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DNR Report
You’ve probably noticed that, over the last few years, deer hunting regulations have become less restrictive in Michigan.
Hunters in the Lower Peninsula can harvest does on a regular deer or deer combo license, and hunters can buy and use up to 10 universal antlerless licenses in most of the state.
Perhaps you’ve been thinking, "The DNR must be crazy! Surely these changes will harm the deer herd."
This video explains the rationale Michigan uses to show it won’t harm the herd.
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MDNR Report
2022 Michigan Bear Patch
The 2022 bear management cooperator patch is a great way to commemorate the recent bear season. Adult hunters, patch collectors and others can buy a patch for $7. Young hunters, 17 years of age and younger, who have a valid bear hunting license can get a free patch.
The Michigan Bear Hunters Association, in partnership with the Michigan DNR, coordinates Michigan’s bear cooperator patch program. Proceeds from patch sales will be used for black bear education and outreach.
You can order patches online or by sending your name, complete address, and a check or money order payable to the Michigan Bear Hunters Association. If the patch is for a youth bear hunter, please send a legible copy of a youth’s valid bear hunting license. Mailed patch orders should be sent to:
MBHA
Bear Patch Program
10510 Fairgrieve Road
Johannesburg, MI 49751
If you have additional questions, please email Cowboys1971@yahoo.com.
Young artists can enter 2023 patch design contest.
The Michigan Bear Hunters Associations holds a design contest annually to create the bear patch. K-12 students attending public, private or home school in Michigan are eligible to enter. To learn more about the patch design contest, visit the Bear Management Cooperator Patch website. The contest entry deadline is Dec. 1.
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MDNR Report
Michigan DNR Fisheries Projects
The Michigan DNR is offering over $1.6 million in funding for a variety of activities tied to improving state fisheries and aquatic resources, including fish habitat conservation, dam removal and repair, resource assessment studies and access to recreation.
Distributed through three themes – aquatic habitat conservation, dam management, and aquatic habitat and recreation in the Au Sable, Manistee and Muskegon river watersheds – Fisheries Habitat Grant funding is available through an open, competitive process to local, state, federal and tribal governments and nonprofit groups.
“Healthy rivers, lakes and wetlands provide benefits through better fishing, boating and enjoyment of our aquatic ecosystems,” said Joe Nohner, a resource analyst with the DNR Fisheries Division. “These grants help our partners protect and rehabilitate fisheries and waters in a state that relies heavily on those resources as a foundation for tourism and quality of life. In cases where we remove, repair or renovate dams, we also can improve safety for our communities.”
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Michigan DNR Report
Illegal salmon taken from poachers
An angler’s tip helped Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers recover more than 460 pounds of illegally taken salmon from an out-of-state fishing group on the Manistee River this week. The group went away with far less than they caught, while the officers were able to safely donate the poached fish to local families in Manistee County.
“There is a large amount of coho and Chinook salmon running the local rivers this time of year, attracting anglers from across the country to be a part of one of Michigan’s finest fishing adventures,” said the DNR’s Sgt. Grant Emery. “While we’ve seen a decrease in illegal fishing activity over the years, unfortunately, we still run into illegal and unconventional methods.”
Conservation Officers Josiah Killingbeck, who patrols Lake County, and Scott MacNeill, who patrols Manistee County, were conducting a fish patrol Tuesday along the Manistee River, near the Tippy Dam in Dickson Township when an angler approached and informed them about a group downriver using illegal methods and equipment to take fish.
The officers located and observed the group, confirming the tip.
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MDNR Report
For people who want to access the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay this fall, please keep in mind that the Saginaw River Mouth Boating Access Site in Bay County will temporarily close beginning Monday, Sept. 12, for a parking lot and boat ramp expansion project.
The work will include the addition of vehicle and trailer parking, vehicle-only parking and a new skid pier with a lane on each side, as well as the repaving of the parking lot. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources anticipates the project will take roughly eight weeks, with the boating access site expected to reopen Saturday, Nov. 5.