Photo by Jarret Mill, Unsplash.
Bear guide Darren Kamphouse — shown here with his 10-year-old son, Camren; 14-year-old daughter, Aubrie; and the 280-pound bear he helped her harvest in the Baldwin Bear Management Unit this year — believes the new legislation isn’t necessary. He says bad actors in the bear hunting world” kind of weed themselves out.”
VITAL FISH & GAME TRACKING — OR SENSELESS RED TAPE? After years of being shot down, a three-bill package requiring fish and game guides to register with the state is finally making progress. But is it necessary?
By Victor Skinner Michigan lawmakers are taking another crack at legislation to register and regulate commercial hunting and fishing guides on public lands after several failed attempts in recent legislative sessions. The House Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Committee held a hearing on the three-bill package — HB 5358, 5359, and 5360 — in late October, marking the first progress on the legislation since the coronavirus derailed momentum last year. The bi-partisan bills are backed by the state’s largest hunting, fishing, and conservation groups, though the move to impose requirements on those who shepherd novice hunters and anglers isn’t without its critics. Chief among them is former state Rep. Triston Cole, a lifelong hunting guide based in Antrim County, who opposed the effort as floor leader for the Michigan House until term limits forced him from office last year. “They are hoping it will go because I’m not there,” Cole says. “I was the most vocally opposed.” Cole contends the effort is “entirely unnecessary” and argues it will ultimately result in disengaging folks from the outdoors, further fueling an overall decline in hunter and angler numbers the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has struggled to address. Cole points out the loss in participation translates into
less money to manage the state’s natural resources and argues the legislation will only make matters worse. “It is another layer of bureaucracy on hunting and fishing in Michigan. It’s a solution in search of a problem,” he says. “It’s just more hoops for people to hunt and fish.” Others believe it’s a lot more than that. Mike Thorman, legislative liaison for several hound hunting groups, testified in favor of the legislation last month after
“There are people who are selling our fish and game, and the [DNR] should at least know who they are,” Thorman says. THE GIST HB 5358 spells out registration requirements for hunting guides: first aid certification, no record of felonies or major wildlife violations, and eligibility for a license for the species targeted. The bill also requires guides carry a first aid kit with
“They are hoping it will go because I’m not there,” Cole says. “I was the most vocally opposed.” years of working with lawmakers and other conservation groups to refine the bills. “The important thing is, this was and is a sportsmen’s generated legislation,” Thorman says. “It started out being an expensive license, expensive insurance — a lot of conditions that had to be met — and we pared it down … because we didn’t realize how many small operators were out there, and we didn’t want to price anyone out of the system.” The main purpose of the legislation, however, remains the same: keeping track of who’s hunting and fishing, where.
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specific items and would outlaw any work on commercial forest lands. The bill requires each guide to submit an annual report that includes the counties in which they hunted, the species pursued, the number of clients, and the number of animals taken, as well as “any additional information the [Department of Natural Resources] requires regarding the biological characteristics of the game animals harvested.” HB 5359 outlines the same provisions for inland fishing guides, though it requires monthly reports rather than an annual
report. Those reports would include the fish species targeted, the number of clients and hours fished for each outing, the number of fish caught, whether the fish were harvested or released, and the bodies of water utilized by guides. The bills are not without teeth, either: The legislation would enable the state to fine guides for providing false information or using commercial forest land. Failing to file a report will cost them, too — from $100 to $500. Add to that a $150 application fee (which would cover each registered guide for three years). That fee would be waived for licensed charter boat captains, but under HB 5359, fishing guides who use a boat would need a $300 “boating access entry pass” for public access. HB 5360 tasks the Michigan Natural Resources Commission with “regulating the use of commercial hunting guides or sport fishing guides in taking game and fish.” Costly? Or overdue? Amy Trotter, executive director of Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the state’s largest conservation organization, leans to the latter. She says MUCC has supported efforts to regulate guides since the 1990s and believes the legislation requirements aren’t onerous. “Overall, in the big picture, we’re setting a low bar to get guides registered, so we know how many there are and in what parts of the state,” she says. MUCC believes it’s important to put something in place both for better
