DNR Wildlife Habitat Grant application period now open

Now through July 29, 2025, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Habitat Grant Program is accepting applications with a focus on projects that restore large complexes of grassland and savanna habitat.

“Grasslands and savannas were once abundant, but are now rare in Michigan,” said DNR Wildlife Division Chief Sara Thompson. “By partnering with conservationists across the state to restore grasslands, we can provide important habitat for wildlife, as well as numerous benefits for Michiganders. Grasslands help prevent erosion and flooding, filter runoff, and pull carbon dioxide out of the air – protecting our water and air.”

Funding for this critical habitat work is available for local, state, federal and tribal governments, and profit and nonprofit groups through an open, competitive process. Minimum grant amounts will be set at $50,000, with the maximum being the amount of funds available for this grant cycle. The 2025 overall available grant amount is approximately $500,000.

Applications are open now and must be submitted through the MiGrants system no later than July 29 to be considered for funding. Successful grant applications will be announced in late summer 2025. The detailed program handbook and more information are available at the Wildlife Habitat Grants webpage.

Grassland habitats are home to some of Michigan’s most popular wildlife species, including ring-necked pheasants and wild turkeys, as well as some of the rarest, such as Karner blue butterflies and Henslow’s aparrows.

Many grassland species depend on large grassland areas, but those remaining in Michigan are typically small, isolated, and lack sufficient plant diversity to provide habitat for many important grassland species. The 2025 Wildlife Habitat Grant Program seeks to develop and maintain large grassland and savanna complexes of 100 or more acres and improve connectivity between habitat patches. To learn more about efforts to conserve Michigan’s grasslands and savannas, read the Large Grasslands Wildlife Action Plan and the Prairies & Savannas Wildlife Action Plan. The Wildlife Habitat Grant Program began in October 2013 and is funded from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. The DNR administers the program with the main objective to enhance and improve the quality and quantity of wildlife species habitat in support of the Wildlife Division’s strategic plan.

Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.

• Blazing star: The purple spikes of blazing star flowers rise above the grass in wet mesic sand prairie near a forest edge at Allegan State Game Area. From the Michigan Natural Features Inventory.
• Grassland habitat: A walking path is mowed through tall brown grassland habitat at Chippewa Nature Center, framed by trees changed to fall yellow and orange in the background.