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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control permits previously issued by the Michigan DNR to livestock farmers to address ongoing conflicts with wolves are no longer valid; permit holders have been contacted regarding this change.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.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
The Michigan DNR recently finished stocking 36,228 muskellunge fingerlings into 21 water bodies located throughout the state in an effort to enhance Michigan's fisheries.
Michigan is home to two strains of naturally producing muskellunge, Great Lakes and northern. The DNR has been rearing muskellunge in its hatcheries since the 1950s. While the hatchery program initially focused on the northern muskellunge strain, it has shifted focus in recent years to the Great Lakes strain as it is native to Michigan and widely distributed in water bodies throughout the Lower Peninsula and eastern region of the Upper Peninsula.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
Two Kawkawlin, Mich. men have been ordered to pay $4,000 each in restitution payments to the Game and Fish Protection Fund and $625 each in fines and court costs and were sentenced to five days in jail for being over the bag limit for redhead ducks, according to conservation officers with the Michigan DNR.
Travis Vennix, 22, and Timothy Diehl, 22, both of Kawkawlin, admitted to shooting 20 redhead ducks while hunting Oct. 13. The bag limit for redheads is two per hunter. In addition to their fines, restitution and jail time, both had their hunting privileges for the remainder of 2014 revoked, along with the next three calendar years. They were sentenced last week by Judge Allen Yenior of the 81st District Court in Arenac County.