hunting

Points North, Ep. 15: Harassed Native harvesters

By • May 30, 2019
Shelly McSawby

This week on Points North, Native American tribes have treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather, but many face racism and harassment when they use them. Plus hear some pet peeves of people in northern Michigan.


Tribal citizens say harassment affects how they hunt, fish

By • May 30, 2019
A man with a long dark ponytail stands in a river holding a 3-pronged spear.
Kaye LaFond / Interlochen Public Radio

For April in the western Upper Peninsula, it’s a pretty warm day. The Little Carp River, surging with snowmelt, winds through a forest of hemlock trees.

Robert Rajacic is scrambling up and down riverbanks, expertly carrying a spear in his right hand. He’s hoping to use it on some rainbow trout.

Points North, Ep. 11: 'Grossly negligent'

By • May 2, 2019
Courtesty of Theresa Schurman

This week on Points North, a hunter was shot and killed by another hunter on opening day of deer hunting season last fall. It was ruled an accident, but it became apparent there was more to the story. Plus, the bond between a hunter and his dog.


‘Grossly negligent:’ why shooter is charged in Torch Lake hunter death

By • May 2, 2019
Courtesty of Theresa Schurman

Last year, two people were shot and killed in Michigan while deer hunting. One of the victims, Justin Beutel, was hunting on family property near Torch Lake. 

It was Nov. 15, opening day of firearm deer hunting season, when another hunter shot Beutel from about 50 yards away. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources investigated the case. 

“We would classify it as an accident at this point,” says Lt. Jim Gorno, a DNR conservation officer.

Michigan DNR proposes partial deer bait ban in U.P.

By • May 1, 2019
The Michigan DNR has proposed a partial ban on deer baiting in the U.P. among other recommendations, in advance of the 2019 hunting season.
Michigan DNR

A ban on deer baiting could spread to the Upper Peninsula for the 2019 hunting season.

Last year, the first deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease in the U.P. and that prompted the recommendation by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The deer was found in southern Dickenson County.

Chad Stewart, deer and elk specialist for the DNR, says the ban would not be across the entire U.P.

“We’re proposing just a small area focused around that index case that we identified last year,” he says.

Points North, Ep. 10: Boilers, Buses & Bonds

By & • Apr 25, 2019
Max Johnston / Interlochen Public Radio

This week on Points North, after school bonds fail, some districts keep asking taxpayers again and again to change their minds. One small district in northern Michigan is renewing their attempt. Plus, more religious discrimination allegations against Bay View and local musicians play a violin that made it through the Holocaust.


VanderWall says no evidence linking deer baiting and spread of CWD

By • Mar 28, 2019
A new bill introduced by State Sen. Curt VanderWall (R/Ludington) would reverse Michigan's ban on deer baiting and feeding.
Michigan DNR

A bill introduced in the State Senate earlier this year would reverse the ban on deer baiting in Michigan.

 


Deer hunter shot and killed on opening day

By • Nov 16, 2018
skeeze/Pixabay

A deer hunter has been killed in northern Michigan. Justin Beutel of Sanford was shot Thursday afternoon. He was killed while hunting near Torch Lake in Antrim County.

Some hunters are going out with guns today. Others are out with birds.

By • Nov 16, 2017

Firearm deer season starts today and thousands of hunters are heading out with their rifles. But around this time of year, there's a tiny group of Michiganders heading out with birds instead.

Venison recipes and cooking tips from the chef of Traverse City’s Trattoria Stella

By • Nov 15, 2017

November 15th is the start of firearm hunting season in Michigan, which runs until the 30th. That got us wondering about the best ways to cook and serve venison.

Myles Anton is the executive chef and owner of Trattoria Stella in Traverse City. He spoke with Stateside’s Cynthia Canty about his favorite methods for preparing venison.

DNR predicts slightly better year for deer hunting

By David Cassleman • Nov 15, 2017
Sam Corden

It could be a more productive year for deer hunters in Michigan. The state Department of Natural Resources projects the deer harvest will go up this year compared to 2016, due to a milder winter. 

Hunting: a driver for conservation and the Michigan economy

By • Mar 1, 2017
Hunting Works for Michigan

Hunting boosts the Michigan economy by $2.3 million annually, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. And Hunting Works for Michigan estimates 34,400 hunting jobs are created in the state.

State, hunters stepping up efforts to control Michigan's "resilient" coyote population

By • Feb 24, 2017

It's been nearly a year since the state of Michigan approved year-round and nighttime hunting for coyotes. But how effective has that change in hunting policy been, and how has it impacted the state's coyote population?

Hunters oppose Ann Arbor's plan to sterilize deer

By Sam Corden • Jan 13, 2017
Sam Corden

Large urban deer populations have become an issue for many cities in Michigan, but finding a solution to that problem has proven to be complex.

