The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is seeking public input on a proposal to allow black bear hunting on Bois Blanc Island, a large and relatively remote island in Lake Huron east of Michigan’s Mackinac County.
Bear hunting has been prohibited on Bois Blanc Island for more than four decades. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission adopted the restriction in May 1985, but according to the DNR, surviving NRC records do not explain why the prohibition was originally put in place.
Now wildlife officials are considering eliminating the special restriction and bringing the island under the same bear-hunting framework that applies to surrounding areas.
An unusual exception inside the Newberry BMU
Bois Blanc Island is located within Michigan’s Newberry Bear Management Unit (BMU).
What makes the island unusual is that bear hunting is already permitted elsewhere within the BMU under Michigan’s normal bear regulations. According to the DNR, outside of places such as state parks, recreation areas and safety zones around developed areas, Bois Blanc Island is the only location inside an otherwise open BMU where bear hunting is specifically prohibited.
That prohibition applies only to bears. Hunters can already pursue species including deer, small game and waterfowl on the island.
The proposed change would essentially remove that bear-specific exception.
More than 10,000 acres of state land could become available
Bois Blanc Island covers approximately 23,700 acres, and the Michigan DNR manages about 10,300 acres of the island. If the prohibition is removed, bear hunting would be allowed on eligible state-owned lands under the regulations applicable to the Newberry BMU.
Hunters could potentially hunt bears on private property as well, but only with permission from the landowner. This would represent a meaningful expansion of bear-hunting access on an island where other forms of hunting have long been permitted.
Why is Michigan considering the change?
One of the unusual aspects of the existing prohibition is the lack of a clearly documented reason for it.
The restriction was added by the Natural Resources Commission in 1985 as a commissioner amendment, but the DNR says available NRC records do not identify the rationale behind the decision.
DNR bear and furbearer specialist Cody Norton said the department is interested in hearing from people who live on or recreate on Bois Blanc Island, including those who support or oppose the proposal.
The broader goal is to determine whether there is still a reason for Bois Blanc Island to operate under different bear-hunting rules than the rest of the Newberry BMU.
This is not an immediate season change
Michigan hunters should note that bear hunting on Bois Blanc Island remains prohibited for now.
The DNR is currently gathering public comments. Any regulatory change would ultimately have to be approved by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission before hunters could legally pursue bears on the island.
The proposal therefore should not be interpreted as opening Bois Blanc Island for the current season unless and until the NRC formally changes the regulation.
Michigan’s regular bear hunting system also remains highly regulated. Hunters must have a bear license for the appropriate BMU, and season dates and other requirements vary by unit.
Hunters can submit comments to the DNR
The DNR is specifically asking hunters, residents, landowners and others familiar with Bois Blanc Island to weigh in before the proposal advances.
Comments can be submitted to Cody Norton, Michigan DNR bear and furbearer specialist, at nortonc3@michigan.gov.
For Michigan hunters, the proposal is worth watching. Removing a regulation that has been in place since 1985 would not create a new bear management unit or a separate island season. Instead, it would bring Bois Blanc Island into the existing bear-hunting structure of the Newberry BMU and potentially make thousands of additional acres available to licensed bear hunters.
Hunterizer will continue following Michigan’s bear regulations and will update hunting information as regulatory changes are adopted.
