Land use order restricting firearm use, proposed reduction in steelhead bag limits to be considered at November NRC meeting

The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) is expected to take action on three of the four fisheries orders up for old business at their November meeting.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. on Wednesday , Nov. 10 at the Michigan Library and Historical Center Forum located at 702 W Kalamazoo St. Lansing, MI 48915. Tune into MUCC’s Facebook page to watch the meeting live if you are unable to attend. An agenda for the day can be found here . Please note that this meeting is on Wednesday rather than the usual Thursday due to Veterans Day.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) director’s report will consist of several awards to DNR staff from the parks and recreation division as well as law enforcement division.

Following the awards, fisheries division staff will be presenting on steelhead management and research in response to Commissioner Nyberg’s recent proposed amendment to Fisheries Order 200.22 which would reduce the steelhead bag limit from three to one fish on select streams. 

MUCC has no current policy regarding steelhead bag limits, but the MUCC Fisheries Committee has sent a letter of concern to the commission regarding a lack of data and circumvention of traditional processes.

FO 200.22 and the proposed amendment is expected to be held over until the Dec. 9 commission meeting to allow for additional public input and fisheries division feedback. 

A state land-use order is proposed that would close the informal North Pioneer Road shooting area in Benzie County. The DNR cites unsafe conditions and safety concerns and that “several occupied dwellings have been struck by bullets.” 

MUCC is looking into this issue as safety is a top priority, but these types of user-created problems have led to other closures in the past. For example, the Hoosier Valley Shooting Area and Muskegon State Game Area have had land-use order closures in recent months.

Other fisheries orders up for old business include:

Land Transactions

There are 10 land transactions proposed by the department, all under the 80-acre threshold of concern for MUCC. The proposed transactions can be viewed by clicking the hyperlinks in the agenda. 

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