Why It Matters: Hunting is the preferred tool for wildlife management, as it is the most effective, cost-efficient, and socially acceptable method of maintaining healthy wildlife populations. It is imperative that policies are guided by science-based principles and that hunters are provided opportunities to be active participants in conservation.
Highlights:
- In April, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) expressed support for WCO Amendment #4, which would return Michigan to year-round coyote hunting.
- The Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) tabled the proposal and picked up the topic once again during its August meeting.
- Although WCO Amendment #4 was not formally adopted, the Commissioners instead unanimously committed to adopting it before coyote season is scheduled to close in 2026.
In April of this year, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission voted to table a proposal that would reinstate the ability of Michigan hunters to harvest coyotes year-round. The proposal came just a year after the NRC voted to create a “quiet period” during the early months of summer because of emotional pressure rather than scientific support. However, during its August meeting, the NRC unanimously voted for a resolution that does not yet reinstate the season – but instead commits to doing so before April 2026.
Hunting is the most effective, cost-efficient and socially acceptable method of population control making it the preferred tool for wildlife management. With coyote populations exploding in recent decades, there has been an increased likelihood of human-wildlife conflict, livestock depredation, and impacts to prey species including small game and white-tailed deer. The resolution stated:
“The Michigan Natural Resources Commission is committed to enacting a regulation for Michigan citizens to take coyotes year-round on public and private land through a combination of hunting, trapping, and lethal take of nuisance and damaging animals; and that the Michigan Natural Resources Commission is committed to acting on this matter before next regular furbearer regulation cycle in the Wildlife Conservation Order in 2026.”
CSF supports legislation and regulations that rely on science-based fish and wildlife management. Although there is no formal change to the season yet, CSF will remain engaged as the NRC revisits the issue.
