Sources: Michigan Compiled Laws Annotated, 1984, Chapters 259, 299, 300 through 305, 307, 316 and 750; 1993 Cumulative Annual Pocket Parts.
STATE WILDLIFE POLICY
All animals, resident, migratory, native or introduced, found in this state are the property of the people of the state and their taking is regulated by the Commission of Natural Resources and the Department of Natural Resources (300.256). All fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, and crustaceans found in this state are state property and may be taken only at such times and in such manner as provided by law (301.2). (See also HABITAT PROTECTION.)
PROTECTED SPECIES OF WILDLIFE
Except as provided, a person shall not take, possess, transport, import, export, process, sell or offer for sale, buy or offer to buy, nor shall a common carrier or contract carrier transport or receive for shipment, a species of fish, plants, or wildlife appearing on: the state list of endangered or threatened indigenous fish, plants, and wildlife; the US list of endangered or threatened native fish and wildlife; the US list of endangered or threatened plants; the US list of endangered or threatened foreign fish and wildlife. A species of fish, plant or wildlife appearing on these lists which enters the state from without may be transported, possessed, and sold in accordance with the terms of a federal permit or a permit issued under the laws of another state. The Commission by rule may treat a species as an endangered or threatened species even though it is not so listed if it finds any of the following: the species so closely resembles in appearance a listed species that enforcement personnel would have substantial difficulty in attempting to differentiate between the two species; the effect of the substantial difficulty in differentiating between a listed and an unlisted species is an additional threat to an endangered or threatened species; the treatment of an unlisted species will substantially facilitate the enforcement and further intent of the Endangered Species Act. These provisions do not prohibit importation of a trophy under a lawful permit or the taking of a threatened species when the Commission has determined that the abundance of the species in the state justifies a controlled harvest not in violation of federal law. A law enforcement officer, police officer, sheriff's deputy, or conservation officer shall enforce the state Endangered Species Act and the rules promulgated under the act. Violation of a provision of the act or failure to procure a permit issued under this act is a misdemeanor; fine of $100-1,000, or jail up to 90 days, or both (299.226 through .228).
No person shall hunt, pursue, trap, capture, kill or destroy, or attempt to do so, a deer, moose, elk, caribou, badger, beaver or muskrat, or a pheasant, grouse, partridge or swan, within two miles from a city public park containing over 200 acres of which 150 or more is woodland. Violation: misdemeanor; fine up to $100, or jail up to 90 days, or both (317.121 and .122).
The species of birds known as the snowy heron and the American egret are protected in this state and their killing and purchase and sale of plumes or feathers is forbidden. Violation: misdemeanor; fine of $10-50 and prosecution costs; in default of payment confinement in jail until fine and costs are paid or up to 30 days (317.131 and .132). No person shall hunt, take, pursue, capture, wound, kill, maim or disfigure another's homing pigeons. Violation: for a first offense, a fine of $25-100 and prosecution costs, or jail up to 90 days, or both (317.141 and .143).
A person who owns, possesses, keeps or uses a bull, bear, dog or other animal for the purpose of fighting or baiting, or as a target to be shot at as a test of skill in marksmanship and who is a party to or causes the fighting, baiting, or shooting of a bull, bear, dog or other animal is guilty of a felony punishable by jail up to four years, or a fine up to $5,000, or both (750.49).
HABITAT PROTECTION
The legislature finds that: the earth's biological diversity is an important natural resource and decreasing biological diversity is a concern; most losses of biological diversity are unintended consequences of human activity; humans depend on biological resources; biological diversity is a valuable source of intellectual and scientific knowledge, recreation and aesthetic pleasure; conserving biological diversity has economic implications; reduced biological diversity may have potentially serious consequences for human welfare; reduced biological diversity may also impact ecosystems and critical ecosystem processes; reduced biological diversity may diminish the raw materials available for scientific and technical advancement; maintaining biological diversity through habitat protection and management is often less costly and more effective than efforts to save species once they become endangered; because biological resources will be most important for future needs, study by the legislature regarding maintaining the diversity of living organisms in their natural habitats and the costs and benefits of doing so is prudent. It is the goal of this state to encourage the lasting conservation of biological diversity (299.233 and .234). [For provisions implementing the Biological Diversity Conservation Act, see 299.221 through 299.237.]
It is the duty of the Commission to prescribe means and to lay down rules and regulations to admit free and uninterrupted passage of fish over or through dams erected over rivers, streams, or creeks, except that the Director is authorized to abrogate these provisions whenever, in the opinion of the Commissioner, the height of the dam or the condition of the river or stream makes the installation of such ladders impracticable or unnecessary. The Director has the duty to draft a general plan that will best permit free passage of large and small fish at the dam. A person owning or using a dam, when so ordered by the Director, within 90 days shall erect and maintain in good repair sufficient and permanent means to allow free and uninterrupted passage of fish over or through such dam. [Details of prosecution and separate offenses provided, in 307.1 through .6.]
It is unlawful for a person, firm or corporation to obstruct the channel or course of a river, stream or creek by placing therein a net, wire screen or other apparatus or material which prevents free passage of fish, except as authorized by law, and an offender is guilty of a violation. The Director may authorize the placing of screens in a river, stream, creek or inlet or outlet of a lake (307.7). It is unlawful to put into such waters sand, coal, cinders, ashes, log slabs, decayed wood, bark, sawdust or filth (307.30).
The Commission is empowered to establish state wildlife sanctuaries and by resolution may accept privately owned lands, when the owners or lessees apply to the Commission to dedicate lands for such purposes. The Commission may accept the dedication only after it determines: the application is made in good faith; the lands are suitable for the declared purposes; the dedication and operation of the proposed wildlife sanctuary will increase the supply of desirable wildlife in the vicinity and will be in the public interest. Applications are not approved for areas of less than 20 acres nor more than 1,500 acres, or for less than five-year periods. Upon application from controlling agencies, lands owned by the state or by the US may be dedicated in the same manner as privately owned lands. Wildlife sanctuaries shall be posted so as to clearly define and mark their boundaries. During the dedication period of lands posted as a state wildlife sanctuary, possession or carrying of firearms, hunting or trapping, or killing or molesting wildlife by a person or by owners or lessees, or their agents is unlawful. The Director may issue permits for taking predatory animals and birds and other birds and animals for control or in connection with experiments in wildlife management or other purposes not inconsistent with the intent of the dedication (317.201 through .204). The Commission has authority to issue and enforce rules and regulations to administer and accomplish these purposes. It is the duty of conservation officers with power to arrest, and of sheriffs and other peace officers, to protect the wildlife on dedicated areas from injury or molestation. Violation of provisions herein is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $25-100, or jail up to 30 days, or both (317.206 through .208). [For specific wildlife sanctuaries and refuges, see 317.221 through 317.252.]
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New Mexico Center for Wildlife Law
University of New Mexico School of Law
1117 Stanford NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 277-5006
lprovenc@unm.edu