DNR staff successfully complete steelhead egg collection after lightning strike damage

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May 14, 2026
Contact: Olen Gannon, 231-389-2551 or Joe Mickevich, 231-878-5234

Steelhead fryAfter a lightning strike at the Little Manistee River Weir (Manistee County) threatened to derail steelhead egg collection for this season, the Department of Natural Resources rallied to collect approximately 4.2 million steelhead eggs for Michigan’s state fish hatcheries. Staff were able to proceed with collection at the Little Manistee Weir, as well as deploy the Lower Platte River Weir (Benzie County) as a backup egg source for the first time, both of which contributed to the successful collection of steelhead eggs for future stocking throughout the state.

During severe weather the night of April 13, the Little Manistee River Weir facility was struck by lightning, which took out the main power, backup power source and emergency alarm notification system at the facility. This resulted in a loss of some of the fish being held in maturation ponds, as the systems that sustained the fish were offline — egg collection was scheduled to begin the following morning.

Once the damage was discovered, staff worked swiftly to restore power to the facility and collect eggs from the live fish on-site. Egg collection proceeded at this location in the following weeks, with the final collection there occurring April 29. Read more

Fishing

Ruger Introduces Marlin Mad Pig Customs Model 1894

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Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce the Marlin® Mad Pig Customs Model 1894™, a premium rifle developed in collaboration with Mad Pig Customs. Built on the proven performance of Marlin’s iconic lever?action rifles, this model delivers modern, factory?installed features previously found only on custom builds.

The Marlin Mad Pig Customs Model 1894 is chambered in 357 Magnum and features a Cerakote?finished barreled action along with select upgraded components from Mad Pig Customs and Midwest Industries, enhancing durability, ergonomics and overall performance straight from the factory. The Mad Pig Customs Model 1894 represents Ruger’s continued commitment to offering shooters distinctive, high?end Marlin firearms that feature custom?grade, modern enhancements to suit every shooter.

To stay up to date on future Marlin announcements and learn more about the Marlin Mad Pig Customs Model 1894, visit MarlinFirearms.com, Facebook.com/MarlinFirearms or Instagram.com/MarlinFirearmsOfficial. Read more

Firearms

Beretta Completes 686 Silver Pigeon I Refresh with Updated Sub-Gauge Models and New Sporting Configurations

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Beretta is pleased to announce the continued expansion of its refreshed Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I lineup with the introduction of updated 28-gauge and .410 bore field models, alongside the first-ever sub-gauge sporting configurations in the Silver Pigeon I family.

Following the 2025 refresh of the iconic Silver Pigeon I platform, which introduced a redesigned top lever and refined engraving updates, Beretta now extends those enhancements across its sub-gauge offerings. The new 28-gauge and .410 bore field models transition into the updated Silver Pigeon I design, while new Sporting variants give clay target shooters access to the same trusted Beretta over-and-under in lighter recoiling sub-gauge options.

“The 686 Silver Pigeon I has earned its reputation as one of the most trusted over-and-under shotguns in the world by combining timeless Italian craftsmanship with proven field performance,” said Caleb McMillen, Sr. Product Manager of Beretta USA. “With this latest expansion, we are completing the transition of the refreshed Silver Pigeon I family while introducing new sporting options that give sub-gauge shooters even more versatility on the range.”

Built on Beretta’s legendary low-profile 680-series action, the refreshed sub-gauge field and sporting models retain the premium features that define the Silver Pigeon I line, including:

    • Cold hammer-forged Steelium® barrels
    • Enhanced floral receiver engraving
    • Select European walnut stock and forend
    • Redesigned top lever geometry for smoother operation
    • Beretta interchangeable choke system

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Firearms

Beretta Titan – A Fusion of Tactical Performance and Ceremonial Elegance

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Beretta is proud to unveil the first one-off creation celebrating its 500?year anniversary: the Beretta Titan. A visionary modern sporting rifle, the Titan embodies several true firsts for Beretta and introduces unexplored solutions within the firearms industry, both from an aesthetic and a technical perspective.

