Elk proposals would lengthen Michigan hunting seasons

Lansing — Michigan elk hunters would have longer harvest periods for the 2026-27 hunting cycle under draft proposals released by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The proposals would lengthen both elk hunting periods in the northern Lower Peninsula, home to Michigan’s elk herd.

Hunt Period 1 would run from the second Saturday in September through the second Sunday in October – a 30-day, continuous period. Currently, Hunt Period 1 is broken up into three, four-day hunts stretching across August and September – 12 total hunting days.

Hunt Period 2 would run from Dec. 1 through Dec. 15 – a 15-day period. Currently, Hunt Period 2 runs from Dec. 13 through Dec. 21 – a nine-day period.

Combined, the two hunting periods would provide 45 total days of harvest time, more than double the current 21 total days of harvest time. The proposals, which do not affect the 2025 elk hunting season, must be approved by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission.

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In addition to making Hunt Period 1 longer and continuous, the change would move the period later in the season when the weather is generally colder and better for elk hunting.

“Shifting the period later in the year should give hunters more favorable weather conditions,” said Scott Eggeman, a Gaylord-based field operations manager for the DNR Wildlife Division. “And a month-long, continuous hunting period would provide hunters with more opportunities, allow flexibility to choose when they want to hunt and help them safely and effectively target an appropriate elk by reducing the pressure on them to make a kill quickly.”

The proposed change to Hunt Period 2 not only lengthens the period, but also moves it further away from the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays. Currently, Hunt Period 2 ends Dec. 21; under the proposal, it would end Dec. 15.

In another proposed change, hunters would have 72 hours to register their elk with the DNR. Currently, elk must be registered within 24 hours of harvest.

The draft proposals do not include any recommended changes to Michigan’s elk management unit boundaries or the annual elk drawing.

Public comment on these draft proposals can also be emailed to DNR-Elk-Hunt@Michigan.gov by Jan. 23, 2026. Final proposed elk regulations and elk license quotas for 2026-27 will be presented to the Michigan Natural Resources Commission at its March 2026 meeting.

As with all regulations, the final recommendations will be available through a link to the March agenda when it is available on the NRC webpage. Additional input can be provided directly to the NRC at that time.

The final regulations will be adopted at the April 2026 NRC meeting.