A beach scene at sunset with large rock formations near the shoreline, waves crashing, and a clear sky with a few clouds.

Welcome Home.

Your land is YOUR home ground: the woods you walk, the gardens you plant, the place your family spends its summers. We love seeing deer there too. But when there are too many, they strip the understory, eat what you grow, and carry the ticks that make Island life riskier every year. Home Ground helps you bring the balance back, with hunters you approve, on your terms, and treated with the respect you'd expect of a guest in your home.

Let's Get Started
Group of nine white-tailed deer, including seven bucks with antlers, standing in a snowy field with dry grass and trees in the background.

Too many deer on your land? We'll handle it.

Deer are eating the Island's woods and gardens, and they carry the ticks behind Lyme and alpha-gal. Most huntable land on Martha's Vineyard is privately owned, so landowners are the ones who can really make a difference.

Home Ground matches your property with vetted, licensed local hunters, We handle everything and there's no cost to you. You decide who hunts, which days, which seasons, and archery only or shotgun too. We do all the work: vetting, scheduling, enforcing rules and follow-up.

A landscape with a field of brown grass and several trees with orange and red autumn leaves under a partly cloudy sky.

permission first. proof after.

Nothing happens on your land until you say yes: who hunts, which days, which seasons. You can change your mind at any time. Afterward, you hear exactly what happened. Every deer taken on your property is documented and reported to you. No guesswork, and no strangers you didn't approve.

Two men, one with a tablet and the other with a notepad, standing on a dirt path in a wooded area with trees and a fence in the background.

we work for you

Frequently Asked Questions


  • Nothing. There is no charge to landowners.

  • Only hunters you approve. Every Home Ground hunter holds a current Massachusetts license and Basic Hunter Education certification, and is vetted and checked against references. You can approve each hunter yourself or leave it to us.

  • Yes. If there's someone you trust, we'll bring them into the program.

  • Massachusetts encourages landowners to open their land. Under the state's recreational use law (M.G.L. c. 21, § 17C), a landowner who allows people to use their land for recreation free of charge is generally not liable for injuries those people suffer there, unless the landowner acted willfully, wantonly or recklessly. In plain terms: if you don't charge for access and you don't knowingly put people in danger, the law is on your side.

    Home Ground never charges landowners, and you never charge hunters. Every hunter is licensed, Hunter Education–certified and vetted, and signs a written agreement to follow your rules before setting foot on your property. As with any decision about your land, we encourage you to let your homeowner's insurance carrier know, and to ask your own attorney if you have questions.

  • Yes. You choose the seasons, the days, and archery only or shotgun too. Block out dates for guests, events or family visits, and those days are off-limits.

  • The hunter either keeps it or donates it to Island food pantries through the state's venison donation program.