Why It Matters: Hunters are the original conservationists and have shouldered the duty of managing wildlife populations through their participation afield and their funding of state fish and wildlife agencies through license and sporting goods purchases. Ensuring that hunters are not barred from participating in the management of populations is critical for the continued success of conservation in America.
Highlights:
- Last March, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) voted to shorten the coyote hunting season, excluding mid-April to mid-July.
- The Natural Resources Commission heard public comment on a proposed order that would reinstate the full, year-round season on coyotes, which was in place from 2016 to 2024, but the vote was tabled.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) supports reinstating the year-round season, as it restores pursuit opportunities for hunters and capitalizes on their ability to help manage an exploding non-native predator population.
Michigan Wildlife Conservation Amendment #4 would return the Great Lakes State to a year-round coyote hunting season, after the Michigan Natural Resources Commission shortened that season last year. Ahead of the April NRC meeting, CSF shared a letter with each Commissioner, expressing support for adopting the order.
Hunting is the preferred tool for wildlife management, as it continues to be the most effective, cost-efficient and socially acceptable method of population control. Across the country, including in Michigan, coyote populations have exploded in recent decades. That population growth has brought with it an increased likelihood of human-wildlife conflict, livestock depredation, and impacts to prey species including small game and white-tailed deer. The season was shortened because of emotional pressure rather than scientific support and should be reinstated to allow hunters to continue doing what they do best – being shepherds of the landscapes that they inhabit.
Although Amendment #4 was tabled, the NRC may consider it as early as next month, and CSF will continue to encourage the Commission to reinstate the full season. With coyote populations growing, in the absence of sound scientific reasoning, the opportunities available to hunters to manage them should not be shrinking.