Northern Michigan Conservation Network

For those of you who had been wondering what would be required to turn Michigan into the “Trail State,” look no further than the 150+ page draft of the Michigan Comprehensive Trail Plan which has been released for comment.  Governor Snyder’s stated goal of making Michigan the “Trail State” was once again referenced in his […]

In a very welcome demonstration of bipartisan support, Governor Snyder recently signed SB-1261-1265 (Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps) into law.  As described in a recent blog provided by MUCC’s Drew YoungeDyke, the legislation attempts to improve upon the existing MCCC program by dovetailing it with key provisions of the 2011 Volunteer Bill.  The concept behind this […]

In an action which is expected to be signed into law by the Governor’s office, a bill designating the wolf as a game animal in Michigan has now cleared its final legislative hurdle.  In addition to being added to Michigan’s list of game species, the bill authorizes the Michigan Natural Resources Commission to study and give […]

This past Wednesday (11/28/12), Governor Snyder released a more detailed outline of his policy vision for Michigan’s energy and environment.  In a document titled A Special Message from Governor Rick Snyder: Ensuring our Future: Energy and the Environment (click here: ) the Governor offers his perspective on a variety of issues which are likely to […]

First convened a year ago, Governor Snyder’s “Blue Ribbon” panel for Michigan State Parks and Outdoor Recreation has completed the final draft of its report, The Future of Michigan’s Parks and Outdoor Recreation: A Report to Governor Rick Snyder (click here for full report: Parks Panel Final 10-4-12) . The original Executive Order included the […]

The reasons for the State’s action to ban the ownership and possession of feral swine (wild pigs, Eurasian boar, and the like) have been well documented.  Chief among these are disease risks to both wildlife and domestic pork production, habitat damage, and even human health and safety. Their free-ranging numbers in Michigan alone are now […]

A summit sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) was held earlier this month in Sarasota, FL with a goal of improving relations between businesses and industries involved in outdoor recreation.  Unfortunately, many in the outdoor industry had traditionally assumed that they were fighting over the same potential customers and that their success was […]

October 26, 2012 Regular readers of this site may recall our National Sportsmen’s Organizations Not Exempt from Party Politics post from October 4, 2012. In it, we waxed nostalgic about a time when hunters, anglers and conservationists resisted party politics for the advancement of their collective causes. These issues joined sportsmen (gender-neutral as always) of […]

By Drew YoungeDyke, NMCN Contributing Editor It would be nice if hunting never got to this point: where the single-minded focus of killing a big buck sometimes overshadows the cultural and culinary experience of hunting an elusive animal and honoring it by sharing its meat with friends, family and the needy. Anyone who watches much […]

Following up on an earlier post appearing on this site back in July (Wolf in the Room – https://nmconservationnetwork.org/2012/07/24/the-wolf-in-the-room/ ), legislative hearings have begun in both the Michigan House and Senate on bills which would add wolves to the list of Michigan game species. As we have discussed in the past, this is a necessary […]