Northern Michigan Conservation Network

By Frank Krist, NMCN Contributing Editor There have been several legislative hearings completed reviewing the Governor’s DNR budget proposal and the hunting and fishing license fee restructuring.  A few adjustments have been suggested, but overall support has been expressed for the proposal with many organizations backing it.  This package still has not been approved by the […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Since we didn’t think we could add much to the great posts previously written by NMCN Contributing Editor Drew YoungDyke, it had not been our intention to comment further on either SB-1276 (Senate Bill Misses the Forest for the Trees) or SB-1238 (Politicizing the Natural Resources Trust Fund). Our inspiration to do otherwise came recently […]

While we realize that not all of the votes have even been counted (and recounted) from Tuesday’s elections, it still seems appropriate to take a look at what transpired in some other states and think about its possible application to Michigan – that being, the Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish.  Since the issue is […]

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 […]