Get all your fishing information here, including rules and regulations, license info, the weekly fishing report and much more. Use the link above to visit the fishing home page, or go directly to your area of interest below:
Get all your hunting information here, including hunting season dates, rules and regulations, and much more. Use the button above to visit the hunting home page, or go directly to your area of interest below:
Information on DNR shooting and archery ranges, rules and regulations, resources to get started and more. Use the button above to visit the target shooing and archery home page, or go directly to one of the pages below:
Find snowmobile trail permit info, maps, rules and regulations and more. USE THE BUTTON ABOVE TO VISIT THE SNOWMOBILE HOMEPAGE or go directly to you area of interest below:
Want to find tasty morel mushrooms in the forest? Click the box above for tips and tricks to fill your basket.
Find cross-country ski, ice fishing , snowmobiling info and much more.
Find facility info, overnight info, an event calendar and much more.
Find a great trail experience near you - whether you want to hike, bike, snowmobile or ride an ORV. From long, paved linear trails to rugged forest terrain, Michigan offers trail opportunities for all abilities and interests.
Visitor Centers across the state provide education programs, field trips, archery, fishing, trails and much more. Click the box above to see all our locations, or click the individual location below.
We administer grants that enable our local partners to promote the lifestyles we all enjoy by providing recreational opportunities, enhancing wildlife habitat and ensuring public safety. Visit the grants home page by clicking on the button above, or view a specific area of interest below:
Recreational Safety and Hunter Education
Learn about Michigan's diverse range of fish, plants, trees, reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals. Click the box above to see all species, or click the species group below.
DNR educators across the state provide fun, educational activities, programs and workshops year-round for adults, families and kids. Click the box above to see all our offerings, or click the program below.
DNR educators provide classroom lessons, field trip opportunities, professional development and experiential programs to teachers around the state. Click the box above to see all our offerings, or click the program below.
DNR forest resources professionals maintain healthy forests, manage wildfire, maintain responsible harvesting certifications and improve wildlife habitat. Click the box above to learn more about Michigan's state forests.
All DNR-related boards, committees, and advisory groups
Find seasonal, part-time and full-time job openings with the DNR
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) began as the "Kammer Recreational Land Trust Fund Act of 1976" via P.A. 204 of 1976. Act 204 created the Michigan Land Trust Fund (MLTF) program to provide a source of funding for the public acquisition of land for resource protection and public outdoor recreation. Funding was derived from royalties on the sale and lease of state-owned minerals (primarily oil and gas).
On November 6, 1984, Michigan residents voted in favor of Proposal B, which amended the State Constitution and created the MNRTF. The constitutional amendment required that oil, gas, and other mineral lease and royalty payments be placed into the Trust Fund, with proceeds used to both acquire and develop public recreation lands. To implement the constitutional amendment, the Legislature passed the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Act of 1985 (P.A. 101 of 1985, Act 101).
This act stipulated that in any one fiscal year, up to a third of all mineral lease revenues plus the interest and earnings of the MNRTF could be used to purchase land for resource conservation and public outdoor recreation but also to develop outdoor recreation facilities. P.A. 101 of 1985 specified that not less than 25 percent of funds made available from the fund in any fiscal year shall be expended for the acquisition of land and rights in land, and not more than 25 percent of funds made available from the fund in any fiscal year shall be expended for development of public recreation facilities. In addition, P.A. 101 of 1985 authorized the use of the MNRTF to make the annual payments in-lieu of taxes to local units of government that are required under subpart 14 of Part 21 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 451 PA 1994, as amended. The MNRTF is used to meet the DNR's obligations under Part 21 for lands acquired by the DNR with MNRTF assistance.
On November 8, 1994, Michigan voters approved Proposal P, which also amended the State Constitution. The 1994 amendment reversed a previous constitutional provision which allowed the diversion of Trust Fund revenue to the Michigan Strategic Fund. Proposal P also established the State Park Endowment Fund (SPEF) for the operation, maintenance and capital improvements at Michigan's State Parks, and provided for the distribution of $10 million annually in Trust Fund revenues to the new SPEF. The 1994 amendment also raised the maximum amount that could accumulate in the Trust Fund from $200 million to $400 million.
On August 6, 2002, Michigan residents approved Proposal 2. This amendment to Article IX of the Michigan Constitution allows the MNRTF to invest in a wider array of investments and raised the cap on the corpus amount from $400 million to $500 million.
In 2011, the MNRTF balance achieved the statutorily significant level of $500 million. At this point grant-making and related operations of the program began to be solely funded by the interest and earnings of the programs invested funds, as opposed to earlier days when mineral royalties themselves were the source of funding. New revenue from mineral royalties started to be deposited into the SPEF.
With the passage of Proposal 1 in 2020, the Trust Fund board is now able to exercise greater flexibility in balancing funding between acquisition and development projects. This change to the Michigan Constitution allows the board to respond to the state's changing recreation needs by acting more nimbly in its annual project selections. Acquisition and development grants now each receive a minimum of 25% of total funding made available each year, while the remaining 50% can go toward either acquisition or development projects based on the greatest needs and benefits.
Applications for MNRTF assistance are accepted annually. Applications are accepted from both local units of government and state agencies, including the land managing divisions of the Department. Applications are reviewed and scored by the DNR and final grant recommendations are made by the MNRTF Board and submitted to the Legislature for approval and appropriation of funds.
