Northern Michigan Conservation Network

A 30-year study on cliff swallows which was conducted by researchers from the University of Nebraska has recently garnered considerable mainstream media attention. This is somewhat surprising since coverage of wildlife-related matters is more often limited to home videos of deer found in living rooms during their annual rut. Before we discuss those lessons learned from the […]

As the wolf management debate here in Michigan escalated in recent months, increasing references have been made to what is known as the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation.  Most notably, Dr. Russ Mason, Wildlife Division Chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, recently found it necessary to respond to assertions that if hunting […]

In what is the latest effort to conduct a legislative flogging of a caricature of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources which does not exist, SB-0078 prohibits the Director of the DNR or the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) from designating or classifying an area of land specifically for the purpose of “achieving or maintaining biological diversity.”  […]

Boy, were we wrong.  Back in December, we wrote that as a result of Governor Snyder’s proposal to require local approval in advance of any new State land acquisition we may never see another new public lake access site. As it turns out, there may be some areas in northern Michigan where we may never […]

by Paul Rose, NMCN Sr. Editor I know what you’re thinking.  For a website that has spent much of its time and identity highlighting legislative efforts to divert and alter the constitutionally-protected use of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF), proposing any change to its current use and funding allocation may be seen as […]

Now that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) hunting and fishing license fee proposal is a week old and the dust has begun to settle, we’re beginning to hear and see reactions to its details.  While it remains our opinion that the initial reaction to the proposal was largely positive, we must disclose we […]

February 11, 2013 What the Nomination of Sally Jewell Can Mean to Sportsmen By Hal Herring (posted with permission) “We are experiencing a shift in our country, a growing weariness with the voices of anger and willful ignorance, especially in the realm of our natural resources. We’ve all endured it: the utterly predictable voices that […]

We’re trying not to get too excited about the possibility of all of the necessary pieces coming together, but based upon the content of Governor Snyder’s 2014 budget message, repairing the revenue problems associated with an antiquated fish and game license structure appears to have been made a Gubernatorial priority. To say that this is […]

Our thanks to NMCN site content contributor Marc Smith and our friends over at the Great Lakes office of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) for passing on this link. While the nation continues to ratchet up the gun rights debate and the battle lines appear to be drawn now on the  wolf management issue here […]

The 5-year strategic plan for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division has been released for review and public comment. Since this coincides with the public input periods for the State Forest Management Plan, Comprehensive State Trail Plan, and the completion of the “Blue Ribbon” Parks Plan, we have noticed a recurring theme. As […]