Not only for the the wildlife and ecosystems, but for our children’s - children future. We live here, we hunt here, our legacy is here…
MDHA promotes education to guarantee the future of our hunting heritage in Minnesota. Each year MDHA chapters provide nearly $100,000 in scholarships to MDHA Forkhorn Camps across the state which provide outdoor and hunting education for nearly 700 youth annually. MDHA promotes private land wildlife management education through our Land Management Program. MDHA promotes good sportsmanship, hunting ethics and safe hunting practices. Each year, along with the MN DNR and T.I.P., MDHA awards the Ethics Award to one adult and one youth who exhibit ethical hunting behavior. MDHA chapters contribute tens of thousands of dollars each year to support Fi****ms Safety Training, 4-H Shooting Sports, Jamie Tennison Fund, Youth Field Days, National Archery in the Schools Program, Large Mammal Curriculum and more. MDHA’s quarterly “Whitetales” magazine features unique “how-to” hunting, research and informational articles. invests in Minnesota’s wildlife and habitat so Minnesota’s hunting heritage will carry on. Habitat was one of the primary initiatives for the formation of the Minnesota Deer Hunter’s Association. It was the brutal winter of 1968-1969 in northern Minnesota that prompted a group that subsequently named itself Save Minnesota Deer (SMD) to seek the attention and assistance of the legislature for the starving deer in Minnesota. Eleven years later, members of the SMD group decided to start an organization that would span the entire state of Minnesota to support whitetail deer as their primary purpose. The Minnesota Deer Hunter’s Association is that organization. MDHA continues its commitment to habitat through programs such as Hides for Habitat, the Food Plot Program and the Conservation Seed Program. MDHA has been very successful in securing land for public hunting for our future wildlife and hunters. MDHA Chapters and the State Habitat Committee have funded numerous land acquisitions over the past decade which has aided in supporting over 11.3 million dollars in projects throughout Minnesotat. All of this money is spent in Minnesota! Since 1993, MDHA and it’s chapters have spent over $7.4 million to restore and rehabilitate critical wildlife habitat and high quality deer habitat on public lands. MDHA supports increased opportunities for deer hunting on public land. Each year MDHA and it’s chapters contribute to the purchases of new Wildlife Management Areas open to public hunting. MDHA supports increased opportunities for deer hunting on private land. MDHA is a Forest Legacy Initiative Partner, obtaining easements on large private corporate forest lands to allow public hunting for generations to com. Since 1985, MDHA’s Hides for Habitat Program has collected over 650,000 hides and raised nearly $3.5 million for habitat projects throughout Minnesota. MDHA chapters provide food plot seed to chapter members, loggers and farmers each year for planting on their property and for seeding trails and log landings. Every year, MDHA provides funds and assistance – through the Hides for Habitat Program – for wildlife research and studies of deer habitat and physiology. Forestry and wildlife personnel from a variety of public and private organizations work together with MDHA volunteers to improve and enhance deer habitat. MDHA supported L.C.M.R funding for a study on the winter severity index (WSI) for 1999-2000. This study will help improve the ability of the WSI to predict the winter deer herd condition.
