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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
Field officers maintain contact with the RAP room when a report is filed.The sign - Law Enforcement Communications Section - is as nondescript as the standard office door on an unadorned white wall deep within the recesses of Lansing's Constitution Hall.
But inside that secured door is a non-stop center of activity: the RAP Room.
The RAP (Report All Poaching) Room is staffed 24/7 by as many as seven personnel at a time. It is the main link between the public and the Michigan DNR Law Enforcement Division.
The Report All Poaching hotline was created in 1980 when the state Legislature designated a small percentage of the money raised by hunting and fishing license sales toward developing an easy method for citizens to report illegal hunting and fishing activity to the DNR. It has grown into a 1,000-square-foot room, outfitted with the kind of high-tech equipment one often finds at county or state regional dispatch centers. At each of the workstations, six computer dispatchers working in the RAP Roomscreens give dispatchers as much information as they could possibly need to direct the state's conservation officers to the scene of a complaint - and what the COs need to know once they get there.
Computer screens display information on the current location of COs (through the GPS monitoring equipment on their patrol vehicles), as well as access to the state's Law Enforcement Information Network, the state's licensing records, the radio system, the Internet, and even the criminal history of those whom the COs contact.
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The Michigan DNR announced that multiple changes have been made to Michigan's Master Angler program, which allows anglers to submit large fish they have caught for recognition. The program has been in place since 1973.
The Master Angler program recognizes two categories of catches: catch-and-keep and catch-and-immediate-release. Previously, the catch-and-keep category was determined by the weight of the fish caught, but that requirement has been removed and replaced with a length requirement. Now recognition in both categories will be awarded based on an established minimum length for each recognized species. Verified entries will receive the Master Angler patch. Only one patch will be awarded for both catch-and-keep and catch-and-immediate-release entries. No more than one patch per species will be awarded to each angler per year.
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The Michigan DNR will conduct its Winter Free Fishing Weekend Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15.
On that weekend, everyone ñ residents and non-residents alike ñ can fish Michigan waters without a license, though all other fishing regulations still apply.
Michigan has celebrated the Winter Free Fishing Weekend every year since 1994 as a way to promote awareness of the state's vast aquatic resources. With more than 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams, and 11,000 inland lakes, Michigan and fishing are a perfect match.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
The Michigan DNR announced the totals from its fall fish-stocking efforts.
The DNR's Fisheries Division stocked six different species, totaling more than 483,250 fish that weighed more than 8.8 tons. Fish were stocked at more than 120 sites throughout the state.
"It was another outstanding fall fish stocking season that will provide enhanced angling opportunities throughout Michigan," said DNR acting Fish Production Manager Ed Eisch. "When added to our successful spring and summer stocking efforts, that brings the total for 2014 to more than 22 million fish put into Michigan's waters."
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
A federal court judge has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately return wolves in the Great Lakes region to the federal endangered species list, making it illegal for Michigan citizens to kill wolves attacking livestock or dogs.
Under endangered species status, wolves may be killed only in the immediate defense of human life.
Two state laws allowing livestock or dog owners to kill wolves in the act of depredation are suspended by the ruling.
Additionally, lethal control permits previously issued by the Michigan DNR to livestock farmers to address ongoing conflicts with wolves are no longer valid; permit holders have been contacted regarding this change.
The return to federal endangered species status also means DNR wildlife and law enforcement officials no longer have the authority to use lethal control methods to manage wolf conflict.