Safari Club International is proud to share that a Florida court has denied a temporary injunction to stop Florida’s highly regulated black bear hunt. SCI’s legal intervention in Florida has helped secure the future of this important hunt, which will begin to manage Florida’s expanding bear population and reduce human-bear conflicts and vehicle collisions.

The hunt, approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in August, was put at risk when anti-hunting groups filed a lawsuit to overturn the decision. After plaintiff Bear Warriors United sued to stop the hunt, SCI immediately moved to join in the case to protect the state’s first black bear hunt in a decade.

SCI and Florida’s wildlife management authority have fought this lawsuit with the facts. Florida’s bear population is healthy, and the FWC’s approved hunt is conservative and backed with sound science. Ultimately, the court recognized the FWC’s right to rely on a regulated hunt as a wildlife management tool and recreational opportunity. The court also agreed with SCI’s arguments that the plaintiff failed to provide credible evidence against the hunt. With these successful arguments, the season will proceed as scheduled on December 6, 2025.

Although this ruling is a major victory, anti-hunters are still attempting to undermine the hunt by purchasing tags with no intention of using them. The FWC has only allocated a conservative 172 black bear tags for this year’s hunt. All of them will be needed if Floridians want to stem the rising number of human-bear conflicts and the 300-plus vehicle strikes the state sees every year. Florida’s black bear population continues to grow rapidly, leading to more dangerous encounters, including a fatal attack this past summer. SCI urges Floridians to recognize the urgency of this hunt and to continue supporting science-based wildlife management to maintain the state’s ecological balance.

“Hunting plays an essential role in maintaining animal populations and conserving wildlife around the world,” said SCI CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “The fight for legal black bear hunting in Florida perfectly crystallizes this fact, which is why SCI is one of the only organizations deploying money and time to tip the scales in the fight to defend hunters’ rights in the courtroom. SCI’s premier legal defense team will always be first in line to thwart radical and frivolous anti-hunting litigation.” Read more

Measuring a whitetail deer rack accurately requires precision and a basic understanding of the rules, particularly the tricky distinctions between normal and abnormal points and the main beam. Following these critical guidelines can help ensure a smooth entry process and an accurate score. 

Arkansas Waterfowl hunters scouting Ed Gordon Point Remove Wildlife Management Area in Conway County will notice a significant lack of flooded habitat for ducks, shorebirds and other winter migrants during the early portion of the upcoming duck season. This habitat loss is the result of vandalism on the WMA’s water-delivery system.

Earlier this year, thieves stripped all copper wiring to the electric motor and variable frequency drive controls that operate a 200-horsepower pump that helps flood the WMA’s moist soil units. According to Alex Zachary, wildlife biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 20 of the 23 moist-soil impoundments on the WMA are flooded with the aid of this pump and a 7-mile network of underground pipes to offer native seed-producing plants that are essential to waterfowl and other migrants during winter.

The theft was much more than a few wires and required extensive repairs. Every electrical component that gives the relift pump “life” was taken.

“They essentially stripped everything from the meter loop to the VFD and motor,” Zachary said. “They cut the wire so close to the motor itself that we had to have it pulled and rewound. And the VFD was completely gutted.” Read more

Contact: Brent Rudolph, 517-730-8802

Note:  In a DNR release issued earlier Wednesday, the wrong start date was given for Michigan’s late antlerless firearm season (Dec. 1 instead of the actual date, Dec. 15). The full, corrected release follows. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Deer season forecast

• Report your deer harvest online
• 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary out now
• Planning for EHD
• Safety is key to a successful hunt
• Testing deer for disease
• Help control the deer population — harvest a doe
• Support your community, donate a deer
• Hunter appreciation days: Nov. 17 and Dec. 1
• Purchase a deer patch
• Pure Michigan Hunt
• Questions? Contact us

Deer season forecast

This year could bring a strong deer hunting season, mirroring a robust 2024, although hunters will encounter varying conditions across the state. Hunters in the northern Lower Peninsula, for example, should be aware of the lingering effects of the devastating March 2025 ice storm that downed trees and limbs across 13 counties. Prepare for your season by checking out our 2025 deer season forecast.

