I had a preliminary conversation this spring with Kingsley parents who wanted to take their son who has a developmental disability out turkey hunting. A question arose: How could we get him a license?
At the time I thought he had previously hunted with an “apprentice” license and was over 18, which was not the case. Had it been, he would be required to pass a hunter safety exam to get licensed again, which was impossible.
Thankfully, a bill is expected to be signed soon that would provide lifelong hunting opportunities to people unable to pass a traditional hunter safety class. Adaptive equipment is available to allow such a person to share a hunting experience with a loved one who can aim a rifle or shotgun by moving a joystick and watching a screen. When the time is right, the special needs person pulls the trigger by sucking on a tube. I know non-hunters don’t understand. But there’s a primal itch in many of us that can only be scratched by harvesting our own food. News stories about the bill centered on the twoyear lobbying efforts of board members of the Michigan Bear Hunters Association. I’m sure they worked diligently for passage.
I’ve got a buddy from Escanaba who can add to the story with his unmistakable accent.
Ken Buchholz is my hero. He’s taken out hunting a legion of people who would be stuck at home without a lot of help. If grandfather has only one hunt left, Ken gets a call. He’ll carry grandpa through a foot of snow to a handicap deer blind.
He’s an original member of the MDNR Accessibility Advisory Council, and in that role has lobbied for years for such a bill. A version was written four years ago that never made it off a legislator’s desk. Frustrated, a buddy took his disabled son hunting without a license. “The right thing gets done here,” he said, a touch of defiance lingering.
Last fall, Ken’s patience ran thin, so he took out his frustration on a MDNR liaison.
Confronting the liaison, a fellow Yooper, he said, “You move like a one-legged turtle going uphill.’ She started laughing. Then I said, ‘If you can’t get anything done, I’m not going to sit on your council.’”
••• Buchholz and other members of the accessory council can’t be happy with news reports that the Michigan Natural Resources Commission stripped opportunities for handicapped hunters. According to written news reports, the NRC banned the taking of antlered deer during the Independence and Liberty hunts. Only 278 bucks were taken throughout Michigan during the Independence Hunt for disabled hunters. The MDNR combines the harvest for liberty and youth hunts held on the same weekend in September so it’s impossible to tally the impact from only special needs hunters on the buck population. But it’s safe to say it’s not much. One-hundred fifty-five thousand, six hundred forty nine bucks were harvested last fall in Michigan.
The change is set for the 2025 hunting season as some hunters have already purchased licenses.
News reports also state that the NRC will allow the use of rifles in northern Michigan during muzzle-loader season, which makes the hunt name inaccurate.
I have not been able to independently verify either of these changes. Lieutenant Joe Molnar, regional law division chief for the Traverse City area, said he was awaiting written confirmation before commenting. As of this writing, I have not received a reply call from the MDNR public information office. *** A U.S. Fish and Wildlife crew will be electroshocking the Crystal River in early August looking for young sea lamprey.. Portions of the river may also be chemically treated with sea lamprey larvicide, which the EPA has determined poses no threat to humans or the environment.
Sea lampreys if left unchecked would decimate lake trout populations — as they did prior to 1958, when the control program began.
Also aiding in sea lamprey protection will be construction of the FishPass dam on the Boardman River off Union Street in Traverse City. The dam is designed to allow desirable fish species upstream passage while preventing lamprey migration to spawning grounds. The Michigan legislature included $1 million for dam construction in its 2025 budget. *** Ray Pleva has led the charge to keep his favorite waterway open to boat traffic from Cedar village to Lake Leelanau. He and other Cedar River enthusiasts say the river is becoming too silted, especially at its mouth, which is a problem that compounds itself. River traffic has thinned because boat owners fear getting mired in muck, sand and vegetation, Pleva said, which in turn reduces prop turn that washes the river open.
They are hoping that the Solon Township Board will pass a motion supporting their efforts at its next meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15. *** Speaking of Cedar, some good news. A hunter safety course will return to the Cedar Rod and Gun Club with a field day scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 25.
The course will be offered about a week after the MDNR’s official Hunter Safety Education Week because the gun club had already scheduled events at the club grounds before being informed of the statewide effort, according to Rick Bechtold, hunter safety instructor.
The club canceled hunter safety class in 2023 after too few of its instructors signed up for a required online class. Bechtold said he will join three other hunter safety instructors in resuming the club tradition. Class size is limited to 50. Signup is available on the MDNR website.
Thank you, hunter safety instructors, for your volunteerism.
