MARQUETTE — The application period for the Upper Peninsula’s Deer Habitat Improvement Partnership Initiative competitive grant program is open.

The initiative is a cooperative grant program designed to enhance deer habitat on private lands in the U.P.

“There are three primary goals applicants should strive to meet,” said Bill Scullon, Michigan Department of Natural Resources field operations manager and administrator for the grant initiative, in a news release. “The projects should produce tangible deer habitat improvements, build long-term partnerships between the DNR and outside organizations and showcase the benefits of the project to the public.”

Now in its 13th year, the initiative is supported by the state’s Deer Range Improvement Program, which is funded by a portion of deer hunting license revenue. The program has invested over $750,000 in hunter license dollars on U.P. deer habitat enhancements.

More than 90 projects, distributed over nearly all U.P. counties, have improved thousands of acres of deer habitat. Partners have contributed nearly half a million dollars in matching funds to expand the scope of these project enhancements for wildlife.

The DNR announced a March 12 deadline to apply for a total of $100,000 in deer habitat improvement grant funding in the U.P. for this year. Scullon said the maximum amount of individual grants is $15,000 and the minimum is $2,000.

“These projects are prime examples of how partner groups can come together to enhance deer habitat all across the U.P.,” Scullon said.

Project applications must be postmarked by March 12, and successful applicants will be notified by April 1. The complete grant application package is available at www.michigan.gov/dnr-grants. For more information or questions regarding eligibility, contact Scullon at 906-250-6781 or scullonh@michigan.gov.