The brilliant fall colors beckon you to get outside and enjoy before the coming winter.
Many of those enjoying the outdoors are hunters and fishermen who have by law the right to enjoy activity unimpeded by non-hunters.
There have been two complaints lodged by hunters regarding interference by non-hunters in the past two weeks.
On Oct. 9 a Suttons Bay Township resident reported two males in kayaks firing rifles. Caller heard the shots and saw someone hold a shotgun — 200 feet off shore. Caller referred DNR RAP (Report all Poaching) line.
Then the Dispatch Center received a call from hunters that reported that a female shouted at them from the shore saying she called the police.
The female was advised it is duck season and that she didn’t care and would turn up her music. Law enforcement spoke with the female and made aware it’s legal and she is not to harass them.
As recently as late Monday afternoon a caller reported walking in the woods north of his subdivision and a hunter started yelling at him. Even though it wasn’t the hunter’s property or private property at all.
The hunter seemed to get agitated then followed the caller, who started walking home. Then, he got in his truck and started to follow the caller, but then stopped.
The rights of hunters and fishermen are codified in Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 324.40112.
The state law declares that an individual shall not obstruct or interfere in the lawful taking of animals or fish by another individual.
A violation may occur when an individual violates this section when the individual intentionally or knowingly does any of the following:
• Drives or disturbs animals or fish for the purpose of disrupting a lawful taking.
• Blocks, impedes, or harasses another individual who is engaged in the process of lawfully taking an animal or fish.
• Uses a natural or artificial visual, aural, olfactory, gustatory, or physical stimulus or an unmanned vehicle or unmanned device that uses aerodynamic forces to achieve flight or that operates on the surface of the water or underwater, to affect animal or fish behavior in order to hinder or prevent the lawful taking of an animal or a fish.
• Erects barriers to deny ingress or egress to areas where the lawful taking of animals or fish may occur. This subdivision does not apply to an individual who erects barriers to prevent trespassing on his or her property.
• Interjects himself or herself into the line of fire of an individual lawfully taking wildlife.
• Affects the condition or placement of personal or public property intended for use in the lawful taking of an animal or a fish in order to impair the usefulness of the property or prevent the use of the property.
• Enters or remains upon private lands without the permission of the owner or the owner’s agent, for the purpose of violating this section.
• Engages in any other act or behavior for the purpose of violating this section.
Encounters between hunters and fisherman are no stranger to local law enforcement.
In 1990, a Glen Arbor woman and animal activist was convicted of using illegal firecrackers to scare deer away from a bow hunter in the Alligator Hill area.
The jury acquitted her of a companion charge of intentionally interfering with the activity of a bow hunter. She was fined $150 and ordered to perform seven days of community service work at the Cherryland Humane Society.
“This was before my time as sheriff. But if I were the conservation officer then, I would have written her up and encouraged the most severe charges,” Sheriff Mike Borkovich said.
A person who violates the “Hunter Harassment” charge could receive a sentence of up to 93 days in jail or a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000.
And with all the seasonal action in the woods — by outdoor enthusiasts and hunters — the Sheriff reminds the public about the importance of wearing bright colors when going outside.
“The hunters are required to wear hunter orange. But walkers could wear that bright green vests worn by construction workers or bright pink,” he said.
More information is available by contacting the DNR office in Traverse City, 231-922-5280.
