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Whitetail Deer
Upper Peninsula closed snowmobile trail / spring 2009
Upper Peninsula closed snowmobile trail / spring 2009
HUNTING & FISHING LICENSES
S.B. 349 (S-1) & 409:ANALYSIS AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 349 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Senate Bill 409 (as reported without amendment)
Sponsor: Senator Jim Barcia
Committee: Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Recreation
Date Completed: 4-1-09
The Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act sets the amount of hunting and fishing license fees but allows the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to provide a discount on licenses for marketing
purposes, the purchase of multiple licenses, or the harvest of antlerless deer. The Act also establishes a one-year period during which a hunting or fishing license is valid, subject to an exception for limited seasons. It has been suggested that revising the circumstances under which a discount may be granted, eliminating a limit on the discount, and giving the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) flexibility to determine the time period for which a license is valid, could help reverse the State's downward trend in hunting and fishing and assist the Department in meeting harvest and management objectives.
CONTENT
Senate Bill 349 (S-1) would amend Part 435 (Hunting and Fishing Licensing) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to revise provisions concerning discounts on hunting and fishing license fees.
Senate Bill 409 would amend Part 435 to revise provisions related to the period that a hunting or fishing license or permit is valid.
The bills are described below in further detail.
Senate Bill 349 (S-1)
Under Part 435, the DNR may discount the price of a license up to 15% for marketing purposes to increase participation in hunting and fishing activities. Additionally, the price of the anterless deer license may be reduced or eliminated in specific areas to help achieve the harvest of anterless deer. If a person purchases four or more licenses for the same person at the same time, a sportsperson discount of 15% must be provided. Waterfowl hunting licenses and limited fishing licenses are not eligible for the sportsperson discount. The bill would delete the provisions regarding the antlerless deer license and sportsperson discount, as well as the 15% limit on a discount offered for marketing purposes. Under the bill, the price of any license or application fee could be discounted or eliminated to achieve a harvest or management objective for that species.
Senate Bill 409
Currently, all licenses issued under Part 435 are valid from March 1 through March 31 of the following year, except for licenses or permits that are valid for a designated limited season. Under the bill, all licenses issued would be valid from March 1 through March 31 of the following year, or as otherwise provided by order of the Natural Resources Commission. The DNR would have to designate the period of validity on the license or permit.
324.43542 (S.B. 409)
ARGUMENTS
(Please note: The arguments contained in this analysis originate from sources outside the Senate Fiscal Agency. The Senate Fiscal Agency neither supports nor opposes legislation.)
Supporting Argument
The bills would assist the DNR in managing game, as well as encourage hunter and angler recruitment and retention. For example, under Senate Bill 349 (S-1), the Department could offer a greater discount to
a person who purchased licenses several years in a row. Under Senate Bill 409, the NRC could authorize the sale of licenses that would be valid for more than one year, thus making it more convenient for sportspeople
to participate time and again. By encouraging consistent license purchasing practices, the bills would help foster the next generation of hunters and anglers and alleviate some of the Department's
budgetary pressures.
Response: Senate Bill 349 (S-1) should provide for partnerships between the DNR and nonprofit sportsperson and conservation groups for marketing purposes. Through such "partnerships", the related organizations could actively promote license purchases at a discount to their members. While current law does not preclude the Department from pursuing these arrangements, express statutory authorization could be beneficial.
With regard to Senate Bill 409, a mechanism for the allocation of revenue from the potential multiyear licenses should be considered to ensure that those dollars were not all spent within the first year.
Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
Senate Bill 349 (S-1)
The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the State. An increase in license discounts or temporary elimination of the fee for harvest-management purposes would result in a loss to the Game and Fish Protection Fund, which receives the revenue from hunting and fishing licenses fees. However, a change in discount practices would not be required by the bill.
Senate Bill 409
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.
Fiscal Analyst: Bill Bowerman
Source: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2009-2010/billanalysis/Senate/pdf/2009-SFA-0349-A.pdf
______
Michigan Votes: Introduced 2009 Senate Bill 349 (Allow greater hunting/fishing license discounts ) to allow hunting and fishing licenses to be discounted by more than 15 percent for marketing purposes (the maximum allowed under current law). Passed in the Senate (37 to 0) on May 12, 2009.
Comments can be posted here.
Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger
Food Pantry In Coldwater Receives Deer Meat Donations
Natural Resources Commission to Consider Crossbow Changes
Contact:
Dennis Knapp 517-241-0330
- Agency:
Natural Resources
"The Natural Resources Commission will consider changes proposed by a special subcommittee exploring expanding the opportunities for hunting with crossbows.
