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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
The Michigan DNR has renamed two special deer hunts for hunters with disabilities and modified the rules for eligibility and the use of ground blinds.
The Youth and 100 Percent Disabled Veteran Firearm Deer Hunting Days, scheduled for Sept. 21-22, has been renamed the Liberty Hunt. The Special Firearm Disabled Hunter Deer Hunting Days, scheduled for Oct. 17-20, is now called the Independence Hunt.
Participants in the Liberty Hunt were previously limited to veterans with 100-percent disability and youth younger than 17 years of age. The NRC has expanded the eligibility to include hunters who are legally blind or have been issued a permit to use a laser-sighting device or to hunt from a standing vehicle. The Department of Natural Resources estimates that fewer than 1,000 hunters have been issued these permits.
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The Department of Natural Resources today announced the results of a long-term study to determine the contributions of hatchery-reared walleyes in the Upper Peninsulas bays de Noc and what those results mean for fisheries management activities.
The bays de Noc, consisting of Little Bay de Noc (LBDN) and Big Bay de Noc (BBDN), supported historically important walleye fisheries that declined in the 1960s. Since that time, walleyes have been rehabilitated through protective regulations, improved habitat, and stocking efforts. Although natural reproduction has been detected in LBDN since as early as 1988, stocking efforts have continued in these waters to help increase walleye numbers. In 2004 the DNR began a study to estimate the contribution by both hatchery-reared and naturally reproduced walleyes in the bays de Noc.
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Deer hunters in 12 northwest Lower Peninsula counties will have to count antler points before they shoot a buck this fall, as the Michigan DNR enacted antler point restrictions (APRs) at its recent meeting in Lansing.
The regulation requires hunters to ensure antlered deer have at least one antler with a minimum of three points, with each point at least 1 inch long. A similar rule has been in effect in Leelanau County the last ten seasons.
The NRC approved the regulation under a process initiated after the Northwest Michigan branch of the Quality Deer Management Association proposed the rule more than a year ago. The process requires a DNR survey of deer hunters in the proposed area, which in this case found that 69 percent of hunters approved of the regulation.
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Bears love bird feeders, too.It might be hard to believe black bears see a bird feeder as food source, but they do. Bird feeders, garbage cans and barbeque grills are all bear attractants that humans can control.
Food, mating, and young bears establishing their own territories are all reasons bears are more noticeable right now. Bears typically mate in June or July, and the mother will kick out her yearlings in order to do so.
"Bears are looking for food and new territory," said DNR bear and furbearer specialist Adam Bump. "While we might not think of bird feeders and trash cans as food sources, a hungry bear certainly may.
"The majority of complaints we receive about nuisance bears involve a food source. The easiest thing people can do to avoid creating a problem is to take in their bird feeders and store other attractants like grills, trash cans and pet food in a garage or storage shed."
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The Michigan DNR will conduct informational meetings this month regarding new deer antler point restriction (APR) proposals.
A group known as the Lower Peninsula Deer Management Initiative (LPDMI) has submitted two different APR proposals to be considered for implementation starting with the 2014 deer season. Antlerless deer regulations within the proposed areas would continue to be determined annually by the DNR.
One of those impacts southern Michigan. It calls for implementing a four-point APR for all of Hunting and Trapping Zone 3 in southern Michigan.
The APR would not apply to individuals hunting with an apprentice hunting license or mentored youth hunting license or youth hunters during a designated youth season. This proposal seeks to require that all other antlered deer harvested in the area have at least four antler points on one side.
The next southern Michigan meeting will be June 13 at Decatur Middle School cafeteria, 405 N. Phelps St., Decatur, MI 49045. Doors will open at 6:30 pm, the meeting will run from 7 to 8 p.m., and the building must be cleared by 8:30 p.m.