Northern Michigan Hunting Group Calls Out To Local Businesses

That’s a big reason Hunting Works for Michigan was born.

It’s a national organization, that’s new to our state.

They hope to work with lawmakers advocating for sportsmen and women, jobs, and the economy.

This week, the organization was in Cadillac to talk about its mission.
New this October, Hunting Works for Michigan was founded to help be the voice for hunters, anglers and the businesses that rely on them in Lansing, Washington and beyond.

Now they’re encouraging more local businesses to lend their support, because it’s certainly worth it economically.

Joy VanDrie, Co-chair of Hunting Works For Michigan informs us, “Hunting has a $289,000,000 impact on the state of Michigan.”

This week the organization was in Cadillac, spreading the word about those dollars, where they go and the difference VanDrie says they can make, “Hunting Works of Michigan that’s what it’s all about, it’s about the economics of hunting and how all of our hunters, money dollars, license fees effects our local economies.”

More than 500,000 people hunt in Michigan every year and many of them choose to come up North.

“It’s not only hunters come up to hunt, but they, they purchase land up here,” says VanDrie.

“So and when they purchase land up here it’s not just purchasing the home, they’re building things they’re buying equipment.”

That’s people and money pouring into our economy with the cast of a line or the pull of a trigger; and when they catch a fish or harvest a deer. it’s a benefit to the environment too.

Cadillac’s Department of Natural Resource’s Katie Keen says, “Hunting in Michigan is a management tool that we use to manage wild life populations, but it also has an economic benefit and that’s really neat to be able to see the link between the two and what we’re all doing as hunters, trappers, anglers.”

That’s why Hunting Works is calling all local businesses to get involved and show their support, because the more Northern Michigan supports the sport, the bigger the mark it can make on our state.

“Our goal today is to further our message, get more information out about the economics, the overall impact,” says VanDrie.

“It’s at the level right now in the industry that everyone needs to get our arms around everything to be able to move things forward in a positive way.”

For more information on how to support hunting and Northern Michigan’s economy click here.