The changes were proposed by Commissioner John Madigan of Munising, chair of the NRC Policy Committee on Wildlife and Fisheries, who held regular discussions with hunters and other interested parties at NRC meetings for the last six months. The proposed changes would allow the use of crossbows..."Click here to read more.
PUBLISHED: January 28, 2009
Photo by David Kenyon
In
the Upper Peninsula, the thick stands of hemlock, cedar and other
conifers shelter deer from snow, wind and cold temperatures. The
needles intercept snow and serve as a sort of roof that creates a
microclimate of warmer temperatures below the forest canopy. This
protection also allows deer to move more freely, while expending less
energy, as they travel to and from local food sources within these
important wintering complexes.
Others, with a little better understanding of the creature's year-round needs, will talk about early successional forests -- aspen and the associated understory, where forbs and shrubs provide browse when mast isn't available.
But only a few understand the importance of conifers to deer.
In short, northern Michigan whitetails would
struggle mightily without the hemlock, cedar and other conifers that
help get them through the winter.
Residents to seek to suspend Rochester Hills deer kill
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News / Monday, January 26, 2009
ROCHESTER HILLS -- Residents opposed to the controlled killing of deer by Oakland County sheriff's sharpshooters say they will try to convince the City Council tonight to suspend the kill and consider other options.
This comes a week after an Oakland
County Circuit Court judge rejected arguments by two city residents
seeking to stop the sanctioned deer cull in Rochester Hills, saying it
was dangerous..."
Sparks fly over deer kill
"On a bitter cold night, about 75 Rochester Hills residents came out to express their desire to have City Council reverse its November decision and stop the reduction of the deer population by Oakland County Sheriff ’s Office sharpshooters.The meeting that had been orderly throughout the public comment period was abruptly adjourned early after residents demanded to hear from their elected officials, who would not discuss the matter..."
Click here to read more.
Two Michigan State Police Troopers
Admit To Deer Poaching
Posted: 1/9/2009 - 9 & 10 News
'Trooper Jeff Hadley and Trooper Don Bolen, both from the Michigan State
Police Cheboygan Post, admitted to shooting a deer out of season while
on duty.
It happened November 12 on Mograin road in Benton Township.
Hadley and Bolen say they pulled off the road, used an artificial light and pulled the trigger on the buck.
Both men are still working at the post but are on limited duty until the case pans out.
9&10's Christina Vecchioni and photojournalist Aaron Smith have more details." Click here for video.
Poacher update:
Troopers cop pleas to poaching
January 13, 2009
Cheboygan, Mich. - "Two Michigan State Troopers from the Cheboygan Michigan State Police Post
are still on the job, but with limited duties pending resolution of a
case where the pair admitted to shooting a deer out of season while on
duty.
Jeff Hadley and Don Bolen pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor offenses
involving poaching in a plea arrangement with prosecutors. In return, felony charges will not be sought against the pair.
A specification in the plea arrangement that would have required the
men to request a transfer from the Cheboygan Post was withdrawn, court
records show...."
Click here to read more.
Season of Change
Click here for the original article and to post comments.
"The 2008 firearm deer season opened under a veil of change and suspicion among hunters and non-hunters alike in Michigan.
"I am very concerned about the future of hunting for Michigan," said rocker and avid deer hunter Ted Nugent. "We have taken the spirit of hunting and put it in the hands of the bureaucrats."
Many hunters share Nugent's apprehension. Depending on who you ask, the source of all the concern is either chronic wasting disease (CWD), or how the Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources have responded to it.....Click here to read more.
Click here for more on Chronic Wasting Disease.
***
Click here for information on Whitetail Deer from MDNR
***
Fewer deer taken this hunting season
ESCANABA - The first week of the firearm deer season appears to be slower overall than in previous years according to Bill Rollo, wildlife technician with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
"As of Thursday, we have checked in 342 deer, which is 25 percent less for the first six days of the firearm deer season over a 10-year average, " he said. He also said hunters were seeing fewer deer this hunting season. The recent severe weather seen over the past two days could also attribute to the reduction in numbers of deer being seen.
Another contributing factor, according to Rollo, was a reduction in buck production in the northern parts of the Upper Peninsula, where there is an estimated 10-percent reduction due to the severe winter of 2007-08.
Click here to read more.***
DNR Announces Tentative Diagnosis for Deer Die-Off
Affecting Oakland and Macomb Counties
Contacts: Tom Cooley 517-336-5030 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014
The Department of Natural Resources today announced a tentative diagnosis of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), an often fatal viral disease found in wild ruminants, for the more than 50 deer that have died off in an area around the Clinton River in Oakland and Macomb counties.
Click here for much more information
***Deer Seasons Below Average
By RON DEUTER, Staff Writer - Dec. 5, 2008
"IRON MOUNTAIN - A look at preliminary deer harvest numbers provided by Wisconsin and Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials confirms what many local hunters had already suspected.
