Department of Natural Resources officials have announced the creation of a new collection of maps on the agency's Web site that identify all lands that are open to public hunting in Michigan.

Hunters can click on a particular county and see not only the state forest, wildlife management, and parks and recreation lands open to hunting that are administered by the DNR, but also all federal lands as well as private lands that are open to the public through the Hunter Access Program (HAP) or the Commercial Forest Act.

"Compiling a database of all lands open to public hunting was a recommendation of the Hunter Recruitment and Retention Work Group," said DNR Director Becky Humphries. "It took a lot of effort from our staffs in the Wildlife, Parks and Recreation, and Forest, Mineral and Fire Management divisions to get this accomplished, and we are very pleased with the results."

"Our work group identified access as a potential hurdle to would-be hunters," Humphries continued. "Now hunters can find access to land with the click of a mouse."

To find the maps, go the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr and click on "Publications & Maps."