Below are the 3 designations (levels) of the Land Certification Program (LCP) taken from the QDMA website.
QDMA Pledged Lands – Recognizes properties committed to QDM, the QDMA, wildlife laws and safety (Standards 1-4). This designation does not require a written management plan or a site visit by qualified property inspector, thus properties that achieve Pledged Lands status are not certified; self-application available. Applicants can bypass this level and apply directly for one of the certification levels if so desired.
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QDMA Certified Lands – Recognizes properties meeting the Pledged Lands requirements (Standards 1-4) as well as minimum qualifications for the four cornerstones of QDM (Standards 5-8). This designation requires a written, approved management plan and a site visit by a qualified property inspector.
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QDMA Legacy Lands– Recognizes properties that not only satisfy the requirements for Pledged and Certified Lands designation (Standards 1-8), but also meet minimum requirements for Standards 9-14. These properties exemplify the highest level of land protection, conservation, stewardship, and commitment to the preservation of our hunting heritage. This designation also requires a written, approved management plan and site visit by qualified property inspector.
To find out how you can get your property certified as a QDMA Legacy Lands or another level of LCP, click here.
To become a QDMA member, click here.
Improving deer habitat 30 years ago was a rare concept for owners of deer hunting property. Jake Ehlinger was a whitetail habitat pioneer in SE MI starting in the early 80′s when there were only a handful of deer in his area. Through hard work and trial and error, Jake now has multiple mature bucks living on his property.Even though there are no fences on his property, his hunting neighbors rarely see the big bucks that live there due to the way he has designed his small 67 acre property.
Jake passes dozens of bucks every bow season and now only shoots 4.5 year old and older big bucks.
His property is the first property in MI to be designated as a “Legacy Lands” by the QDMA.
For the last few years, Jake has become a highly sought-after deer habitat consultant to design and create habitat plans for landowners around the Midwest because of his innovative ideas and the amount of service and value he brings to his clients.
It’s not enough to replicate the same old rehashed strategies of big food plots and bedding areas.
In high hunting pressured states like Michigan, it takes out-of-the-box habitat planning and a correct knowledge of whitetail behavior to consistently see and shoot mature bucks every year.
Here’s a recent interview of Jake explaining how he got to this point today.
