Commercial Guiding Bills: What’s Myth and What’s Fact?

The Senate Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee passed out an MUCC-supported commercial guiding package (SBs 103,104 and 105) today.  Commercial guiding in Michigan is woefully unregulated. Nothing in state law prevents a serial poacher or felon from guiding. For more than 10 years, Michigan United Conservation Clubs has worked to provide much-needed sideboards for an…

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May NRC Preview

May NRC Meeting, Deer Regulations

Deer regulations will be on the agenda for the May 11 Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting. The meeting is scheduled for 9 am, Thursday, May 11, at 5708 Cornerstone Drive Lansing, MI 48917, West Campus Rooms M119-121. Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment #7 of 2023 is up for information at the May meeting, proposing changes to…

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April NRC Recap: Deer tracking with dogs debated , duck and goose seasons passed

A packed April meeting yielded little action for commissioners at their monthly Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting. Wildlife Conservation Order #5 of 2023 was tabled by commissioners until the May meeting with more questions on the best approach to allow off-lead dog tracking. Conversations with the department, NRC, and stakeholders are ongoing regarding the proposed…

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April NRC Preview

Written by MUCC Barnum Conservation Policy Fellow, Tess Bradley Proposed deer regulations will be presented at the April Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting April 13. The meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. at Lansing Community College, 5708 Cornerstone Drive Lansing, MI 48917.  Topics include deer, nuisance animals, budget discussions, the Pure Michigan Hunt, fisheries…

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Michigan Youth Hunter Regulations

The opening day of firearm deer season is tomorrow! For many kids around the state, it is an unofficial school holiday. If you are skipping school or pulling your kid out for a day of quality family time in the woods, here are a few reminders to keep everything legal.  In case any last-minute license…

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Senate passes HB 6354, MUCC requests veto

Mandatory deer reporting will likely remain a misdemeanor following both chambers’ political stunts On Wednesday, the Michigan Senate followed the House’s lead and chose to score cheap political points and forgo good policy, the best interests of Michigan’s hunters and Michigan’s natural resources. The Senate passed, on a bipartisan 26-10 vote, an amended version (H-5)…

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Legislature tries to score political points days before deer season, subverts Proposal G and the NRC

Yesterday, the Michigan House of Representatives on a largely party line vote chose to play politics with Michigan’s natural resources. HB 6354, which would have decriminalized failure to report a deer harvest by reducing penalties from a misdemeanor and possible jail time to a civil infraction, was unanimously approved as introduced by the House Government…

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June NRC Recap

Commissioners instituted mandatory deer harvest reporting at their June Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting.  Wildlife Conservation Order #4 of 2022, which passed unanimously, sets up mandatory deer harvest reporting beginning with the 2022 whitetail deer season. The order is meant to improve the data quality and speed at which deer harvest reports can be produced,…

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Wolf council meets to discuss habitat, enforcement

The Wolf Management Advisory Council (WMAC) met December 7 to discuss habitat and enforcement efforts needed to sustain a robust wolf population. New business included a review of sections 6.3 and 6.5 from the 2015 Wolf Management Plan. Old business included voting on recommendations to section 6.2 of the 2015 plan. Council members first heard…

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A predator-prey study, increasing public awareness, maintaining sustainable wolf prey populations discussed October wolf meeting.

October NRC Preview

The Wolf Management Advisory Council (WMAC) is charged with making recommendations to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regarding wolf management. The council will undertake recommending updates to the 2015 Wolf Management Plan to include up-to-date biology and information. The WMAC is comprised of six members: Dan Kennedy representing the DNR, Amy Trotter representing…

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