Michigan Deer Baiting Ban: House Bill Advances, DNR Raises Concerns

Michigan House Advances Bill to Lift Deer Baiting Ban

The Michigan House passed a bill on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, that would allow deer baiting throughout the Lower Peninsula. The move comes despite concerns from wildlife disease experts and a desire from some within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to see any changes to baiting regulations originate with the Natural Resources Commission (NRC).

Baiting – the practice of placing food to attract deer for hunting – has been prohibited in the Lower Peninsula since 2018. The ban was enacted by state wildlife regulators in an effort to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal and contagious brain disease that has now been detected in 16 counties across the Lower Peninsula.

While the DNR initially opposed efforts to lift the ban, their position has reportedly softened. “We’re certainly open to that discussion,” said Taylor Ridderbusch, chief of staff at the DNR. However, the department prefers the NRC, rather than the Legislature, to be the body responsible for any changes to the regulations. “The Natural Resources Commission is charged with using sound scientific management when they’re creating regulations,” Ridderbusch said. “There’s just that extra layer of protection in terms of what they put forward through a wildlife conservation order as opposed to what the Legislature is bound to when they are considering legislation.”

Jim Sweeney, a hunter from Leelanau County and lobbyist with the Concerned Sportsmen of Michigan, echoed the sentiment that natural resources policy should be guided by experts. “There’s a reason we delegate natural resources policy to the experts, which is the Department (of Natural Resources) and the Natural Resources Commission,” Sweeney said. He expressed concern that legislative intervention could shift power away from science-based decision-making and towards popular opinion.

Despite these concerns, Representative Jennifer Wortz, R-Quincy, the sponsor of House Bill 4445, argues that the ban has not been effective in controlling the spread of CWD and has contributed to other problems. “Deer will gather whether in a field or near a bait pile – we can’t change nature; state regulators need to stop pretending they can,” Wortz said in an address to the House on Wednesday. She also pointed to increasing crop damage and a rise in car-deer collisions as consequences of the ban.

Wortz contends that lifting the ban would encourage more hunting and help manage the growing deer population. She noted that deer naturally congregate regardless of regulations, sharing food and water, and interacting closely. “The baiting ban has not stopped disease. What it has done is fuel overpopulation, increase crop damage, and make our roads more dangerous,” she stated.

However, some experts caution that increasing deer density through baiting could actually exacerbate the risk of CWD transmission. A 2025 study from Michigan State University and the DNR found that deer concentrate more densely at bait sites than in natural feeding areas. While an outright ban may not eliminate the disease, experts suggest it can buy time for researchers to develop more effective strategies.

The Michigan Farm Bureau supports the bill, advocating for increased harvest opportunities to address the growing deer population.

The bill, as passed by the House, does not include exceptions for counties where CWD has been detected. It now moves to the Democrat-controlled state Senate for consideration. Sweeney expressed hope that the DNR could present the NRC with a proposal to modify the current ban before the Senate acts on the bill, but acknowledged that if the bill passes, “I think we’re on a very slippery slope here.”