Natural Resource Commission approves hunting expansions for Lower Peninsula

LANSING — Michigan’s Natural Resource Commission met last week to review dozens of policy recommendations from hunters around the state, capping one chapter of a regulation process that remains ongoing.

The commission met to consider recommendations from the Deer Management Initiative, a program launched earlier this year to update hunting policies with public input.

“This is just the beginning,” said NRC chair Tom Baird. “And I don’t know how many times, how many ways I can say that. But this is just the beginning of a major initiative for the state and the DNR.”

The Lower Peninsula recommendations generally expand the times and areas in which some hunts can take place.

Among other regulations, the council approved a late antlerless firearm season expansion of up to two weeks in January for some southern counties, and the use of more types of firearms during muzzleloading season.

“Everything the commission did in the Lower Peninsula, they believe that it’s going to help increase antlerless harvest, so that’s why we have the expansion of antlerless opportunity in January,” said Justin Tomei, policy and government affairs manager for Michigan United Conservation Clubs. “The expansion to public land of these antlerless hunts where they were private land only before.”

The commission rejected or tabled several recommendations, including a statewide antler point restriction and an easing of the Lower Peninsula’s ban on baiting.

“By choosing not to adopt statewide APR’s — antler point restrictions — they’re just saying that outside of those places where they currently exist, there’s no mandate from the commission to add them,” Tomei said. “So otherwise in terms of antler point restrictions, things largely stay status quo.”

The commission also changed the youth and special needs hunting seasons to only allow harvesting of antlerless deer, starting in 2025. Commissioners say that doe hunting in populated areas helps stabilize population levels, a necessity for hunting access to continue through generations.

“There are people very fired up on both sides about it,” Tomei said. “You know, some people see it as as maybe inappropriate to tell those folks what to do, while other people think that it’s going to help instill this culture of antlerless harvest that the commission hopes that it will.”

The commission generally limited hunting access in the UP, taking initiatives to maintain doe populations to help foster larger deer populations.

Hunters can check final restrictions with the DNR later this year.