Special Report April 2015

Reconsider Coming to Michigan to Hunt
There's a good possibility I'll hear from the Pure Michigan campaign folks after this email goes out, but I have to warn any of our readers who are contemplating a hunting trip of any sort to Michigan this fall and who plan to hunt on public lands owned by the state: You may want to reconsider.

Senate Bill 39, which is in the Natural Resources Committee, calls for all lands under control of the state to be opened to "all motorized and nonmotorized [sic]  vehicles."

Coincidentally, there are more than 3.9 million acres of state land that would be affected, including the GEMS Lands (Grouse Enhanced Management System Lands) that are set up for grouse and woodcock hunting, gated, and intended to be accessed by foot traffic only.

However, another section of the bill calls for the removal of all berms, gates, or anything else designed to keep out trucks, four-wheelers, dirt bikes, knobby-tired hill-climbing Jeeps, anything, really, though the state's lands already have more than 4,000 miles of such access available now.

But there's something else: If I wanted to pass a law that would give anti-hunters the legal excuse they need to interfere with and disrupt hunting without being charged with hunter harassment, this bill would be it.

When I contacted a co-sponsor of the bill, his office told me I was reciting "talking points"; maybe you'll have better luck. The ones who would be most likely to have their opinions valued would be out-of-state hunters who may wish to head for Minnesota or Wisconsin instead of Michigan this year; but any comments will help. If you still want to come, then welcome; just be aware that by fall, things could be different than in the past.

With the habitat damage these new rules could possibly cause, along with the impact on gamebird nesting, the danger to our dogs, and potential interference with our sport, I cannot in good conscience advise you to do anything except reconsider heading to Michigan this fall.

Should you want to let your opinion be known, contacts for Natural Resources Committee members and others are listed below.

• Sen. Tom Casperson (R) Committee Chair, 38th District
• Sen. Phil Pavlov (R) Vice Chair, 25th District
• Sen. David Robertson (R) 14th District
• Sen. Jim Stamas (R) 36th District
• Sen. Rebekah Warren (D) Minority Vice Chair, 18th District

You can also contact Governor Rick Snyder or Senator Darwin Booher.

Thanks for your time,

Steve Smith
Editor

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