This technical status report documents the participation of Michigan Technological University with the Michigan Energy and Resource Research Association (MERRA) in the United States Department of Energy Peat Resource Estimation Project. This report covers the following areas: our first approximation of the peat acreages in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and methods used to arrive at this figure; the documentation of the sampling methodology used in our study of the peat resources of the Upper Peninsula; a summary of the work accomplished during the 1981 field season; our best estimates of the overall mass and energy potential of the peat in the state as a whole; and the work plan for the duration of the project. Davis and Lucas (1) present a tabulation of the acreages of organic soils for each county in the State of Michigan. This is the origin of the figure of 4.5 million acres reported by the DOE in the Peat Prospectus (2), as the total statewide peat resource. This estimate was derived from the soil surveys for each county available at that date, many of which have been replaced by more recent surveys. The first step in estimating the Lower Peninsula resource was to update this tabulation. 7 refs., 9 figs., 8 tabs.