If you applied for a bear or elk license during the May 1-June 1 application period, you can now view your results.

Check hunt drawing results online or call a DNR Customer Service Centeror 517-284-WILD to find out if you were successful. If you used a DNR Sportcard to apply, please call us at 517-284-WILD to get your results.

There were 7,080 bear licenses and 200 elk licenses available for the 2019 fall hunting seasons.

There are 195 leftover licenses remaining for the Bergland third-period bear hunt, available to Michigan residents only. Points will be reset to zero for those who buy a leftover bear license, except for comprehensive lifetime license holders. Leftover licenses will be sold as follows:

• July 8, 10 a.m.: Comprehensive lifetime license holders who were not selected for a license can get a free leftover license.
• July 15, 10 a.m.: Unsuccessful applicants can purchase a leftover license.
• July 22, 10 a.m.: Any remaining licenses will be available to the general public.

To help understand the drawing process for each species, watch our videos:

• Bear Draw Preference Point System Explained
• Elk Weighted Lottery System Explained

Successful applicants can transfer or donate their drawing success to an unsuccessful youth applicant or any person with an advanced illness. Transfer forms and additional information are available at Michigan.gov/HuntTransfers. Unsuccessful youth applicants and those with an advanced illness can register for a donated (transferred) bear or elk hunt through the same webpage until July 10.

Additional drawing statistics can be found at Michigan.gov/Elk and Michigan.gov/Bear.

If you weren’t successful in the drawing, you can still apply for the Pure Michigan Hunt for chances at 2020 hunting licenses, including bear and elk – for $5 each chance. Learn more at Michigan.gov/PMH

Property owners in more than a dozen counties have the opportunity to enroll their land in the DNR’s Hunting Access Program – and play a key role in helping Michigan’s deer population.

The program is enrolling private property in priority counties for deer disease in portions of the southern and northern Lower Peninsula. Landowners should have at least 40 acres of land with some wildlife habitat (forest, brush, etc.) within a chronic wasting disease or bovine tuberculosis priority county listed below.

Enrollment is open through Sept. 1. Priority counties for HAP enrollment include Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Ionia, Iosco, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Montmorency, Newaygo, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego and Presque Isle. Landowners in Alcona, Alpena, Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Montmorency, Newaygo or Oscoda counties may be eligible for additional incentives. Read more

Contact: Steve Comus:scomus@safariclub.org

It is critical that the Conservation Conversation always include people as much as it does wildlife. This was the overarching message from Botswana Minister of Environment Natural Resources and Conservation and Tourism Onkokame Kitso Mokalla during today’s press conference on lifting the five-year suspension on hunting in that country.

Since the moratorium on hunting in Botswana’s government and community areas, Mokalla says that populations of key species have expanded beyond traditional ranges and into areas where they have never been seen before. An escalation in human-wildlife conflicts is only one consequence of that expansion. A less quantifiable result is that communities that were previously conservation minded have become almost anti-wildlife. Read more

Wildlife Research Center®, the leader in Scent and Scent Elimination, has now released a premium and unscented dryer sheet.

Scent Killer® Gold® Dryer Sheets are Premium and Unscented to help prevent static build-up from attracting lint and hair that may contain odors. It also softens hunting clothes to help keep them quiet.

It’s perfect to use when drying your hunting clothes after washing them with Scent Killer® Gold® Laundry Detergent.

MSRP on an 18 pack of Scent Killer® Gold® Dryer Sheets is $7.49 and will be available at finer Sporting Goods Stores this fall. Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

It was May 11 several decades ago and I was in northern Michigan hunting turkeys with my pal, Fast Frank. We hadn’t had any good luck back in the day when that was the norm. The reason I recall the date so well is that when we woke up and exited the tent in the morning, we were greeted with a present from Mother Nature: a couple of inches of wet snow. That was enough to send us packing.

However, May 11, 2019 would be completely different. It started out like most other hunts with a routine that includes a checklist and arriving on stand before the sun rises. A heavy frost had descended onto the clover field and the temperature had dipped to 36 degrees (F). After getting settled into the portable blind, the heat from the Buddy heater was much appreciated.

The blind has been a productive location over the years, although the drawback of facing east can make the rising sun unbearable. But, usually it can be overcome by shifting the seat a bit; other times, there’s nowhere to hide. I was about to pay the price.

From the roost I could hear a distant gobble being repeated well before sunup. Once I figured the birds were on the ground, I let out a few hen yelps scratched out from a custom slate call from Rodney Hairell of Grand Prairie, Texas. It wasn’t long before a lone, curious gobbler was spotted heading in my direction. A good beard was evident through my Burris binocular, as the seemingly tricked bird kept strolling toward me.

He began gobbling, as he closed the distance to some 90 yards in the openness of the field. Not being sure if he had seen my decoy, I sent some softer calls that solicited quick responses. I’d seen this movie before and all that was left was for him to take a few more steps.

At 72 yards he bellowed clearly visible steam enhanced by the bright sun at his back – and, yes in my face. Over and over that love sick Tom puffed out clouds like he was smoking a cigar! Trouble was, he had hung up and wouldn’t take another step. Oh, he kept up the display with his wings to the ground and tail fanned out. And, those gobbles just kept on coming. But, he had seen the reflection of the sun from my glasses.

I still thought I had a chance, because he was still there. But, when a mission-bound, traveling hen entered the dance floor, my only thought was that my chances for drumsticks would follow the female where ever she was headed. It didn’t happen, however, and she cleared the area, while the bearded beast stood his ground.

Soon, however, he began to move parallel to my position. This is the part of the movie where he comes right in for his final move. Instead, he high-stepped it even farther away and kept the show going from a safe distance. Eventually, he wouldn’t play anymore and departed.

Sorry, I didn’t get any still photos, but even better is a short video of the excitement on YouTube.