Report your deer harvest online

Online harvest reporting is required for all hunters who successfully take a deer. You can report your deer through the DNR Hunt Fish app or at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport.

Reporting your harvest gives us a real-time snapshot of how the season is going. Check out harvest totals across the state in the reporting dashboard.

2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary out now

Our 2025 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary contains up-to-date information on deer hunting regulations across the state, including season dates, license types and fees, baiting rules, bag limits, deer management unit boundaries and more. For on-demand access to this info that travels where you do, without the need for internet access, download the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app. Read more

National Bowhunter Education Foundation (NBEF) has partnered with Track’n Trail, a new mobile app that allows users to use smartphones as blood-trailing devices. NBEF will receive a donation from Track’n Trail for each paid subscriber using NBEF’s affiliate code: NBEF25.

Ethical game recovery is a crucial part of NBEF’s bowhunter ed and cross bow hunter education classes. The Track’n Trail app may lead to quicker game recovery by using patent-pending machine vision technology to detect blood and generate vibrational and visual alerts when blood is located. This technology may be especially helpful for people who are visually impaired or have color vision deficiencies. Hunters can find download links at NBEF.com or at the Apple App Store and Google Play.

“NBEF encourages ethical game recovery,” said NBEF Executive Director Marilyn Bentz. “Recent field reports support that this app can aid with recovery. If hunters subscribe using the NBEF25 code, they can feel good knowing NBEF will receive a donation from Track’n Trail.” Read more

In this episode of the award-winning “Wildtalk” podcast, we talk about work going on in southwest Michigan. Then, we fly away with a discussion about the Wilson’s snipe and wrap things up with a lengthy chat about white-tailed deer.

Don’t forget to participate in the wildlife quiz part of the show for a chance to win a “Wildtalk” podcast camp mug. The deadline for submission is November 15, so don’t delay. These mugs are exclusive and not available for purchase, so be sure to listen and submit your answer via email to DNR-Wildlife@Michigan.gov with the subject line “Mug me.” Keep an ear out for the December episode, when we will announce the lucky winners.

You can be on the show Read more

Leica Sport Optics USA and onX Hunt today announced a new partnership and product integration that connects Leica’s premium sport optics with onX’s industry-leading digital mapping platform. The integration allows users to send a precise location from supported Leica devices directly to onX Hunt to “drop a waypoint” and save critical waypoints, streamlining navigation, planning, and game recovery in the field.

This collaboration advances Leica’s open ecosystem strategy: building powerful, user-first software connections around best-in-class hardware. onX Hunt, recognized as the category leader in digital hunting maps, was a priority partner in that ecosystem.

Leica’s North American customers who purchase participating devices receive the integration benefits at no extra charge. Existing owners of compatible Applied Ballistics (AB)–linked Leica products will automatically gain access via firmware/app updates, ensuring a simple, zero-friction setup.

“With onX’s waypoint drop integrated into Leica’s open ecosystem, hunters can seamlessly transition from planning to precision in the field,” comments Ryan Holm, Marketing Director, Leica Sport Optics. “Integrating onX within Leica’s open ecosystem enhances the precision and interoperability hunters depend on. By connecting industry-leading mapping data with our advanced rangefinding and ballistic technology, we’re enabling a truly unified field experience—where every decision is informed, efficient, and accurate.” Read more

Nov. 5, 2025

Media contact: 1st Lt. Tom Wanless, DNR Recreational Safety, Education and Enforcement Section supervisor, 810-577-6887

Opening day of Michigan’s traditional firearm deer hunting season (Nov. 15) is right around the corner, and many hunters are busy scouting land, watching trail cameras and preparing equipment.

To ensure a safe season on both public and private land, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is urging hunters to follow best practices to help them avoid the most common violations conservation officers see every year. Read more

Nonresident Disabled American Veterans applying for tags in the Nonresident Tag Drawing for 2026 general season deer and elk hunts will have opportunities in two drawings.

Those eligible for DAV privileges, which require a service-connected disability rating of 40% or greater, will be eligible to apply for 500 discounted deer tags, and 300 discounted elk tags for 2026.

To apply, nonresident disabled veterans must buy a hunting license, which is discounted to $31.75, but there is no additional application fees.

Tags available to DAV hunters: Read more