News Photo by Kayla Wikaryaz On Thursday, Lachlan Murphy fishes by the 9th Avenue dam. Murphy enjoys traveling around the area to find the best fishing spots.

ALPENA — A bill proposed by two Michigan State Senators, John Cherry, D-Flint, and Jon Bumstead, R-North Muskegon, aims to raise hunting and fishing license fees in Michigan to “provide a sustainable funding stream for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)…” according to a Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) press release.

According to the bill, Senate Bill 276 was referred to the Michigan Senate committee on Appropriations on May 1 and states that it will amend the 1994 PA 451, otherwise known as the “Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.”

In a recent interview with the Michigan Out-of-Doors Podcast, Cherry and Bumstead discussed Senate Bill 276 and explained why the bill is necessary.

“Me, as a hunter, I think we should pay our way,” Bumstead said. “We shouldn’t have non-hunters and non-fishermen pay for what we enjoy doing. And if it’s our passion, we should pay for it. And if you look at the other states around us, we’re either at their price or much less, even with a fee restructuring.”

Bumstead explained that the last fee restructuring initiative in Michigan for hunting and fishing licenses was 13 years ago, in which Bumstead also sponsored that bill. Bumstead said that with the rising costs of goods and services, the fee increase is necessary.

“To me, this is more of a user fee,” Bumstead said. “If we use it, we have to pay for it.”

Cherry explained that this bill arrives a year after a similar proposal in Fall 2024 that aimed to increase fees across the department by 40%. Cherry explained that this new proposal aims to increase fees by 20%.

“Then we also try to offset some things,” Cherry said. “For example, we reduce the cost of an antlerless license…right now, a lot of folks know we are not harvesting enough antlerless deer. And so it’s to help encourage people to focus on taking more antlerless deer…help our deer management.”

Bumstead explained that he believes hunters and anglers pay much less in Michigan compared to other places.

“I hunt all over the world, and what we have in Michigan and what we pay for is pretty inexpensive…I don’t even think twice about these numbers,” Bumstead said. “I know other folks probably do, and I get it if you have a family, but at the end of the day, we still have to. There’s a lot of things we need to pay for to maintain what we have in this state. It’s not cheap anymore. Nothing’s cheap.”

Bumstead explained that the DNR manages 4.6 million acres of land, not including federal and some private land. He further noted that these acres of land are not only used for hunting and fishing, but also for biking, hiking, and riding horses.

“(Some land users are) really not paying for anything on the land where the hunters and fishermen are the ones actually writing the check and paying cash for their licenses,” Bumstead said. “That’s why I encourage everybody to buy a state park pass and buy a hunting license. Even if you don’t hunt, it helps manage our wildlife and our recreation and our wildlands because it takes a lot of energy.”

Though Bumstead and Cherry state that Senate Bill 276 has bipartisan support, State Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, has differing opinions of the bill.

“Until the Natural Resources Commission becomes competent in crafting sound policies that represent science and everyday hunters, license fees should not be increased by a dime,” Hoitenga said. “Whether it be public or private land, hunters see no return on investment for purchasing a license now, just wait until they are forced to pay more, they will stop buying them entirely.”

Hoitenga is also skeptical of the motivation behind the 80% discount on antlerless deer licenses.

“If the DNR truly wanted more does harvested in Michigan, they would not have reversed the decision for antlerless only youth hunt,” Hoitenga said.

In addition to Senate Bill 276, Hoitenga cited Senate Bill 172, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-2026 Natural Resources Budget, as an unjustified move by the DNR and legislators. Instead of passing Senate Bill 280, a bill that would add an automatic state park fee to all eligible vehicle registrations, the state Senate has included the policy in the state Senate-approved FY 2025-2026 Natural Resources budget.

“Michigan citizens were just undermined again by the DNR when they got the legislature to pass a bill enacting a new mandatory park fee that is automatically added to everyone’s vehicle registration fee,” Hoitenga said. “The recreation passport has been an option for Michigan motorists who wish to enjoy our wonderful state parks, but this bill turns an option into a requirement. This mandate will cost Michigan drivers over $40 million, regardless of whether they use the parks and even if they have multiple vehicles. This fee is an underhanded cash grab through hidden fees and is consistent with the DNR’s reputation.”

The Michigan House of Representatives has yet to vote on the FY 2025-2026 Natural Resources budget.