Hunters in Michigan will be able to cover more ground as they prepare to bag a turkey this spring. In past years, turkey hunters were only allowed to hunt in one of 14 distinct areas at a time.
This coming season, the entire state will be separated into only three hunting areas, drastically expanding the hunting foot print.
This year's areas include: Unit M is the entire Upper Peninsula, unit NN includes the northern lower peninsula and unit ZZ is the southern lower peninsula.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says that the unit ZZ private land license is now a guaranteed license. This means that hunters are able to hunt on private land without having to apply for the random drawing system. The random drawing system is available for hunters to apply for a chance to hunt a turkey.
Adam Bump is the upland game bird specialist for the MDNR. He said they brought the number of turkey hunting licenses down from 16 to seven.
"So that makes it a lot easier, especially for new people getting into turkey hunting to try to figure it out," Bump said.
Hunters have the option to apply for a license through a drawing process now until Feb. 1. In the application, hunters will need state which hunt they're interested in and have a chance to be selected.
The hunting season dates are scattered between April and May with four licenses starting on April 18.
Hunters will now have to start reporting their harvest through the MDNR's website or using the Hunt/Fish app.
Bump says the goal of this season is to provide quality hunting opportunities without negatively affecting the turkey population.
"I think they're endeavoring to simplify things and make it easier to bring people into the turkey hunting realm," Gary Maas, president of the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association, said about the changes. "Which is a good thing because turkeys are a lot of fun to try to hunt and, you know, they're delicious."
The MDNR has also proposed changes to the 2026 elk hunting season. The proposals could give elk hunters 24 more days in the field.
An official with the MDNR said the changes were proposed because the department has seen the success of the early hunt go down.
There have been various changes to different hunting seasons in Michigan in recent years.
Bridge Michigan reported that Michigan has been looking for new ways to attract residents to the sport, since the number of hunters in the state have decreased over the past several years.
We note the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is a sponsor of WCMU. We report on them as we do with any other organization.
