Act No. 470

Public Acts of 1998

Approved by the Governor

December 31, 1998

Filed with the Secretary of State

January 4, 1999

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 4, 1999

STATE OF MICHIGAN

89TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 1998

Introduced by Senator McManus

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 1283

AN ACT to amend 1994 PA 451, entitled "An act to protect the environment and natural resources of the state; to codify, revise, consolidate, and classify laws relating to the environment and natural resources of the state; to regulate the discharge of certain substances into the environment; to regulate the use of certain lands, waters, and other natural resources of the state; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies and officials; to provide for certain charges, fees, and assessments; to provide certain appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; to repeal certain parts of this act on a specific date; and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts," by amending section 36505 (MCL 324.36505), as added by 1995 PA 59, and by adding section 40107a; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 36505. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this part, a person shall not take, possess, transport, import, export, process, sell, offer for sale, buy, or offer to buy, and a common or contract carrier shall not transport or receive for shipment, any species of fish, plants, or wildlife appearing on the following lists:

(a) The list of fish, plants, and wildlife indigenous to the state determined to be endangered or threatened within the state pursuant to section 36503 or subsection (3).

(b) The United States list of endangered or threatened native fish and wildlife.

(c) The United States list of endangered or threatened plants.

(d) The United States list of endangered or threatened foreign fish and wildlife.

(2) A species of fish, plant, or wildlife appearing on any of the lists delineated in subsection (1) which enters the state from another state or from a point outside the territorial limits of the United States may enter, be transported, possessed, and sold in accordance with the terms of a federal permit issued pursuant to section 10 of the endangered species act of 1973, Public Law 93-205, 16 U.S.C. 1539, or an applicable permit issued under the laws of another state.

(3) The department may, by rule, treat any species as an endangered species or threatened species even though it is not listed pursuant to section 36503, if it finds any of the following:

(a) The species so closely resembles in appearance, at the point in question, a species which is listed pursuant to section 36503 that enforcement personnel would have substantial difficulty in attempting to differentiate between the listed and unlisted species.

(b) The effect of the substantial difficulty in differentiating between a listed and an unlisted species is an additional threat to an endangered or threatened species.

(c) The treatment of an unlisted species will substantially facilitate the enforcement and further the intent of this part.

(4) The department may permit the taking, possession, purchase, sale, transportation, exportation, or shipment of species of fish, plants, or wildlife which appear on the state list of endangered or threatened species compiled pursuant to section 36503 and subsection (3) for scientific, zoological, or educational purposes, for propagation in captivity of such fish, plants, or wildlife to ensure their survival.

(5) Upon good cause shown and where necessary to alleviate damage to property or to protect human health, endangered or threatened species found on the state list compiled pursuant to section 36503 and subsection (3) may be removed, captured, or destroyed, but only pursuant to a permit issued by the department. Carnivorous animals found on the state list may be removed, captured, or destroyed by any person in emergency situations involving an immediate threat to human life, but the removal, capture, or destruction shall be reported to the department within 24 hours of the act.

(6) This section does not prohibit any of the following:

(a) The importation of a trophy under a permit issued pursuant to section 10 of the endangered species act of 1973, Public Law 93-205, 16 U.S.C. 1539, which is not for resale and which was lawfully taken in a manner permitted by the laws of the state, territory, or country where the trophy was caught, taken, or killed.

(b) The taking of a threatened species when the department has determined that the abundance of the species in the state justifies a controlled harvest not in violation of federal law.

(c) Subject to any permits that may be required by the department, the possession, transfer, transportation, importation, or exportation or the transport or receipt for shipment by a common or contract carrier of a raptor or the captive-bred progeny of a raptor, a raptor egg, or raptor semen acquired in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations which allow raptors, raptor eggs, or raptor semen to be used in falconry or in the captive propagation of raptors for use in falconry.

(d) Subject to any permits that may be required by the department, the selling, offering for sale, buying, or offering to buy a raptor that was captive-bred or semen from a raptor that was captive-bred in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations which allow raptors or raptor semen to be used in falconry or in captive propagation of raptors for use in falconry.

Sec. 40107a. (1) The department shall issue an order in the manner provided in section 40107(2) establishing a season or seasons for falconers to take not more than a total of 25 live raptors per year in any combination of red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii), American kestrels (Falco sparverius), and sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus), for use in falconry. The order shall designate the numbers of raptors that may be taken and possessed and any other conditions pertaining to the taking and possession of raptors that the department considers advisable.

(2) The order shall prohibit the taking of raptors on national lakeshores and national recreation areas and all state lands. The order shall require licensed falconers to contact property owners or land managers and obtain written permission before making direct contact with any raptor nest. The order shall provide that only licensed falconers may have direct contact with the raptor nest and that a licensed falconer shall leave in a nest a minimum of 2 healthy young raptors. A licensed falconer shall report the nest location from which a raptor is taken by township, range, and section to the department within 5 business days after the raptor is taken. Within 1 year of the issuance of the order, the department shall establish a public education program regarding raptors and shall institute a study to establish survey protocols to monitor raptor populations likely to be used for falconry purposes.

(3) This section does not and an order issued under this section shall not designate any species of raptor as game. This section does not prohibit the department from determining that any species of raptor is a protected animal.

(4) This section is repealed effective 5 years after its effective date.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate.

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Approved

Governor.