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2026-27 · Managed waterfowl unit
A hunter's look at Harsens Island Unit (St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area)
Who runs it, which DMU and bear unit cover it, what it lists (ducks and geese, Canada geese and ducks), and the public land and towns around it in St. Clair County.
Photo: alyssaBLACK. (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Getting to Harsens Island Unit (St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area)
Parking, trailheads and gates near Harsens Island Unit (St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area)
- Parking areaParking · 1.2 mi from the centreDirections
- Snooks Highway DNR PWC Water AccessBoat ramp · 1.3 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Parking areaParking · 2.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Decker's Landing Boat LaunchBoat ramp · 2.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Decker's Landing Boat LaunchBoat ramp · 2.7 mi from the centreDirections
- Ames Boating Access SiteParking · 3.1 mi from the centreDirections
- Ames Road Boat LaunchBoat ramp · 3.2 mi from the centreDirections
Parking, trailhead and gate locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors. Roads into public land can be gated or seasonal; check with the managing agency before you go.
Harsens Island Unit in short
Classed as a managed waterfowl unit inside a DNR wildlife property, Harsens Island Unit (St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area) is found in St. Clair County. The Southeast Lower Peninsula Region of the DNR looks after this part of southeast Michigan. Day-to-day care of the ground falls to the DNR Wildlife Division. 3,355 acres are counted for it. No point is published for it, so distances here run from the parent property; Pearl Beach is the closest town page. Look up St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area for the wider property.
From the source page (Wetland Wonders page (area description)); region from the DNR wildlife region layer. Checked October 22, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Harsens Island Unit (St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area)
Harsens Island Unit: species and bag limits
For Harsens Island Unit the record lists ducks and geese, Canada geese and ducks.
The St. Clair County season table below covers everything else.
Species from the source (Wetland Wonders page (species harvested / present).); bag limits from the DNR regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Special hunt rules for Harsens Island Unit
Daily drawings for free hunting zone permits throughout the open waterfowl season. The reserved hunts on opening weekend (4 sessions) are drawn from applications. Veterans preference drawing days: Pointe Mouillee Nov. 10; Fish Point, Harsens Island, Nayanquing Point and Shiawassee River Nov. 11; Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center Nov. 12. Deer hunting here includes a special or reserved hunt (Harsens Island (810-748-9504)).
Daily draws at Harsens Island Unit
Morning hunts: Daily at 5:30 a.m. (Reserved hunt opening weekend of duck season.) Afternoon hunts: Daily at 11:30 a.m. (Reserved hunt opening weekend of duck season.)
Youth days on the area: Oct. 17 (p.m.) reserved; Nov. 7 (p.m.) nonreserved.
Harsens Island Unit: reserved hunts by drawing
| Day | Session | Parties | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 17 | a.m. | 35 | 0001 |
| Oct. 17 | p.m., youth* | 35 | 0002 |
| Oct. 18 | a.m. | 35 | 0003 |
| Oct. 18 | p.m. | 35 | 0004 |
From the DNR waterfowl summary, Wetland Wonders page, deer summary. Checked October 22, 2026.
Harsens Island Unit: DMU, BMU and turkey unit
With no outline for Harsens Island Unit, its zones come from St. Clair County. Harsens Island Unit falls in Zone 3, Southern Lower Peninsula. Old maps show the Limited Firearm Deer Zone here. The 2026 rules removed it, opening all legal firearms in the Lower Peninsula. Early and late antlerless firearm hunts run in St. Clair County. Turkey: spring unit ZZ, fall unit I; spring 2027 dates are not published yet. It is South Zone waterfowl ground (Oct 17-Dec 13 and Dec 26-Dec 27).
