• The NEW Hunting Access Program (HAP) offers:
  • Increased payments - between $5.00 and $20.00 per acre based on habitat quality and access limitations. (CRP, CREP, and other Farm Bill acres earn an additional $5 per acre.)
  • Increased service through your county's Conservation District who will:
    • Perform the habitat evaluations
    • Handle landowner contracts
    • Post signs
    • Promote the program locally
  • The Michigan DNR has compiled a complete list of HAP sites across Michigan, there are also detailed maps of almost every Michigan hunting location available. This information can be found on the Michigan DNR site listed below.
Other items of interest:
  •  New HAP leases can be for three (3) years and run September 1,  2020 to May 31, 2023. Payments are made by DNR after hunting seasons are completed in May. (HAP does not pay for any land within the required safety zone.)
  • Parcels must be 40 acres (35 acres after the safety zone has been removed) and contain a minimum of five (5) acres enrolled in  grassland, shrub, wetland and/or forest habitat. 
  • Type of hunting allowed is determined by the landowner and affects the amount of payment per acre (i.e., the fewer types of hunting allowed by the landowner, the less the payment per acre).
  • Landowners may choose from the following hunting options: All Hunting, & Youth and Apprentice Only. There are new priorities for Northern Michigan with the primary emphasis on controlling bovine TB in our deer herd.  Properties will no longer be enrolled limited to elk only, deer only and small game only.  Youth and Apprentice hunting includes one (1) youth and up to two (2) accompanying adults. Landowners may choose more than one (1) option.
  • Landowners are free from liability.
  The Hunting Access Program is now available in northern Michigan.  It is a way for private landowners to treat their parcel as if it were public hunting land while being paid to do so.   The program is flexible - allowing a high potential reimbursement depending on the quality of your habitat. 

The landowner is free of liability.
We the conservation district will do all of the leg work while you just cash the check. 

Current Properties Enrolled
There are 4 Cheboygan County landowners with a total of 5 properties currently enrolled in the Hunting Access Program.  Properties can be viewed at www.michigan.gov/hap