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(Provided by MDNR)
DNR Confirms Presence of a Cougar in Lower Peninsula
The Michigan DNR has confirmed the presence of a cougar -- also referred to as a mountain lion --in Bath Township, Clinton County, near East Lansing. This is the first time the presence of a cougar has been verified by the DNR in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
On June 21, 2017, a Haslett resident took a photograph of an animal from his vehicle in Bath Township near the DNRs Rose Lake State Wildlife Area. The individual reported that he spotted a large cat in his headlights as the animal attempted to cross a road. He captured the photograph as the cougar turned back from the road into an area of thick vegetation.
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The Michigan DNR is seeking public input on several draft master plans for state game and wildlife areas in the southwest region of Michigan.
These plans are important in guiding habitat management, based on both the featured species selected for management at each area and use of the areas for recreation such as hunting and wildlife viewing.
In crafting these master plans, the DNR also takes into consideration how management of the state game and wildlife areas affects local economies through activities like timber sales, agricultural production and wildlife-based tourism.
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Dexter James Sysak, 40, of Merill was convicted by a District Court jury in April of multiple hunting violations, dating back to Nov. 29. He was sentenced June 21.
Sysak had taken a dump truck of sugar beets and two dump trailers of corn and placed them on his hunting property, said Michigan Conservation Officer Joseph Myers, who investigated the case. The actual measure of bait was impossible to count but was estimated at two-and-a-half tons.
Myers said conservation officers were alerted to a complaint of over use of bait via an anonymous tip to the DNR Report All Poaching hotline (800-292-7800) on Nov. 27.
The following day, officers went to the area, which turned out to be an old golf course property owned by Sysak near the Gratiot-Saginaw county line. Myers said he found access to the site using a county road easement.
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Michigan DNR wildlife biologists estimate the number of moose in the western Upper Peninsula core population area at 378 animals, up from 285 in 2015.
"Our survey findings this year are encouraging because a possible population decline detected in 2015 was transitory," said Dean Beyer, a Michigan DNR wildlife research biologist who organizes the sampling and generates the estimate for the biannual survey effort.
Moose are found in Michigan at Isle Royale National Park and in two population areas on the mainland of the Upper Peninsula.
The western U.P. moose range covers about 1,400 square miles in parts of Marquette, Baraga, and Iron counties. The population there is the result of moose reintroduction efforts in 1985 and 1987.
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Bow Fisherman Breaks Bigmouth Buffalo Mark - Again
The Michigan DNR recently confirmed a new state-record fish for bigmouth buffalo. This marks the first state-record fish caught in 2017 and it was caught by an angler who held the previous state record for bigmouth buffalo from 2008.