October NRC Preview: Turkeys and Wolves Highlight a UP NRC Meeting

The October Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting will be include turkey regulations and a timeline on the wolf management plan.

The meeting will be held at Northern Michigan University, located at NC Peninsula II, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue Marquette on October 13, 2022 at 9 a.m. Coffee with commissioners will precede committee meetings at 8 a.m.

Department of Natural Resources  Wildlife Division Chief Jared Duquette will give a presentation on the timeline of the Wolf Management plan. Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) provided its public comments on the plan in July and expressed concern with verbage the DNR used in the draft. 

Adam Bump of DNR Wildlife Division will provide department proposals for spring turkey regulations. Combining the first and second hunts in Unit E into a single two week long hunt is the only change recommended at this time.

Wildlife Conservation Order #5 of 2022 contains these recommendations and addresses the possibility of a second leftover turkey tag for Michigan’s hunters. 

A second, leftover, turkey tag is not included in the recommendation, which MUCC asked for at the August NRC meeting. The DNR, MUCC and other stakeholder groups have committed to working together to improve our base of knowledge on turkey biology in Michigan to address this issue again during the next regulatory cycle.

Four fisheries orders are on the agenda for action this month. More details on these orders can be found in our September blog . 

Four directors orders are up for action: Land Use Order #6 of 2022 sets regulations for the new Crystal Waters State Game Area. Originally, this order contained a ban on lead shot, but it was removed without notice.

Land Use Order #7 of 2022 changes regulations at the Silver Lake State Park ORV area. A proposed October 25, 2022 oil and gas lease auction , and s tate land review recommendations group 5 are also both up for action. 

Land Use Order of the Director #8 of 2022 is up for information. This order, if adopted, would designate portions of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum as a state park. 

There are six land transactions on the agenda, MUCC reviews transactions larger than 80 acres. 

Land Transaction Case #20220001 is an exchange of 40 state-owned acres in Houghton County for 40 privately-owned acres of land in Baraga County. The private land is adjacent to existing state land, while the state-owned land is isolated from other state property.

Preceding the committee of the whole, the fisheries committee will see a presentation from Jessica Mistak and Dr. Joe Nohner from fisheries division on strategizing investments in fish habitat.

The Wildlife Committee will then see a presentation on UP Habitat Workgroup updates from Stacy Welling-Haughey, the UP Field Deputy, Former Commissioner JR Richardson, Thomas Seablom from DNR Forest Resources Division, Bill Scullen from DNR Wildlife Division and former biologist and consultant Jim Hammill.

MUCC will be streaming the meeting on our Facebook page if technology allows.

To ensure our natural resources remain protected and managed thoughtfully in perpetuity, join Michigan United Conservation Clubs today: http://bit.ly/JoinMUCC .

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