Michigan Natural Resources Commission lifts baiting ban

LANSING, Michigan – In a vote of 4-3, Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission voted to end a ban on baiting and feeding whitetail deer in most of the state’s Lower Peninsula.

Michigan United Conservation Clubs attempted to stream the NRC meeting live, but the Internet service was down at the Lansing Center.

Commissioners J.R. Richardson, John Madigan, John Matonich and Tim Nichols supported the order while Frank Wheatlake, Mary Brown, Hurley Coleman opposed it.

The decision legalizes baiting again in most of the Lower Peninsula with the exception of the northeast section where bovine tuberculosis remains a problem, including Alcona, Alpena, Iosco, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Presque Isle counties.

Bait could be "scattered" but not "piled" and the amount of bait could not exceed two gallons at any one hunting site.

There is, however, a three-year "sunset" on the regulations and the issue will be re-evaluated then. Baiting and feeding have been banned in the Lower Peninsula since August 2008, when a deer with chronic wasting disease was found at a captive deer facility in Kent County.