Victor Skinner

Legislation recently introduced in Lansing could change how the Michigan Natural Resources Commission operates, with bills to create a separate commission for the Upper Peninsula and to boost transparency.
All members representing the Upper Peninsula in the House introduced a package of bills in late August to establish a separate Natural Resources Commission to manage wildlife decisions above the bridge, a move driven by unique challenges for Yoopers that they argue are often ignored.

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission earlier this month approved a resolution some have interpreted as a plan to reinstate a year-round coyote hunting season, but that’s not accurate.
“It’s a political spin,” NRC Commissioner Dave Anthony told Michigan Outdoor News. “We’re all working so coyotes can be removed where they’re a problem. That’s our goal. We also want to protect the quiet period so animals have time to raise their young.”

It’s “abundantly clear” the Michigan Natural Resources Commission “used sound scientific management” in its decision last year to shorten the coyote hunting season, a judge ruled in June.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Morgan Cole last month dismissed a lawsuit from Michigan United Conservation Clubs and Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association that alleged the NRC’s March 2024 vote to close the season from April 15 through July 15 violated Proposal G, a ballot initiative approved by voters in 1996 that gives the commission sole authority to make wildlife management decisions based on “principles of sound scientific management.”