Michigan Mixed Bag: Saginaw Bay Waterfowl and Outdoor Festival offers opportunities for hunters

Lansing — The Michigan DNR will host the 31st annual Saginaw Bay Waterfowl & Outdoor Festival Aug. 1-2 at Bay City State Park.

The festival runs 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.

Event admission is free, but a Recreation Passport is required for all vehicles entering the park, which is located at 3582 State Park Drive in Bay City.

With family-friendly food trucks, a Smokey Bear bounce house, touch-a-truck and activities for kids, the festival aims to engage the next generation in Saginaw Bay’s conservation heritage.

The Michigan Duck Hunters Association Duck Stamp Contest judging will take place Saturday at noon in the park’s Saginaw Bay Visitor Center. All contest entries will be on display for the public. The Michigan Duck Stamp Program raises money for wetland habitat restoration and habitat acquisition for waterfowl. A portion of every waterfowl stamp and print purchased goes toward Michigan wetland habitat restoration.

New hunters will have an opportunity to complete a hunter education field day during the festival Sunday, Aug. 2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Preregistration is required.

To participate in this field day, hunters must complete an online, interactive or take-home study course in advance, and present their certificate of completion at the field day.

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DEER PERMIT UPDATES FOR RESERVED HUNTS, CHANGES TO ANTLERLESS HUNTS IN UP

Lansing — Applications for Michigan’s 2026 reserved deer hunts and reserved deer youth hunts will be accepted through Aug. 15. Hunters may apply for reserved hunts at Shiawassee River State Game Area, Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge and Sharonville State Game Area. Many reserved public land hunts are limited to hunters with disabilities or have other eligibility requirements established by the local land manager, so be sure to review hunt requirements before applying. Drawing results will be available Aug. 31. Leftover licenses will be available (if quota remains) on Sept. 3. Hunters may apply for one reserved deer hunt choice or one reserved deer youth hunt choice.

Meanwhile, antlerless deer hunting access permits will not be available for the Upper Peninsula in 2026. Hunters planning to harvest an antlerless deer in the Upper Peninsula should be aware that universal antlerless licenses may only be used in the designated low-snowfall deer management units: 022, 122, 255, 155, 121 and 055.

Universal antlerless license use limits in those DMUs are: DMU 022 – one license; DMUs 122, 255, 155 and 121 – up to two licenses each; DMU 055 – Up to five licenses.

Hunters may purchase up to 10 universal antlerless licenses, but the use limits restrict how many universal antlerless licenses may be used to harvest antlerless deer within individual DMUs. Upper Peninsula hunters still have the option to take antlerless deer in the early or late archery season using their single deer license or combo deer license.

MISSING TUBER FOUND ON AU SABLE RIVER

Lansing — A 33-year-old man from Flint who was tubing the Au Sable River through Roscommon earlier this month was located in good condition walking through the woods after family members reported him missing.

On July 9, the visiting family rented tubes from Campbell’s Canoe, Kayak & Tubing Livery to enjoy a float down the Au Sable River. When everyone got off the river at Meads Landing, the man decided to stay on a bit longer, DNR reported. After several hours passed and the man did not arrive at the next landing, the family contacted 911. Around 9 p.m., Michigan Conservation Officer Ben McAteer joined the search and located footprints that matched the man’s description about one mile downriver, near Willows Road – about an hour’s travel time on the water. McAteer tracked the footprints in this area for a mile until they went back into the water. McAteer proceed downriver toward what’s referred to as “the Chapel,” about a two-hour river float. McAteer located the same footprints on two tracks in the woods, leading away from the Chapel. McAteer communicated the direction of the footprints via radio to incident command.

South Branch Township Fire Chief Mike Umphrey began searching the opposite end of the two-track, heading toward McAteer. Umphrey located the missing tuber walking the two-track at 11:15 p.m. Aside from scratches and bug bites, the man was in good condition and very thankful to be found. In total, the tuber had walked more than 4.5 miles before being located, wearing only a swimsuit and without his shoes or a phone..

QUALIFIED FOREST APPLICATIONS DUE SEPT. 1

Lansing — Applications to enroll in the Qualified Forest Program are due Sept. 1 to receive the associated tax exemption for the 2027 tax year.

The program, administered through the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, encourages Michigan landowners to actively manage their privately owned forests for commercial harvest, wildlife habitat enhancement and improvement of other forest resources. The program provides potential tax benefits as incentives for sustainably managing their forests. Interested landowners should keep the following in mind:

• Land parcels must be 20 acres or larger.

• A qualified forester must write a management plan.

• An annual fee tied to the taxable value of the land is required.

• Buildings and structures are allowed on the property but are not eligible for tax exemption.

• On parcels less than 40 acres in size, at least 80 percent must be stocked with productive forest. On larger parcels, at least 50 percent must be stocked with productive forest. A productive forest is a forest capable of producing forest products at a rate of 20 cubic feet per acre per year.

For more information, contact Ben Schram at schramb1@michigan.gov.