Get all your fishing information here, including rules and regulations, license info, the weekly fishing report and much more. Use the link above to visit the fishing home page, or go directly to your area of interest below:
Get all your hunting information here, including hunting season dates, rules and regulations, and much more. Use the button above to visit the hunting home page, or go directly to your area of interest below:
Information on DNR shooting and archery ranges, rules and regulations, resources to get started and more. Use the button above to visit the target shooing and archery home page, or go directly to one of the pages below:
Find snowmobile trail permit info, maps, rules and regulations and more. USE THE BUTTON ABOVE TO VISIT THE SNOWMOBILE HOMEPAGE or go directly to you area of interest below:
Want to find tasty morel mushrooms in the forest? Click the box above for tips and tricks to fill your basket.
Find cross-country ski, ice fishing , snowmobiling info and much more.
Find facility info, overnight info, an event calendar and much more.
Find a great trail experience near you - whether you want to hike, bike, snowmobile or ride an ORV. From long, paved linear trails to rugged forest terrain, Michigan offers trail opportunities for all abilities and interests.
Visitor Centers across the state provide education programs, field trips, archery, fishing, trails and much more. Click the box above to see all our locations, or click the individual location below.
We administer grants that enable our local partners to promote the lifestyles we all enjoy by providing recreational opportunities, enhancing wildlife habitat and ensuring public safety. Visit the grants home page by clicking on the button above, or view a specific area of interest below:
Recreational Safety and Hunter Education
Learn about Michigan's diverse range of fish, plants, trees, reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals. Click the box above to see all species, or click the species group below.
DNR educators across the state provide fun, educational activities, programs and workshops year-round for adults, families and kids. Click the box above to see all our offerings, or click the program below.
DNR educators provide classroom lessons, field trip opportunities, professional development and experiential programs to teachers around the state. Click the box above to see all our offerings, or click the program below.
DNR forest resources professionals maintain healthy forests, manage wildfire, maintain responsible harvesting certifications and improve wildlife habitat. Click the box above to learn more about Michigan's state forests.
All DNR-related boards, committees, and advisory groups
Find seasonal, part-time and full-time job openings with the DNR
Search is currently unavailable. Please try again later.
The web Browser you are currently using is unsupported, and some features of this site may not work as intended. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer.
It happens every year. Somebody shoots an eagle in Michigan – an illegal act – and news outlets across the state pick up the story. People, rightly, are outraged. “We must do more to protect our wildlife!” … “Who would do such a thing?” What would they say if they understood the state’s eagle population faces a much bigger threat? There is evidence that lead poisoning through ingestion can occur in 130 wildlife species, but it’s a more serious issue in birds, which can get lead poisoning by ingesting lead pellets, bullet fragments or certain types of fishing tackle – which are used in hunting and fishing, two cherished, popular and legal outdoor traditions. A single lead sinker (a weight attached to fishing line) can kill a loon, while just one pellet can be toxic to waterfowl.
The risk is quite real for bald eagles, too. Lead ammunition is a major source of lead exposure for bald eagles in the Midwest, and here in Michigan the top three mortality factors for these birds over the last three decades are trauma (car), trauma (unspecified) and lead poisoning – serious threats to the state’s 3,500-4,000 population. For every illegally shot and killed eagle, eight more are dying of lead poisoning.
It's a contributing factor in increased mortality rates in some protected species, including California condor, trumpeter swan and common loon. Michigan is home to an estimated 2,000 common loons, including 800 breeding pairs. Since 1987, lead poisoning has been this species’ third leading mortality factor after trauma and Type E botulism. It’s important to note, too, that plants can absorb lead through their roots, but the lead tends to concentrate there rather than moving to stem or foliage. Fish and wildlife could ingest lead by consuming affected plants, but this is not a significant source of elevated levels.
Tens of thousands of tons of lead shot and lead bullets used in recreational hunting and shooting are released into the environment every year, while 470 million lead sinkers – another 2,700 tons – are produced annually in the U.S. for recreational fishing and could potentially be deposited in the environment. These are major sources of lead exposure in wildlife.
The good news? Several nontoxic options are available to hunters and anglers, and some states have responded with requirements on using nontoxic ammunition, restrictions on lead ammunition or total bans of the use and/or sale of lead sinkers.
In the U.S. every year, anglers spend about $87.5 million on fishing sinkers, and hunters upwards of $1.4 billion for ammunition. Manufacturers say a shift to nontoxic materials could result in increased business costs that, if passed on to customers, could cause a drop in participation. Realistically, the switch would amount to annual expense increases of just 1% to 2% for hunters and less than 1% for anglers.
When that slightly higher cost can help reduce lead exposure and poisoning in fish and wildlife and ensure safer game to eat, it’s an undeniably positive return on investment.
Alternatives that are safer for people and wildlife do exist, and it makes sense to elevate the conversation and boost public awareness. If you hunt, consider using nontoxic shot for all huntable species and nontoxic bullets or slugs for big game. If you fish, consider using nontoxic fishing tackle, recover snagged tackle and properly dispose of lead sinkers and jigs at hazardous-waste collection sites.
Fish and wildlife researchers and managers, veterinarians, rehabilitators, manufacturers and retailers, please lend your support to cooperative educational campaigns, voluntary programs and other avenues to inform consumers about these safer options.
In a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report to Congress, the need for change is clear: “Lead is potentially toxic wherever it is found, and it is found everywhere.” Let’s work together to get the lead out!