Bear units that cover Harsens Island Unit
| Bear unit | Hunt periods | Licenses | Resident points | 2025 registered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dansville | Closed to bear | – | – | – |
Turkey units, Harsens Island Unit
| Unit | Turkeys | When |
|---|---|---|
| Spring ZZ | 13,292 | Unit total, spring |
| Fall I | 822 | Unit total so far |
Zones from the DNR 2026 zone layers as recorded in lands.json; DMU status and APR from the Wildlife Conservation Order; use limits from the 2026 deer summary; BMU hunts and quotas from the 2026 bear summary and bear registration data; turkey from the DNR turkey harvest report; CWD lists from the DNR CWD rules. Checked October 22, 2026.
Harsens Island Unit on the map with its neighbors
Harsens Island Unit has no published coordinates, so it gets no pin of its own; the list runs from the stand-in point. The tracts on the map total 21,224 acres.
| Name | Type | Size (ac) | Away | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Marsh | State wildlife area | 3,059 | 4.7 mi | northeast |
| Salt River Marsh | State wildlife area | 60 | 7.7 mi | northwest |
| Algonac | State park | 1,376 | 7.8 mi | northeast |
| Chesterfield Township | State game area | 142 | 9.9 mi | northwest |
| W.C. Wetzel | Recreation area | 911 | 14 mi | northwest |
| St. Clair Township | State game area | 112 | 18 mi | north |
| Bald Mountain | Recreation area | 4,519 | 31 mi | west |
| Port Huron | State game area | 6,869 | 31 mi | north |
| Horseshoe Lake | State game area | 419 | 36 mi | northwest |
| Pontiac Lake | Recreation area | 3,757 | 42 mi | west |
Points from the DNR wildlife, GEMS, parks, forest, USFS, USFWS and NPS layers (no point published). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Harsens Island Unit rules and licenses
Access rules for Harsens Island Unit
Harsens Island Unit runs daily drawings for free hunting zone permits through the waterfowl season. The rest of the year it follows its parent area.
Blind, stand and baiting law for Harsens Island Unit
- Public-land stands: portable, set no earlier than Sept. 1, removed by March 1, labelled with your name and address or Sportcard number, and nothing driven into the bark.
- A portable blind leaves with you each day; a blind of dead natural material needs no ID; a constructed blind needs ID and is not allowed on Zone 3 game areas, parks or recreation areas.
- Michigan law asks for hunter orange from Aug. 15 to April 30, visible from all sides when deer hunting with a firearm; archers in archery season are exempt.
- Report a deer or a turkey within 72 hours of recovery, online or in the Hunt Fish app, and keep the confirmation number.
- Stay 150 yards off occupied buildings with a firearm unless you hold written permission.
- Leave the seed at home; food plots are banned on public land.
- The Lower Peninsula baiting and feeding ban applies here.
Harsens Island Unit license list
eLicense and the Hunt Fish app sell everything here. Choose a single deer or deer combo license when you buy; antlerless licenses come over the counter.
Access from the source page; public-land stand, blind, safety-zone and food-plot rules from the DNR deer regulations summary; hunter orange from MCL 324.40116; prices from the 2026 license fee tables. Checked October 22, 2026.
Harsens Island Unit dates from September to March
Harsens Island Unit is in Lower Peninsula Zone 3. The 44 rows below are the dated hunts the DNR summaries put there.