Carlo Ferlito, CEO & General Manager of Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta S.p.A., has declared: “In recent years a new innovative category of firearms has gained space in the international arena: the Modern Sporting Rifles (MSR). This new category takes inspiration from the tactical world, translating accuracy and performances in contemporary design and ergonomics. Beretta now launches its interpretation of this exciting category.

Inspired by functional genetics and aeronautical-grade materials, the Beretta Titan is born to be a natural extension of the user and pushes to new limits its features of modularity, versatility, and accuracy. For the first time Beretta conceives a product that combines state-of-the-art materials like magnesium, titanium, and carbon fiber, in a synthesis of performance, elegance and manufacturing excellence.”

Developed through Beretta’s most advanced engineering and inspired by the rigorous demands of the tactical world, the Titan is a semiautomatic sporting rifle chambered in 6.5 Grendel. This configuration delivers superior ballistic performance and extended effective range, supported by the short-stroke gas piston system, with adjustable settings, and the enhanced two-stage trigger for a crisp, predictable break. Read more

Firearms

Leupold’s New BX-3 Alpine HD Binocular

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Leupold & Stevens, Inc., provider of the world’s most rugged, lightweight, and clear sport optics, is pleased to announce the launch of the BX-3 Alpine HD binocular, a new class-leading entry into the company’s award-winning line of observational equipment.

Built for hunters who go farther, glass longer, and seek optical performance that outworks price point, the BX-3 Alpine HD is available now. Featuring Leupold’s Elite Optical System, the BX-3 Alpine HD maximizes light transmission for bright, edge-to-edge clarity and a wider field of view.

“The BX-3 Alpine HD is absolutely the very best binocular in its class,” said Zach Bird, Product Line Manager for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “It all starts with the Elite Optical System, which delivers fantastic light transmission and glare reduction from dawn to dusk, when animals are more likely to be on the move. Whether you’re glassing for elk on distant ridgelines or trying to pick out the antler tine of your target buck in the whitetail woods, the BX-3 Alpine HD will outperform the competition.”

Built to perform, but also to last, the BX-3 Alpine HD delivers lightweight strength via a magnesium chassis that possesses a lighter, stronger build for demanding terrain. A confident grip is ensured by an ergonomic design with enhanced armor texture for secure handling in all conditions. Leupold’s Guard-ion lens coating sheds dirt and water for a crisp, unobstructed image–keeping your glass clear in all conditions.

Two configurations of the binocular will be available at launch: 10×42 and 12×50. Both feature interchangeable, Form-Fit eyecups, allowing hunters to customize and personalize their setup and enjoy all-day comfort and fit. A binocular harness, lens covers, and a lens cloth ship with each unit. Read more

Optics

Northern Michigan residents caught with more than double the daily legal limit of walleye from Detroit River

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May 12, 2026
Contact: Acting 1st Lt. Jason Becker, 313-396-6890

fish in the back of a truck in a drivewayA group of anglers from northern Michigan was caught Friday with an overlimit of 34 walleye – more than double the daily legal limit, after fishing on the Detroit River.

“People visit Detroit from all over to take advantage of the abundant fishing offered by the Detroit River,” said Todd Szyska with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, and the division’s acting captain for the south region of the Lower Peninsula. “Our walleye fishery is world-class in part because of the many respectful anglers who follow the daily limits.”

The five anglers were staying at a rental property in the city of Detroit for the duration of their fishing trip.

Conservation officers saw the group north of Milliken State Park Friday morning. When the anglers returned several hours later, the officers observed them taking additional fish and approached the group with a search warrant.

In total, the five anglers were over the daily limit by 34 walleye. The daily walleye limit for the Detroit River is six fish per angler.

The anglers kept their legal daily limit and received citations for the misdemeanor offense. Read more

Fishing

Feeding Migrating Hummingbirds

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Rufous Hummingbirds range the farthest north of any hummingbird species even nesting in southern Alaska (photo by Fernando Ortega).

