Michigan Senate Bills 39 and 40:
Please make your objections known

Last week, we forwarded an email blast from the Ruffed Grouse Society warning grouse and woodcock hunters about Michigan Senate Bills 39 and 40, which are presently in the Natural Resources Committee of the state Senate.

These bills are the same number as those we warned about last year that would have allowed motorized vehicles on virtually all state lands. These are now variations of those bills with significant changes, some for the better but many for the worse.

The blast last week explains the bills in detail, but basically, they put all public hunting lands in Michigan – one of the top two destination states for grouse and woodcock hunters – in jeopardy

• By making it easier for the state to sell public land and allowing parts of that process to be confidential. 
• It gives individual townships in many areas veto power over new hunting land purchases. 
• It restricts funding for young forest habitat by essentially eliminating MDNR expenditures on “non-game” species like the golden-winged warbler. 
• It also would implement a time-consuming petition process that would tie up MDNR forest and wildlife manager’s time and likely increase motorized access public lands by removing earthen berms, gates or barriers like the ones at the GEMS sites or others used to preserve road and trail surfaces, minimize maintenance costs, protect water quality, meet wildlife management goals, provide unique recreational opportunities, or prevent costly damage to roads used for timber harvesting.  This petition process could easily be hijacked by organizations like the Humane Society of the United States to keep MDNR staff from managing public lands and instead running public hearings regarding individual berms. 

In the event these bills are voted out of committee, they will go to the floor of the state senate, where they will be voted on. It is imperative that these senators know our feelings about these bills.

Toward that end, I am including a map showing the areas represented by the senators, as well as their contact information. If you hunt in any of these areas as a resident or non-resident of the state, please contact the appropriate senator and make your objections known.

Party - Dist. - Member - Office Phone - Office Fax - Office Location 
D - 27 - Ananich, Jim - 517-373-0142 - 517-373-3938 - S-105 Capitol Bldg
D - 9 - Bieda, Steven M - 517-373-8360 - 517-373-9230 - 310 Farnum Bldg
R - 35 - Booher, Darwin L - 517-373-1725 - 517-373-0741 - 720 Farnum Bldg
R - 8 - Brandenburg, Jack - 517-373-7670 - 517-373-5958 - 605 Farnum Bldg
R - 38 - Casperson, Tom - 517-373-7840 - 517-373-3932 - 705 Farnum Bldg
R - 7 - Colbeck, Patrick - 517-373-7350 - 517-373-9228 - 1020 Farnum Bldg
R - 33 - Emmons, Judy K - 517-373-3760 - 517-373-8661 - 1005 Farnum Bldg
R - 31 - Green, Mike - 517-373-1777 - 517-373-5871 - 805 Farnum Bldg
D - 11 - Gregory, Vincent - 517-373-7888 - 517-373-2983 - 1015 Farnum Bldg
R - 34 - Hansen, Goeff - 517-373-1635 - 517-373-3300 - 420 Farnum Bldg
D - 23 - Hertel Jr., Curtis - 517-373-1734 - 517-373-5397 - 315 Farnum Bldg
R - 29 - Hildenbrand, Dave - 517-373-1801 - 517-373-5801 - S-324 Capitol Bldg
D - 3 - Hood III, Morris W - 517-373-0990 - 517-373-5338 - S-9 Capitol Bldg
D - 6 - Hopgood, Hoon-Yung - 517-373-7800 - 517-373-9310 - 515 Farnum Bldg
R - 32 - Horn, Ken - 517-373-1760 - 517-373-3487 - 1010 Farnum Bldg
R - 22 - Hune, Joe - 517-373-2420 - 517-373-2764 - 505 Farnum Bldg
D - 2 - Johnson, Bert - 517-373-7748 - 517-373-1387 - 220 Farnum Bldg
R - 24 - Jones, Rick - 517-373-3447 - 517-373-5849 - 915 Farnum Bldg
D - 5 - Knezek, David - 517-373-0994 - 517-373-5981 - 610 Farnum Bldg
R - 13 - Knollenberg, Marty - 517-373-2523 - 517-373-5669 - 520 Farnum Bldg
R - 15 - Kowall, Mike - 517-373-1758 - 517-373-0938 - S-309 Capitol Bldg
R - 28 - MacGregor, Peter - 517-373-0797 - 517-373-5236 - 715 Farnum Bldg
R - 12 - Marleau, Jim - 517-373-2417 - 517-373-2694 - S-2 Capitol Bldg
R - 30 - Meekhof, Arlan B - 517-373-6920 - 517-373-2751 - S-106 Capitol Bldg
R - 19 - Nofs, Mike - 517-373-2426 - 517-373-2964 - S-132 Capitol Bldg
R - 20 - O'Brien, Margaret - 517-373-5100 - 517-373-5115 - 910 Farnum Bldg
R - 25 - Pavlov, Phil - 517-373-7708 - 517-373-1450 - 905 Farnum Bldg
R - 21 - Proos, John - 517-373-6960 - 517-373-0897 - S-8 Capitol Bldg
R - 14 - Robertson, David B - 517-373-1636 - 517-373-1453 - 305 Farnum Bldg
R - 10 - Rocca, Tory - 517-373-7315 - 517-373-3126 - 205 Farnum Bldg
R - 37 - Schmidt, Wayne A - 517-373-2413 - 517-373-5144 - 820 Farnum Bldg
R - 26 - Schuitmaker, Tonya - 517-373-0793 - 517-373-5607 - 405 Farnum Bldg
R - 16 - Shirkey, Mike - 517-373-5932 - 517-373-5944 - 320 Farnum Bldg
D - 4 - Smith, Virgil - 517-373-7918 - 517-373-5227 - 510 Farnum Bldg
R - 36 - Stamas, Jim - 517-373-7946 - 517-373-2678 - 920 Farnum Bldg
D - 18 - Warren, Rebekah - 517-373-2406 - 517-373-5679 - 415 Farnum Bldg
D - 1 - Young II, Coleman - 517-373-7346 - 517-373-9320 - 410 Farnum Bldg
R - 17 - Zorn, Dale - 517-373-3543 - 517-373-0927 - 710 Farnum Bldg

The best tack is to be respectful and simply explain that you do not approve of the wording in these bills and what they would mean for hunting in Michigan and, if you are from out of state, you, your bird dog, and your money are going to go somewhere else where hunters and public land are appreciated. Michigan spends a fortune of the Pure Michigan campaign aiming to boost the tourism business – let them know you’d like to tour elsewhere

Thanks for your help.

Steve Smith