The 2008 count saw a noticeable decrease from a year ago.
Wisconsin DNR reported 276,985 whitetail deer registered during the state's nine-day gun season which ended Sunday, down 20 percent from a year ago.
"The down numbers may mean the population is moving toward goal. That is a good thing, and that hunting is having a positive effect on deer herd management," DNR deer expert Keith Warnke said. "If this is true, as populations get toward goals, lower harvests like this will become the norm.".....Click here to read more.
***
Hunters begin paying the price for bait piles
Posted by Tom Gilchrist | The Bay City Times November 18, 2008 08:00AM
"STERLING - These are not happy days for hunter Richie Cunningham.
The Arenac County man hasn't bagged a whitetail this fall, but he did get a ticket - from a state conservation officer - under a new law making it a crime to bait deer in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
It's no consolation to Cunningham, 21, of Sterling, that he's not the only one convicted of a misdemeanor after getting ticketed by the state Department of Natural Resources.
"They say this baiting ban is to fight this chronic wasting disease
(in deer), but I think it's all about money, personally," said
Cunningham, who paid a $150 fine after DNR Officer Nick Atkin ticketed
him Nov. 1....." Click here to read more.
Michigan Crossbow Legislation Goes Before Senate Committee
Dec. 3, 2008
Click here to read more.
***
Should the DNR raise hunting license fees?
Rob takes aim, copy; Jenni Jones
This Lansing State Journal editorial agrees with a Michigan Department of Natural Resources advisory panel recommendation (panel report - pdf) to increase the cost of hunting, fishing and trapping licenses. The LSJ says that the ultimate decision rests with the Legislature and that in the face of looming deficits:
Cosmetic fixes are unlikely to work this time. The advisory committee recommended doubling the cost of a hunting license, from $15 to $30. Out-of-state and senior citizen licenses also would cost more; other DNR-related fees also could increase.
User fees now cover about 76 percent of the DNR's annual budget, but the system needs adjusting. Michigan has lower fees than many other states while offering longer seasons, more state-owned land and more waterways.
Read DNR fees: Raising license costs would protect Michigan's valuable resources in the Lansing State Journal and then tell us what you think in the comments.
***Muzzleloader seasons opens Friday, December 5
by Elizabeth Shaw | The Flint Journal
Wednesday December 03, 2008, 12:30 PM
Muzzleloader season opens Friday in the Upper Peninsula and southern Michigan and on Dec. 12 in the northern Lower Peninsula.
State Department of Natural Resources game specialist Rod Clute
reported that bad weather on opening day of the firearm season slowed
the harvest in several parts of the state, so plenty of game should be
available for muzzleloader hunters.
Hunters may take bucks and does with the appropriate tags. The same restrictions apply as in archery and firearm seasons.
Muzzleloader season runs through Dec. 14 in the Upper Peninsula and through Dec. 21 in the Lower Peninsula.
The seasons on ruffed grouse and pheasant reopened this week through Jan. 1.
***
Michigan uses aerial partols to catch deer bait violators
***
REVISED AND UPDATED: Firearms Industry Statement on Results of CDC Blood Lead Levels in Hunters Study
NEWTOWN, Conn., Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
"The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry - issued the following statement in response to study results from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), released by the North Dakota Department of Health, showing no evidence that lead or "traditional" ammunition pose any health risk to those who consume game harvested meat..." Click here to read more.
***Michigan panel OKs rules for wildlife rescuers
TRAVERSE CITY — "Volunteer wildlife rescuers in most of Michigan will be able to resume caring for orphaned or injured deer under new rules issued by the state Natural Resources Commission...." Click here to read more.
***
DNR Wildlife Disease Lab increases testing
for chronic wasting disease
"For more than a decade, Department of Natural Resources wildlife personnel have been checking deer and elk heads at the agency's Wildlife
Disease Lab, looking for evidence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in the animals' lymph nodes.
The DNR began analyzing the heads in 1995, the year after TB was confirmed in a free-ranging whitetail in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. Since the program started, the DNR has examined more than 115,000 deer heads, mostly collected from hunters who took the animals from within the TB zone, as well as elsewhere, as the agency investigated the extent of the disease....."
Click here to read more.
Click here to go to the CWD page.
