September NRC Meeting: Commissioners pass a handful of fisheries, propose amendments to others for Oct. meeting

The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) met last Thursday and passed four fisheries orders while tabling several other orders and requesting amendment drafts from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The fisheries orders that were passed by the commission (with no amendments or changes made) include the following: FO 248.22 – Possession limits for fish…

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August NRC: Fisheries orders presented, director comments on wolf council

The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) met Thursday to hear information on proposed fisheries orders, and the DNR director postponed action on an amended land-use order restricting access under certain conditions from state-managed beaches until September. Few members of the public were present at the meeting; only three members of the public participated in public comment.…

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Lethal cormorant control permits approved for Michigan, helps set management strategy

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) is moving forward with lethal cormorant control following a federal ruling. Double-crested cormorant populations were impacted heavily in the mid-1900s by pesticides like DDT. Federal protections followed and helped populations increase substantially. From 1985 to 2005, cormorant nest counts increased from near zero to about 60,000.  From 2004…

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NRC: Deer urine-based lures and attractants remain legal

The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) amended a Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) proposal last Thursday that would have banned the use of deer urine-based lures and attractants. Commissioners voted to allow the continued use of deer urine-based lures and attractants, as long as the products have a seal from the Archery Trade Association (ATA)…

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Consent Decree: Entry and Effort

Submitted by the Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources (CPMR). MUCC is a founding member of CPMR. Click here to see the latest Michigan Out-of-Doors segment on the consent decree. This is the third in the series of updates that we will be posting to let those interested in the sport and commercial fisheries of the…

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Great Lakes Consent Decree: Implications, background, history

This is the first in a series of updates to let those interested in the sport and commercial fisheries of the Great Lakes know what is happening in the negotiation of a new agreement between the State of Michigan, the federal government and the five Michigan tribes holding a treaty right to fish within the…

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Voluntary youth fishing license signed into law, helps build conservation ethic

Voluntary youth fishing licenses will once again be available after House Bills 5002 and 5003 were signed into law. Introduced by Representatives Howell (R-Lapeer) and Brixie (D-Meridian Township), the tie-barred bill package reinstates a voluntary youth fishing license that costs $2. Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) supported and testified in front of legislative committees regarding…

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Gov. signs appropriations bill putting carp money back on the table

Gov. Whitmer signed Senate Bill 745 yesterday, which reappropriated the $8 million earmarked for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project meant to keep invasive Asian carp from the Great Lakes. In March 2020 amid COVID-19 budget constraints, Gov. Whitmer line-item vetoed the $8 million that was earmarked as Michigan’s contribution for the preconstruction, engineering…

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MUCC suit requests immediate injunction against criminalization of motorized boating

Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) filed a complaint in United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan on Sunday challenging the criminal prohibition against motorboat use recently announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.  The complaint alleges Whitmer and Department of Natural Resources Director Daniel Eichinger’s application of EO 2020-42 to prohibit motorboat use is…

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