Michigan Legislature Approves Supplemental Including $100,000 for Pheasant Release Program

Justin Tomei • September 30, 2022

On Wednesday, the legislature approved a small but important appropriation for Michigan pheasant hunters.

Legislators reached a deal on a $1 billion supplemental appropriation bill, SB 844, which includes $100,000 of pheasant license monies for fiscal year 2022 for the Michigan pheasant release program. This is in addition to the already approved fiscal year 2023 budget that also allocates $100,000 of pheasant funding. 

Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) and members of Michigan Pheasant Hunting Initiative have been lobbying key legislators since 2020 to include this funding since it was absent from previous appropriations packages. 

The pheasant hunting license was created by Public Act 262 of 2020 and licenses were first sold in March 2021, yet none of that $260,000+ revenue to date has yet been spent as only the legislature can appropriate the funding. Previously, in 2019 and 2021 pheasant hunting seasons, general funds and private donations were used to pay for pheasants for release on certain state game areas. 

Previously the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had announced plans to split the $100,000 fiscal year 2023 appropriation evenly across the 2022 and 2023 hunting season, as there was no fiscal year 2022 appropriation provided by the legislature. This frustrated proponents of the pheasant release program even more at the conservative spending plan, given the fund balance. 

This new appropriation could result in a more robust release in 2022. However, the legislature approved boilerplate stating that any fiscal year 2022 appropriations that go unused can be rolled into the account for the 2023 release. 

According to today’s DNR press release, pheasants will be released during the Oct. 20-Nov. 14 regular pheasant season on nine state game areas throughout southern Michigan:

  • Cornish (Cass County).
  • Crow Island (Bay and Saginaw counties).
  • Erie (Monroe County).
  • Lapeer (Lapeer County).
  • Leidy Lake (St. Joseph County).
  • Pinconning Township (Bay County).
  • Pointe Mouillee (Monroe and Wayne counties).
  • Rose Lake (Clinton and Shiawassee counties).
  • St Johns Marsh (St. Clair County).

A base license and a public-land pheasant license are required to hunt these areas, and all regular hunting regulations apply. 

The bag limit is two male pheasants daily, with four in possession. These restrictions apply at release locations.   

Recent Posts

The Legacy of Michigan Logging

By Olivia Triltsch • April 24, 2025
Historically, Michigan experienced a lumber era in which the state was a leading producer for 50 years starting in 1860.

MUCC celebrates a successful Clinton River Cleanup

By Katelyn Helsel • April 23, 2025
Rochester Hills, MI — On the Ground, MUCC’s volunteer stewardship program, celebrated its 250th habitat improvement project in Oakland County this past weekend. In partnership with Metro-West Steelheaders and the Clinton River Watershed Council , 62 volunteers removed more than 460 pounds of trash from the Clinton River watershed and surrounding areas, restoring more than 80 acres of fish and wildlife habitat. Volunteers focused on picking up trash and other debris in the river near Yates Park and along various walking trails near the Yates Cider Mill. Many different items were collected, including a couple of tires, fishing line, old cans, a sign, and even a car bumper. “We definitely wanted to clean up as much trash as possible because that's going to help the watershed as a whole, and it’s going to clean up the river for both humans aesthetically, and also the animals that live in it, and create safer drinking water” said Olivia Triltsch, MUCC’s Habitat Program and Partnerships Coordinator.

Mayflies, Stoneflies, and Caddisflies, Oh My!

By Olivia Triltsch • April 17, 2025
In addition to their impact on water quality, these three orders of insects are an important part of the diet of game fish, making anglers, especially fly fishermen, interested in the conservation of these small animals.
More Posts