Hunting Groups File Brief Defending Michigan’s Coyote Management Season

The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and Safari Club International have filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief defending Michigan’s expanded coyote seasons. Their September 16 announcement describes a challenge by Humane World for Animals in Ingham County Circuit Court. The filing is an argument in support of the state’s management authority, not a court decision.

The disputed framework separates the calendar into two seasons. According to the announcement, Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment No. 10 of 2025, approved by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in January 2026, established a hunting and trapping season from October 15 through March 1 and a management season from March 2 through October 14. Harvest is authorized during both, but the seasons have different restrictions and conditions. Year-round opportunity should not be mistaken for identical rules all year.

The central disagreement concerns what the management season is meant to accomplish. The Alliance says the challenger argues that the seasons will not reduce the coyote population and are therefore arbitrary and capricious. The supporting brief argues that broad population reduction was not the commission’s goal: the management season gives people a way to address problem coyotes when conflicts arise.

That distinction matters for practical wildlife management. Providing a legal response to a local livestock or property conflict is a different objective from reducing coyotes across an entire state. Whether the challenged framework withstands judicial review remains for the court to decide; the announcement reports no ruling resolving this appeal.

Hunters and trappers should check current Michigan Department of Natural Resources regulations before acting, including the conditions that apply to the relevant season. A legal brief does not replace a regulation booklet, create a new permission or remove existing restrictions.