By Joe Vaillancourt
Capital News Service
While hunting around 25 years ago, Dennis Fijalkowski used a turkey call on a late April morning in Oscoda County.
A turkey called back–but he couldn’t shoot because it hid behind a sign that said Kirtland’s warbler, the rarest bird in Michigan, was known to inhabit the area so all hunting was prohibited.
Frustrated, Fijalkowski was forced to skip the turkey, although warblers aren’t there that time of year.
Things may soon change for hunters involved in similar scenarios.
A resurrected bill would require the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to keep state land open for hunting seasons unless there are legitimate concerns for the environment or hunter.
“No one will ever mistake a wild turkey for a Kirtland’s warbler,” said Fijalkowski, executive director of Michigan Wildlife Conservancy in Bath. “
There are tens of thousands of these signs. Things have to be rethought.
“At conservancies, we’re all dedicated to preserving endangered species. We just ask it be done in a deliberate process.”
The idea was proposed two years ago and died in the Legislature, Fijalkowski said.
Democratic Rep. Judy Nerat of Menominee brought it back to legislators’attention.
“I introduced this bill because Michigan’s vast natural resources are important to the future of our economy and renewable energy potential,” she said. “The bill will quite simply preserve Michigan’s natural habitats to ensure they are available for generations to come.”
The DNR would keep state land open not only to keep animal populations in check, but because hunting has always been a Michigan tradition, Nerat said.
Democratic Rep. Andy Neumann of Alpena, one of the co-sponsors, said the bill is intended to “keep the DNR’s focus on retaining the land open for hunting and to not limit its recreational use.”
The DNR and the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) support the bill, he said.
Neumann said he knows of no organizations opposing it.
Dave Nyberg, a policy specialist at MUCC, said hunting is a key component of the economy.
“Sportsmen in Michigan spend $9.4 million a day. It’s a big industry here,” he said. “We want hunters to have access to as much public land as possible.”
The measure would allow exceptions for public safety, fish and wildlife management and homeland security reasons.
Neumann said homeland security issues involve state land and military bases such as areas around Camp Grayling.
Other examples of allowable closures would be safety zones around newly-built houses and habitats no longer viable to support endangered species, said DNR legislative liaison Dan Eichinger.
While the bill would preserve land for hunting for future generations, the DNR does not anticipate any changes in current policy, he said.
“The point of the bill is not to respond to anything today, but to provide flexibility for something in the future,” Eichinger said. “In terms of executing programs, nothing will change.”
Nerat said details concerning new land openings, hunting seasons, state park hunting bans and bans elsewhere remain unclear.
“We will work out these issues with the DNR as we move toward implementation,” she said.
Nerat said she expects the bill to become a law “because our natural resources are some of the most important assets our state has and will be the foundation for our future economic growth.”
The bill has passed the House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Committee and the Michigan House of Representatives so far.
Nyberg said, “This is a slam dunk for MUCC members. We want to keep people hunting and fishing in Michigan.”