Contacts: Brent Rudolph 517-641-4903 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014
The Natural Resources Commission will consider proposed changes to crossbow regulations at its Aug. 12 meeting in Escanaba.
The NRC is studying proposals that would expand the regulations that were in effect in Zone 3 (southern Michigan) last year that allowed all hunters, 12 years of age or older, to use crossbows during archery deer seasons.
Elsewhere in the state, crossbow regulations were more restrictive than in Zone 3 last year. One proposal for 2010 would expand that regulation to the entire Lower Peninsula, while another would expand it statewide.
In addition, the NRC is likely to address proposals for minor changes to the regulations, including:
-lowering the minimum age from 12 to 10 years of age, -allowing the use of modified bows where crossbows are legal, -issuing temporary crossbow permits to hunters who have temporary disabilities, and -eliminating the maximum speed of bolts that are shot from crossbows.
Hunters using crossbows would still be required to obtain a free crossbow stamp.
Results of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment’s mail survey conducted after the 2009 hunting season indicated that participation in archery deer hunting increased after crossbow regulations were liberalized.