Hunting groups typically advocate for hunting rights within city limits to curb deer numbers, but members of some communities have shown a distaste for this approach.

As fewer Michiganders hunt and fish, more ride trails and kitesurf

By • Aug 3, 2016

What does "outdoor Michigan" mean to you?

For decades, hunting and fishing would have been among the top answers.

But times change, and Michigan needs to retool the way it's pitching its outdoor charms. 

Ted Roelofs looks at selling the Michigan outdoors to a new generation in his latest piece for Bridge Magazine. He joined us today to take a look at how the outdoor sports scene is changing in Michigan.

Elk population is up, says DNR, but aerial count is imperfect

By Aaron Selbig • Feb 11, 2016
City of Gaylord

Wildlife officials say the elk population in northern Michigan is stable.

The state Department of Natural Resources uses two small airplanes to count the elk herd near Gaylord. This year, DNR estimates the herd at about 1,300 elk. That compares to about 1,000 elk in 2012.

Biologists say wild elk had disappeared from Michigan in the late 1800s. The elk herd that can be found today is descended from seven elk that were released in 1918.

Some hunters say changes in northern Michigan deer hunting rules mean bigger bucks

By • Nov 24, 2015

Recent changes to the rules for deer hunting are changing the sport.

The rules apply to much of the northern Lower Peninsula, and they're more restrictive, making it harder to shoot a buck.

Plenty of hunters objected when they were put in place.

But after a few years, some say it’s a dramatic improvement and could make the region a hunting destination for people from other states.

DNR asks hunters to watch for Chronic Wasting Disease

By Aaron Selbig • Nov 13, 2015
US Fish and Wildlife Service

State biologists hope that feedback from deer hunters will tell them if Chronic Wasting Disease has spread in Michigan. The state Department of Natural Resources is asking hunters to be on the lookout for deer that have the disease. Symptoms include emaciation, drooling and a lack of fear.

Deer biologist Chad Stewart says successful hunters will have their deer tested for the disease at DNR check stations.

Quack or quack? Fooling mother nature

By • Aug 12, 2015
Morgan Springer

 

For duck hunters and competition duck callers, sounding like a duck is important. And these duck callers are pretty good. Want to hear them? Here's a person pretending to be a mallard duck.

Deer harvest down 15 percent statewide

By Aaron Selbig • Jul 23, 2015
Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Michigan hunters brought home 15 percent fewer deer last year than they did in 2013. A report from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources blames the decline on bad weather and depleted populations in some areas.

Deer Management Specialist Chad Stewart says the Upper Peninsula was particularly hard hit.

“They’re coming off two extremely severe winters that really dropped the deer herd down and then they are dealing with a pretty high predator load up there, as well, that … keep numbers suppressed,” says Stewart.

DNR: Federal ruling limits options for wolf management

By • Dec 23, 2014
Larry McGahey / USFWS Headquarters

State wildlife officials say they’re disappointed in a court decision that restores federal endangered species protections to the gray wolf in Michigan and other Great Lakes states.

A federal judge ruled Friday that the wolf was improperly removed from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list. State wildlife officials say the decision not only blocks future wolf hunt seasons in Michigan, it denies farmers and dog owners the ability to kill wolves that threaten pets and livestock.

How our attitudes figure into the wolf debate

By • Nov 24, 2014

Less than a month after voters weighed in on wolf hunting in Michigan, a new study looks at the attitudes driving the wolf debate.

The study, co-authored by Meredith Gore of Michigan State University, tries to better understand why controversy persists in wolf management in Michigan.

Ballot questions not the final word on wolf hunting

By • Oct 27, 2014
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Michigan voters will get to weigh in on two laws that allowed wolf hunting in the Upper Peninsula. The Humane Society just started airing ads aimed at persuading voters in the closing days of the campaign season. But whether people vote “yes” or “no” on wolf hunting, the two ballot questions are not the final word on the issue.

That’s because the ballot campaign on its own will not determine the future of wolf hunting in Michigan.

Senate adopts wolf hunting initiative

By • Aug 14, 2014

The Michigan Senate has said “yes” to a petition-initiated measure to allow wolf hunting in the Upper Peninsula. It would also overhaul Michigan’s wildlife management rules to let a state commission decide which species can be hunted. And the measure would circumvent two ballot challenges to wolf hunting laws.

The Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management gathered almost 300,000 signatures of registered voters to put the question to the Legislature.

Lawmakers considering early bear hunt to protect beehives

By editor • Jun 11, 2014

Beekeepers have to keep their honeybees healthy against a lot of challenges: deadly mites, pesticides and harsh winters.

Once they make it to the spring though, it doesn’t mean they’re in the clear. Bears are emerging from hibernation at their hungriest.

And beeyards are like a dinner bell.

Michigan lawmakers are considering a bill (H.B. 5226) that could allow beekeepers and hunters to work together to protect honeybees from bears. 

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