The language in Section 436 fails to differentiate illegal poaching in African range countries from legal, regulated hunting by Americans abroad. These countries have strict regulations in place to protect these iconic species, as they are home to some of the world’s largest populations of lions and elephants.

There is no question that this ban will have detrimental impacts on species conservation and the livelihoods of rural African communities. Regulated hunting provides irreplaceable funding for conservation, biodiversity, and habitat protection in southern Africa and, without it, these wildlife species, and the communities of Africans who live with them, are put at tremendous risk. The travel and tourism industry will also suffer from the harmful and senseless elements of Section 436, even as African nations struggle to recover from the financial shock caused by COVID-19. Read more

Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors has been engaged in recruiting mentors for at-risk youth since its beginnings in 2002. In the second year of our new Shooting Sports Outreach Program, Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors more than doubled the number of hunts and participants from the first year of the program, fielding over 200 hunts with over 550 participants.

Brittany French, Director of Field Operations commented, “This has been a really exciting year. We have been able to show that our Shooting Sports Outreach Program can be scaled and yields the kind of results needed to create more hunters. We have athletes, volunteer mentors, and landowners flocking to us wanting to get involved.”

Russell Austad, Program Services Director for Whitetails Unlimited Inc., commented “Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors does a wonderful job introducing individuals to shooting sports and the outdoors. Our partnership is mutually beneficial.”

“One of the keys to our Shooting Sports Outreach Program model is our partnership with conservation organizations like Whitetails Unlimited who recognize that we need to cultivate new hunters as much as we need to cultivate habitat if we are going to insure the future of the North American Model of Conservation,” commented Mike Christensen, President of Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors. “We rely on the volunteers and mentors from Whitetails Unlimited and other organizations to share their love of the outdoors with all of these new hunters.”

About the Whitetails Unlimited:

Founded in 1982, Whitetails Unlimited is a national nonprofit conservation organization that has remained true to its mission and has made great strides in the field of conservation. We have gained the reputation of being the nation’s premier organization dedicating our resources to the betterment of the white-tailed deer and its environment. Whitetails Unlimited’s mission is to raise funds in support of (1) educational programs, (2) wildlife habitat enhancement and acquisition, and (3) preservation of the hunting tradition and shooting sports for future generations.

To learn more about Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, Inc. please visit their website at http://www.outdoormentors.org

Preparing for antlerless deer hunting will be a little different this year, as most deer hunters will not need to apply for antlerless licenses. Hunters in specific areas may need to apply for an access permit.

For most deer hunters, a universal antlerless license is all that will be needed to hunt antlerless deer. This license is valid on public and private lands in all deer seasons. It can be used across deer management units open to antlerless deer hunting.

Select hunters will need to apply for an access permit to hunt deer in certain areas of the Upper Peninsula and in reserved deer hunts at the Sharonville State Game Area, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Shiawassee River National Wildlife Refuge and Shiawassee River State Game Area.

In the Upper Peninsula, new deer management units 351 and 352 will require an access permit and a universal antlerless license to hunt antlerless deer. Both are required for each deer harvested.

DMU 351 is made up of DMUs 021, 349, 249, 149, 017 and 117. DMU 352 is made up of DMUs 027, 036, 152 and 252. (See page 60 in the 2021 Hunting Digest for a map of the DMUs). One thousand access permits will be available in each of these two DMUs.

Also in the U.P., DMUs 022, 122, 055, 155, 255 and 121 are open to antlerless hunting without an access permit, while DMUs 127, 066, 031, 131, 042, 007 and 048 are closed to antlerless deer hunting.

Applications for limited-hunt access permits may be purchased for $5 from license agents or online at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses during the July 15 – Aug. 15 application period.

Learn more about universal antlerless licenses and the access permit drawing in the 2021 Hunting Digest or at Michigan.gov/Deer.