| Game | Season | Where | Begins | Through | Right now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White-tailed deer | Early antlerless firearm | Listed antlerless county | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Liberty Hunt | Statewide | Sep 12, 2026 | Sep 13, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Archery, early | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Independence Hunt | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Regular firearm | Statewide | Nov 15, 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Archery, late | Statewide | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| White-tailed deer | December firearm | Lower Peninsula | Dec 4, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| White-tailed deer | Late antlerless firearm | Listed antlerless county | Dec 7, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Fall unit I | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Ruffed grouse | Fall first part | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Ruffed grouse | Fall second part | Statewide | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Woodcock | Fall | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Oct 29, 2026 | |
| Pheasant | Fall | Zone 3 | Oct 20, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Pheasant | December | Zone 3 | Dec 1, 2026 | Jan 1, 2027 | |
| Bobwhite quail | Fall | Open quail county | Oct 20, 2026 | Nov 14, 2026 | |
| Fox and gray squirrel | Private-land season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | |
| Fox and gray squirrel | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Cottontail | Private-land season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 14, 2026 | |
| Cottontail | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Snowshoe hare | Regular | Statewide | Sep 15, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Crow | Summer | Statewide | Aug 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Crow | Late winter | Statewide | Feb 1, 2027 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Teal | Early teal | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 9, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 1 | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 2 | South Zone | Dec 26, 2026 | Dec 27, 2026 | |
| Waterfowl | Veterans days | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Waterfowl | Youth weekend | Statewide | Sep 19, 2026 | Sep 20, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 1 | South Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 2 | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 3 | South Zone | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Dark geese | Dark goose part 4 | South Zone | Feb 6, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 1 | South Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 2 | South Zone | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 13, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 3 | South Zone | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 3, 2027 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 4 | South Zone | Feb 6, 2027 | Feb 15, 2027 | |
| Raccoon | Management season | Statewide | Apr 1, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | |
| Raccoon | Hunting | Statewide | Oct 1, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | |
| Red and gray fox | Hunting | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Mar 1, 2027 | |
| Coyote | Management season | Statewide | Mar 2, 2026 | Oct 14, 2026 | |
| Coyote | Regular hunting | Statewide | Oct 15, 2026 | Mar 1, 2027 | |
| Feral swine | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Opossum | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Skunk | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
| Woodchuck | Year-round | Statewide | Year-round | Year-round | Year-round |
From the Michigan Department of Natural Resources 2026 hunting regulation summaries (deer, bear, elk, turkey, small game, waterfowl and furbearer editions), checked October 22, 2026.
Mandatory reporting numbers for the Harsens Island Unit area
St. Clair County hunters reported 6,128 deer in 2025, 3,125 of them antlered. Yearly totals swing between 5,670 and 6,346. 1,452 deer reported so far in 2026. CWD testing in St. Clair County, 2022: 314 wild deer tested, 0 positive. The 2026 spring turkey count for St. Clair County is 328. The DNR reports by county and DMU, not by property; read these as the picture around Harsens Island Unit.
St. Clair County antlered and antlerless
| Year | Antlered | Antlerless | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026* | 653 | 799 | 1,452 |
| 2025 | 3,125 | 3,003 | 6,128 |
| 2024 | 3,300 | 3,046 | 6,346 |
| 2023 | 3,190 | 2,480 | 5,670 |
| 2022 | 3,525 | 2,614 | 6,139 |
St. Clair County CWD sampling
| Year | Tested | Positives |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 314 | 0 |
Turkey figures, St. Clair County
| Item | Count |
|---|---|
| Reported, spring 2026 | 328 |
| Fall 2026 to date | 17 |
| Survey, fall 2025 | 126 |
| Fall hunters 2025 | 381 |
Deer from the DNR Harvest Report Summary (mandatory reporting; 2026 season to date); CWD from the DNR CWD testing data; turkeys from the turkey harvest report and the 2025 fall survey. Checked October 22, 2026.
Harsens Island Unit: related and parent records
Within St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area there are 1 units with pages, this one included.
Towns and shops that serve Harsens Island Unit hunters
The nearest towns with pages of their own, then the businesses that serve this ground.
| Town | County | Straight line | 2024 pop. | Public acres near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearl Beach | St. Clair | 4.6 mi | – | 33,525 |
| New Baltimore | Macomb | 7.3 mi | 12,132 | 28,765 |
| Mount Clemens | Macomb | 11 mi | 15,480 | 9,557 |
| Marine City | St. Clair | 12 mi | 4,006 | 10,896 |
Counties this land touches, with pages: St. Clair County.