Northern-nesting hummingbirds are migrating now, including Ruby-throated, Rufous, Broad-tailed, and Caliope Hummingbirds. These tiny birds are flying hundreds of miles and more, before arriving and spending time preparing for the next leg of their migration flights farther north – or possibly establishing nesting territories near you. Because flowering plants are at a minimum as northern temperatures warm and plants revive, the center stage for many migrating hummingbirds is our nectar feeders and potted flowering plants as they provide important food, and our landscaping provides resting areas and shelter.

During the long migrations north, the importance of these resources can’t be underestimated. Attracting and benefitting hummingbirds is easy, as long as you live within the range of one or more hummingbird species. Providing sugar-water nectar in a hummingbird feeder is simple: 1) keep it filled, 2) keep it fresh (the nectar); 3) keep it clean (your feeder), and 4) mix your sugar-water nectar at a ratio of 1 part white cane sugar to 4 parts water – the sugar-water mix that is closest to nectar produced by flowers that hummingbird favor.

In addition to nectar, hummingbirds need protein, which they get by feeding on tiny insects and spiders daily. It’s interesting to watch hummingbirds as they hunt; in fact, many times when you see a hummingbird working its way from plant to plant, flower to flower, it may be feeding on tiny bugs hidden among the vegetation and blooms – watch closely. Read more

Wildlife
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Michigan’s Great Lakes fishery is under direct threat — and the window to stop it is closing fast.

House Bills 5801 and 5802 are expected to receive a hearing before the House Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism on May 20th. If passed, these bills would authorize commercial netting of walleye, lake trout, and yellow perch from Lakes Michigan and Huron.

These are the fish Michigan anglers spent generations rebuilding.

These are the fisheries your license dollars restored after commercial overfishing helped devastate them decades ago.

And now, those same fisheries are being put back on the table.

We need every angler, conservationist, charter captain, bait shop owner, and Great Lakes supporter to act immediately.

Read more

Fishing

Tomahawk Lake Fire near Atlanta, MI 90% contained after burning 190 acres

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May 11, 2026
Contact: Laurie Abel, 517-599-6703

aerial view shows the burned-out ground area, some smoldering spots, and several roads in the Tomahawk Lake Fire area, Presque Isle CountyFirefighters from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources worked Monday to contain a wildfire that began Sunday near the southeast end of the Tomahawk Creek Flooding in Presque Isle County.

Cool overnight temperatures, frost and favorable humidity levels helped slow the spread of the fire, officials said.

The wildfire burned about 190 acres of state-managed land, including jack pine stands, a blueberry bog and hardwood debris left behind by last year’s ice storm.

“The fire is mostly contained. We’re monitoring it and extinguishing hot spots now,” said Jennifer Hansen, fire supervisor for the DNR’s Atlanta Unit. “Crews will remain on scene today and tomorrow to continue monitoring the area.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

No evacuations were ordered, and no homes or structures were threatened.

DNR fire crews were assisted Sunday by DNR conservation officers, DNR aviation staff, U.S. Forest Service aviation personnel, the Michigan State Police, and fire departments from Onaway, Forest Waverly and Case Township, as well as Presque Isle County Emergency Management and the Salvation Army.

Wildlife

The Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) is Dissolving

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Dissolution to take place in mid-June 2026 due to ongoing financial challenges after nearly 90 years of conservation advocacy.

Overview of MUCC

Founded in 1937, MUCC was a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting hunters, anglers, trappers, and outdoor enthusiasts across Michigan. The organization focused on conservation, education, and advocacy, partnering with state and federal agencies to protect natural resources and promote responsible outdoor recreation mucc.org+1. MUCC also published the magazine Michigan Out of Doors and organized camps and events for members ocsportsmensclub.com.

Reasons for Dissolution

MUCC faced sustained financial difficulties that made long-term operations unsustainable. Key factors are as follows: Read more

General
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