DNR Announces Plans for 2022 Pheasant Release

Justin Tomei • October 7, 2022

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced its 2022 pheasant release plan Friday, following Gov. Whitmer’s approval of a $100,000 appropriation for the program this week.

The DNR will not be using additional supplemental funds during the 2022 season, meaning $50,000 will be spent this year and $150,000 for the 2023 release. This means roughly 2,000 birds will be released in 2022. 

DNR Upland Game Specialist Adam Bump said this gives the department and stakeholders more flexibility in growing the program in the coming seasons.

“Ramping the program up this way also paves the way for funding the program at levels that match annual revenue generated by the pheasant license through the budget process.” Bump said, “What that means from a practical standpoint is funding levels will be known well in advance allowing for time to plan, adapt and promote the hunt each year without all the uncertainty that we saw for this year.”

Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) is disappointed that the delayed supplemental appropriations process resulted in a significantly smaller release this season, but stakeholders must make the 2023 season the best it can be, said MUCC Executive Director Amy Trotter.

“A more limited release, with fewer birds is not what anyone wanted for the 2022 season. We are all disappointed,” Trotter said. “Moving forward, we know that  funds will be available and do not have to plan using hypothetical dollars. Our hope is that the release will continue to grow into the robust program we all want it to be.”

According to a DNR press release , pheasants will be released during the Oct. 20-Nov. 14 regular pheasant season on nine state game areas throughout Southern Michigan:

Cornish (Cass County).

Crow Island (Bay and Saginaw counties).

Erie (Monroe County).

Lapeer (Lapeer County).

Leidy Lake (St. Joseph County).

Pinconning Township (Bay County).

Pointe Mouillee (Monroe and Wayne counties).

Rose Lake (Clinton and Shiawassee counties).

St Johns Marsh (St. Clair County).

A base license and a pheasant license are required to hunt Lower Peninsula public lands and Hunter Access Program lands, and all regular hunting regulations apply. The bag limit for pheasant hunting season statewide is two male pheasants daily, with four in possession. These restrictions apply at release locations. 

To ensure our natural resources remain protected and managed thoughtfully in perpetuity, join Michigan United Conservation Clubs today: http://bit.ly/JoinMUCC . 

Recent Posts

May 2025 NRC Recap

By Justin Tomei • May 8, 2025
The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) met for their May meeting today at Lansing Community College West Campus. The commission voted to return antlered opportunities to the Independence and Liberty hunts at the May Natural Resources Commission meeting. The amendment to restore this opportunity passed after Commissioner Walters withdrew his amendment from April to only partially restore antlered opportunity during these hunts. MUCC testified for the complete restoration of antlered opportunity during these two hunts, per a member passed policy from our 2025 Annual Convention. The commission also voted on, and ultimately accepted, a proposal to allow archery antlerless take in the high snowfall zone in the Upper Peninsula. Additionally, the commission also chose to leave on the table and postpone indefinitely the order to reopen the illegally partially closed coyote season. This prevents the order from dying after today's meeting and makes it eligible for action at a later date. This amendment will remain postponed until the June meeting at the earliest.  MUCC has created the Coyote Coalition to assist in unifying the voice of conservationists in support of Proposal G. To join the Coyote Coalition, visit https://www.mucc.org/coyotecoalition . The commission did adopt proposed fall turkey regulations unanimously. The June commission meeting is Thursday, June 12 in Bay City. To ensure our natural resources remain protected and managed thoughtfully and our outdoor heritage defended, join Michigan United Conservation Clubs today: http://bit.ly/JoinMUCC .

On The Ground: Volunteers at the Annual Jack Pine Planting Day

By Olivia Triltsch • May 8, 2025
In total, volunteers improved about 6 acres of habitat and planted around 6,000 trees in this stand to continue regeneration.

On the Ground Junior: Spring Event Recap

By Katelyn Helsel • May 7, 2025
Our student volunteers have been hard at work improving wildlife habitat on public lands! MUCC’s On the Ground Junior (OTG Jr.) program, a subset of the On the Ground program, is a fully funded field trip program that brings grade-school classrooms into the outdoors to improve fish and wildlife habitat in their local communities. Through activities like native plantings, brush pile building, and invasive species removal, students gain hands-on experience with conservation and positively impact the world around them. Students also participate in educational activities like predator-prey tag to teach them about population dynamics and other natural resources concepts. So far this spring season, MUCC welcomed 69 students, teachers, and chaperones who participated in multiple OTG Jr projects with more on the way! In total, they improved over 12 acres of wildlife habitat. Read on for a recap of each OTG Jr project and see what all our awesome student volunteers have been up to. 
More Posts