Michigan Mixed Bag: Fall turkey licenses still available

Lansing — Don’t miss the opportunity to catch a bird for Thanksgiving while hunting for deer or small game. Remaining fall turkey licenses are now available to everyone. Better hurry, the fall season ends on November 14th.

Purchase a license online or over the counter wherever DNR licenses are sold. Download the new Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app to purchase licenses, view regulations, receive notifications from DNR and more.

Voluntary use of electronic harvest tags moves Michigan closer to the digital age of hunting licenses. Electronic options have become more common across the country, and many states have developed electronic tagging systems for turkeys.

To use an electronic tag on your harvested turkey, you must purchase it using the Hunt Fish mobile app. Paper tags for fall turkeys are not an option when purchasing from the app. You can find season dates, bag limits and hunting regulations at Michigan.gov/Turkey.

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2024 Bear Management Collaboration Patch Now Available

Johannesburg, Michigan — The 2024 bear management collaboration patch is a great way to commemorate the final bear season. Adult hunters, patch collectors and others can purchase a patch for $7. Youth hunters ages 10-17 with a valid bear hunting license can receive a free patch.

The Michigan Bear Hunters Association, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, coordinates Michigan’s bear cooperative patch program. Proceeds from patch sales will be used for black bear education and outreach.

Order patches online at www.mibearhunters.org/patch-program or send your name, full address, and a check or money order payable to the Michigan Bear Hunters Association to: MBHA – Bear Patch Program, 10510 Fairgrieve Road, Johannesburg, MI 49751 .

If the patch is for a youth bear hunter, please submit a legible copy of the youth’s valid bear hunting license.

NWTF Holding Photo Contest

Edgefield, SC — The National Wild Türkiye Federation (NWTF) is calling on photographers to enter the organization’s annual photo contest. The deadline for applications is January 10, 2025.

Photos can be entered in the following categories: live wild turkeys, live wildlife, natural wild landscapes, and hunting/outdoor lifestyles.

There may be entries posted online.

Citizens Can Help Plan for the Future at Van Buren State Park

South Haven, Michigan — To ensure Van Buren State Park continues to meet the needs of visitors and the community, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is seeking public input on a new general management plan for this park in southwestern Michigan’s Van Buren County.

Visitors, community members, stakeholders, and others who wish to share their views, ideas, and experiences are encouraged to participate in an online survey that will be available through November 24. Links to both the online survey and the project website are available at Michigan.gov/VanBuren. .

DNR uses general management plans to define a long-range planning and management strategy that protects a park’s natural and cultural resources while also addressing recreation and educational needs and opportunities.

Additional information about the DNR’s overall management planning process is available at: Michigan.gov/ParkManagementPlans.

For more information about the public inquiry or the proposed plan, contact Debbie Jensen at [email protected] or 517-230-6837.

Bassmaster Elite Series is No Longer Pay-to-Play

Birmingham, Ala. — Professional bass fishing will never be the same. Without stopping. That’s a huge statement. In this case it is true. BASS announced that the Bassmaster Elite Series, now in its 20th season, will no longer require an entry fee. In 2025, for the first time in the history of the BASS competition, competitors of the most prestigious tournament circuit on the planet will no longer fish for their own money. Elite Series pros no longer need to pay to play.

BASS has long believed that the ultimate goal of the organization’s top-level competition should be on par with other individual professional sports, such as golf and tennis, that do not require professionals to pay entry fees to compete. “But thanks to Bassmaster LIVE’s record-breaking viewership on FOX networks and Bassmaster.com and strong long-term partnerships, this ultimate goal has been realized.”

Research: Milkweed Is Vital to Monarch Numbers

CHICAGO — Anyone with a green thumb, urban or rural, can help save monarch butterflies, a new study finds. Results obtained from research conducted From 2020 to 2022, the Field Museum amazed scientists.

“We encouraged participants to have nurseries on balconies, nurseries on rooftop terraces, and we saw some of the most amazing things,” said Geographic Information Systems analyst Karen Klinger. “There was one participant who placed a flower pot on the condominium roof with five large caterpillars in one photo.”

Researchers trained more than 400 volunteer community scientists around the Chicago area to monitor milkweed patches for monarchs. These scientists made nearly 6,000 observations at 810 milkweed sites in Chicagoland over four years.