***
* Michigan Legislators Issue Recommendation on CWD Baiting Ban
***
* Politicians urge lift of baiting ban
***
* DNR urged to lift deer bait ban
Click here for much more information on CWD
and also on the Outspoken Sportsman CWD page
* Deer Farm Industry in Michigan Issues Statement on the Recent Chronic Wasting Disease Case Identified on a Kent County Deer Farm
* State finds no more bovine TB in Shiawassee County,
lifts 'potential high-risk area' designation
Michigan's First Case of Chronic Wasting Disease Detected
at Kent County Deer Breeding Facility
|
Contact: Bridget Patrick (MDA) or Mary Dettloff (DNR) 517-241-2669 or 517-335-3014 *** CWD rule: If it attracts deer, remove it (You'll notice that they still don't mention food plots!) *** DNR Acts to Implement CWD Surveillance and Response Plan August 26, 2008 *** Click here for more on Chronic Wasting Disease. *** Emerging Disease Issues - Michigan.gov What is Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)? and *** *** Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance *** Chronic wasting disease by Wikipedia *** |
Crossbow Permit Changes Adopted by Natural Resources Commission
More antlerless-deer hunting licenses available
July 11, 2008
***
NRC Approves Antlerless Licenses for 85 of Michigan’s 98 Deer Management Units
"Antlerless deer hunting licenses will be available for 85 of Michigan’s 98 Deer Management Units this fall, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.
The Natural Resources Commission
recently approved DNR recommendations that will increase the number of
DMUs where antlerless licenses are available in the northern Lower
Peninsula, while reducing the number of DMUs with licenses available in
the Upper Peninsula...." Click here to read more.
***
Doe permits eliminated for Roscommon County
Deer regulations considered today
http://www.dailypress.net/page/content.detail/id/504138.html?nav=5003 June 5, 2008
MUNISING — The Michigan Natural Resources Commission is scheduled to consider three deer hunting regulation changes when the panel meets Thursday in Lansing.
The proposed new rules were recommended by division chiefs of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources last month. The NRC has been taking public comment on the measures since, and will continue to do so at Thursday’s meeting.
The three rules involve buck hunting in the Upper Peninsula, antlerless deer hunting and allowing the harvest of albino, or all-white, deer.
Under the U.P. antler point restrictions proposal, hunters with a combination license would not be allowed to take a buck with less than three antler points on one side with the regular tag and not less than four antler points on one side with the restricted tag.
The restriction for the regular tag would not apply to hunters in the Lower Peninsula. The proposal to impose antler restrictions on both bucks taken with a combination license was submitted to the NRC by Upper Peninsula sportsmen.
“Our survey results indicate that deer hunters are interested in increasing the number of mature bucks in the deer herd,” DNR deer specialist Rod Clute said. “This suggestion was proposed as a possible way to decrease the harvest of 1- and 1¢-year-old bucks to build a herd with an older age structure.”
Michigan Whitetail Deer Hunting
NRC will address U.P. buck proposal
By Bill Parker
Editor Michigan Outdoor News
Thursday, May 22, 2008 11:49 AM CDT http://www.theoutspokensportsman.net/deersubp1.htm
Wildlife Regulation Changes Approved at May NRC Meeting May 12, 2008
|
Contact: Michael Bailey 517-373-1263 http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10371_10402-191838--,00.html | |
| The Natural Resources Commission and Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca Humphries approved several changes to the Wildlife Conservation Order at the May meeting of the NRC in Lansing......... |
Forum: DNR counts on hunters to curb TB
BY REBECCA A. HUMPHRIES http://www.record-eagle.com/opinion/local_story_155095209.html
Michigan wildlife officials may allow hunting of albino deer
http://www.wwmt.com/news/michigan_1350082___article.html/officials_albino.html June5, 2008
INDIAN RIVER, Mich. (AP) - Michigan wildlife officials may drop a rule that forbids killing albino deer.....
7:45 PM CDT, June 5, 2008 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-deerhuntingregula,0,3257550.story
LANSING, Mich. - Michigan wildlife officials are dropping a rule that bans hunting of albino deer, a move aimed at eliminating confusion over which animals are off limits.
It's among the deer hunting changes approved Thursday by the state's Natural Resources Commission.
The commission also approved a proposal to disallow hunters with a combination license from taking a buck with fewer than three antler points on one side with the regular tag, and with fewer than four antler points on one side with the restricted tag.
The proposal is intended to help mature the state's buck population, particularly in the Upper Peninsula.
Whitetail Deer Forum Discussions:
U P Deer Hunting Rules Goes To A Vote
http://www.theoutspokensportsman.net/bureaucraticbsforum.htm?forumID=1948414&page=1&topicID=1205997
New Albino Deer Regulations???
http://www.theoutspokensportsman.net/bureaucraticbsforum.htm?forumID=1948414&page=1&topicID=1040596
Deer Herd Size
http://www.theoutspokensportsman.net/bureaucraticbsforum.htm?forumID=1948414&page=1&topicID=1017111
DNR encourages deer hunting in TB zone
http://www.theoutspokensportsman.net/bureaucraticbsforum.htm?forumID=1948414&page=1&topicID=1130739
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