Young hunters can collect a free junior deer hunting license at all Meijer stores in Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12, thanks to a long-running partnership between the retailer and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Youth, ages 16 and younger, must be accompanied by an adult, and should print and bring the free junior deer hunting license coupon - which also is available on Mejer's mperk's page -- to the store's sporting goods department.
The coupon is valid for a single junior deer hunting license, a $20 value, or mentored youth hunting license.
Those who hunt in Michigan also must purchase a base license, which costs $6 for youth ages 10-16. The base license allows hunters to hunt small game and purchase additional hunting licenses.
The mentored youth hunting license, valid only for hunters younger than 10, includes a base license and does not require separate purchase of the base license.
The Walker-headquartered supercenter chain has offered youth hunters free deer hunting licenses since 2008. It gives away about 15,000 Michigan youth licenses a year, according to Meijer.
Coupon needed to obtain a $20 youth hunting license for free at Meijer on Sept. 11-12, 2015. Meijer sold about 946,613 adult hunting and fishing licenses in 2014, according to DNR records. Outlets, such as Meijer, collect 7.5 percent of the permit fee.
The permit fees fund the DNR's conservation efforts, which include habitat management and responding to invasive species.
Those free youth hunting permits cost Meijer an estimated $300,000 annually.
The retailer's investment is helping to introduce a new generation to hunting, as overall national participation is on the decline, said Ed Golder, DNR spokesman.
"It's a great thing they are doing for conservation," Golder said.
In 2012, the DNR named Meijer a "Partner in Conservation" for giving away the youth licenses.
For those who don't live near a Meijer store, hunting licenses are available for purchase at more than 1,400 license vendors or online at mdnr-elicense.com.
More information about youth hunting is available at the DNR website michigan.gov/mentoredhunting.
Replies