Michigan Wildlife Council
The overall mission for the Michigan Wildlife Council, set in statute: MCL 324.43532B (18), is to:
“Develop and implement, in conjunction with a third-party marketing or advertising agency, a comprehensive media-based public information program to promote the essential role that sportsmen and sportswomen play in furthering wildlife conservation and to educate the general public about hunting, fishing, and the taking of game. That education shall include, but is not limited to, teaching that hunting, fishing, and the taking of game are any of the following:
1) Necessary for the conservation, preservation, and management of this state’s natural resources.
2) A valued and integral part of the cultural heritage of this state and should forever be preserved.
3) An important part of this state’s economy.”
The media-based public information program is funded in total through a $1 surcharge on hunting and fishing licenses sold in the State of Michigan. The Michigan Wildlife Council received over 1.5 million dollars from sportsmen in 2017.
Marketing Campaign
www.hereformioutdoors.org

Why and How?
Benefits for All
These are some of the many benefits to the public funded and provided by sportsmen:

Hunting and Fishing Keep Wildlife Healthy
- Collected revenues provide for the protection and reintroduction of native species such as our elk and wild turkey.
- Hunting keeps herd numbers at a level the habitat can support – keeping our wildlife resources healthy and sustainable.
- Hunting is necessary for maintaining healthy and diverse populations of wildlife.
- License fees help finance the identification and protection of species that are deemed “of special concern, threatened or endangered.
Hunting and Fishing Make Michigan Beautiful
- Wildlife management keeps a balance that benefits public, private, and wildlife interests.
- Revenues go to conserving Michigan’s beautiful forests and lands and enhancing habitat for wildlife.
- Revenues go to preserving the quality and quantity of water in our lakes, rivers, and streams.
- Revenues from fishing are used to stock lakes and streams, and monitor the health and sustainability of the diverse fisheries in Michigan’s rivers, lakes, and streams.


Hunting and Fishing is Big Business
- Wildlife management strives for a balance that benefits public, private and wildlife interests.
- Tens of thousands of jobs in both rural and urban communities are sustained and supported (72,000+).
- License revenues go to conserving the wildlife and natural beauty found throughout Michigan.
- Creating a heritage that instills within individuals a personal connection to Michigan.
Legislation

The Michigan Wildlife Council shall develop and implement, in conjunction with a third-party marketing or advertising agency, a comprehensive, media-based public information program to promote the essential role that sportsmen and sportswomen play in furthering wildlife conservation and to provide information about hunting, fishing and the taking of game. That education shall include, but not be limited to, teaching that hunting, fishing, and the taking of game are any of the following:
- Necessary for the conservation, preservation and management of this state’s natural resources.
- A valued and integral part of the cultural heritage of this state and should forever be preserved.
- An important part of this state’s economy.
Schedules, Minutes, Reports
Agendas:
2020
December 11, 200
August 17, 2020
June 23, 2020
April 27, 2020
January 27, 2020
2019
December 9, 2019
August 20, 2019
May 21, 2019
March 7, 2019
2018
November 5, 2018
September 6, 2018
April 26, 2018
February 6, 2018
2017
October 24, 2017
August 28, 2017
April 18, 2017
January 31, 2017
2016
October 18, 2016
October 17, 2016
August 3, 2016
July 19, 2016
April 25, 2016
March 14, 2016
January 11, 2016
2015
September 29, 2015
August 27, 2015
June 10, 2015
March 9, 2015
2014
December 3, 2014
November 7, 2014
October 8, 2014
August 6-7, 2014
Minutes:
2020
August 17, 2020
June 23, 2020
April 27, 2020
January 27, 2020
2019
December 9, 2019
August 20, 2019
May 21, 2019
March 7, 2019
2018
November 5, 2018
September 6, 2018
April 26, 2018
February 6, 2018
2017
October 24, 2017
August 28, 2017
April 18, 2017
January 31, 2017
2016
October 18, 2016
October 17, 2016
August 3, 2016
July 19, 2016
April 25, 2016
March 14, 2016
January 11, 2016
2015
September 29, 2015
August 27, 2015
June 10, 2015
March 9, 2015
2014
December 3, 2014
November 7, 2014
October 8, 2014
August 6-7, 2014
Reports to the Legislature:
November 5, 2018
May 18, 2018
October 24, 2017
April 18, 2017
October 18, 2016
April 25, 2016
September 29, 2015
May 13, 2015
Council Members
The Michigan Wildlife Council (MWC) is a nine-member public body whose members are appointed by the governor
and subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

Matt Pedigo
Chairman, Term expires March 2021

Jeffery Poet
Vice Chair, Term expires March 2021

Kristin Phillips
DNR Marketing & Outreach

Beth Gruden
Term expires March 2022

Henry Stancato
Term expires March 2021

Carol Rose
Term expires March 2022

Edgar Roy
Term expires March 2020

Jim Hammill
Term expires March 2020

Nick Buggia
Term expires March 2022
Nick Buggia works as the Upper Midwestern States manager for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF). As part of CSF’s States Program Team, Nick works closely with state legislators and governors across the Midwest to promote scientific-based conservation policy. He has experience working in Michigan’s executive branch and in the Michigan Senate, where he spent the majority of his time focusing on natural resources policy. Nick holds a bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State University. A native of Mayville, Michigan, Nick is an avid outdoorsman. He enjoys hunting on the family farm and takes every opportunity to go fishing on Saginaw Bay. On the council, he represents rural areas of the state whose economies are substantially impacted by hunting and fishing.
FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS

Randy Stec
Served 2014 - 2018

Merisa Campbell
Served 2014 - 2017

Alan Taylor
Served 2014 - 2016