Gun shops and processors that serve Harsens Island Unit
DNR and federal desks that cover Harsens Island Unit
The DNR customer service center for St. Clair County is DNR Detroit Customer Service Center, 313-396-6890.
Towns and populations from Census 2024 estimates; public acres within 10 miles from the land layers; businesses from store locators and listings (license-only agents left out); offices from DNR, USFS and USFWS pages. Checked October 22, 2026. Call ahead.
Harsens Island Unit: shooting hours by date
Every time below comes from the DNR deer table; the B, C and D columns add the offsets printed on the zone map legend.
| Date | Moment | Zone A hours | Zone B hours | Zone C hours | Zone D hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | Archery opener | 6:59 a.m. to 7:46 p.m. | 7:05 a.m. to 7:52 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 7:58 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 8:04 p.m. |
| Oct 15, 2026 | Independence Hunt | 7:15 a.m. to 7:24 p.m. | 7:21 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. | 7:27 a.m. to 7:36 p.m. | 7:33 a.m. to 7:42 p.m. |
| Nov 15, 2026 | Firearm opener | 6:53 a.m. to 5:48 p.m. | 6:59 a.m. to 5:54 p.m. | 7:05 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. | 7:11 a.m. to 6:06 p.m. |
| Nov 30, 2026 | Firearm close | 7:11 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. | 7:17 a.m. to 5:46 p.m. | 7:23 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. | 7:29 a.m. to 5:58 p.m. |
| Dec 5, 2026 | December hunts | 7:16 a.m. to 5:39 p.m. | 7:22 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. | 7:28 a.m. to 5:51 p.m. | 7:34 a.m. to 5:57 p.m. |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Late archery close | 7:31 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. | 7:37 a.m. to 5:46 p.m. | 7:43 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. | 7:49 a.m. to 5:58 p.m. |
Zone A times from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer hunting hours table, zone offsets from the DNR hunting hours map legend, checked October 22, 2026. Hunting hours for every zone.
Harsens Island Unit questions, answered from the data
What is on the game list at Harsens Island Unit?
The agency names ducks and geese, Canada geese and ducks; other legal game follows the county dates.
Can I hunt bear at Harsens Island Unit?
Dansville BMU. Dansville: no bear hunting.
Can I hunt turkeys at Harsens Island Unit?
Yes, unit ZZ in spring and I in fall.
Which duck zone is Harsens Island Unit in?
Waterfowl zone: South. Non-toxic shot is required for waterfowl statewide.
Has CWD been found near Harsens Island Unit?
Banned, as everywhere in the Lower Peninsula. No free-ranging deer from this county has tested positive since 2015.
Is hunter pink legal at Harsens Island Unit?
Archers in archery seasons are exempt, but not during a firearm deer season.
Where do I report game taken on Harsens Island Unit?
Report deer and turkeys within 72 hours through the DNR site or app.
Do stands need ID at Harsens Island Unit?
Sept. 1 through the end of the deer seasons.
Does Harsens Island Unit need any permit beyond my licenses?
Your Michigan licenses; no landowner permission on public ground.
Is there a drawing at Harsens Island Unit?
By drawing for a free hunting zone permit on drawing days during the waterfowl season.
What public ground borders or neighbors Harsens Island Unit?
The closest alternatives are St. John's Marsh State Wildlife Area (5 miles), Salt River Marsh State Wildlife Area (8 miles) and Algonac State Park (8 miles).
What parent record covers Harsens Island Unit?
St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area is the larger record.
How does the record classify Harsens Island Unit?
Managed waterfowl unit inside a DNR wildlife property, under the DNR Wildlife Division.
Before you drive to Harsens Island Unit
Use this page as a start: the manager of Harsens Island Unit has the final word on closures and maps.
Sources for this page: Michigan DNR: harsens island · Michigan DNR: wetland wonders; regulations from the 2026 Michigan hunting regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Other photos on this page: judithjackson957 (CC BY 2.0); Peter Sheik (CC BY 2.0).