deer-hunting trips, the Department of Natural

Resources reminds them to consider two helpful tools for finding hunting land in Michigan – the Hunting Access Program, which provides private-land hunting opportunities in southern Michigan; and the Mi-HUNT Web application, which creates custom maps for Michigan’s public hunting lands.

Michigan's Hunting Access Program was created in 1977 to increase public hunting opportunities in southern Michigan, where 97 percent of the land base is privately owned. In this program, private landowners receive financial incentives for allowing hunters access to their lands. HAP is one of the oldest dedicated private-lands public access programs in the nation, providing access to quality hunting lands close to urban properties.

According to DNR wildlife biologist Mike Parker, “Providing access to hunting lands that are close to home is critical for supporting Michigan’s strong hunting heritage. Our commitment to providing access has more than tripled the number of farms enrolled in HAP the past three years. We now have over 140 farms and nearly 16,000 acres available for public hunting.”

Using funds from the recent license restructuring and a new federal grant, the DNR plans to continue expanding the program over the next three years.

Visit www.michigan.gov/hap to learn more and to see a current list of private lands available for hunting in Michigan. The HAP webpage includes details about enrolled properties, including types of hunting allowed and aerial photos of the properties.

  

To find public hunting land in Michigan, the DNR also encourages hunters to try Mi-HUNT, a cutting-edge, Web-based application that helps hunters to plan their next hunting trip. Mi-HUNT allows users to navigate through a variety of map layers to create their own custom maps or download premade maps to meet their specific hunt-planning needs.

  

The interactive layers of Mi-HUNT allow hunters to view select private land open to the public for hunting; all state game and wildlife areas; 7 million acres of vegetation cover types; aerial imagery in a variety of formats covering the entire state; recreational facilities such as forest campgrounds, trails and boat ramps; and street maps and directions to hunting areas.

To experience Mi-HUNT, visit www.michigan.gov/mihunt.

Related articles

• State offers help in finding deer hunting spots (themorningsun.com)
• Program gives hunters opportunity to hunt on private land during deer hunting season (upnorthlive.com)
• Down firearm deer hunting season expected for Southwest Michigan as herd recovers from EHD (mlive.com)