Home › Michigan › Public land › Commercial Forest Lands
Commercial Forest
Commercial Forest Program Lands public hunting, 2026-27
Commercial Forest Program Lands, more than 2.2 million acres in Alger, Allegan, Antrim, Baraga and 40 more counties: deer units and zones, area rules, county harvest and the land nearby.
Photo: aka Kath (CC BY 2.0)
What the records say about Commercial Forest Lands
On the map Commercial Forest Program Lands sits in Alger, Allegan, Antrim, Baraga and 40 more counties. On paper it is a private forest open to foot access under the Commercial Forest program. Stewardship falls to private owners in the Commercial Forest program. The figure on file: more than 2.2 million acres.
From the source page (DNR Commercial Forest page: "More than 2.2 million acres"); region from the DNR wildlife region layer. Checked October 22, 2026.
What Commercial Forest Lands asks of hunters
Commercial Forest Lands access terms
Published access rule: Commercial Forest lands are open to public foot traffic for hunting, trapping and fishing; other activities need landowner permission. Lands are not posted and may be fenced or gated – a fence or gate does not prohibit foot access. Owners may restrict access during logging. Not allowed: littering, camping, cutting shooting lanes or vegetation, nails/bolts/tree steps, leaving stands or blinds, building blinds or structures (except from dead material on the ground), target shooting or sighting in, ORVs/vehicles.
The statewide fine print, applied to Commercial Forest Lands
- Orange season runs Aug. 15 to April 30. Exempt: archery deer and bear, turkey, falconry and migratory birds other than woodcock.
- Use the Hunt Fish app or the DNR harvest report page within 72 hours for deer and turkey.
- The Lower Peninsula baiting and feeding ban covers its LP counties; in its UP counties deer bait is legal Sept. 15-Jan. 1, up to 2 gallons.
What licenses Commercial Forest Lands needs
The base license covers small game; deer hunters pick a single or combo license at purchase, and universal antlerless licenses follow the use limit where you hunt.
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.
What hunters chase at Commercial Forest Lands
Nothing narrows the game at Commercial Forest Lands: the county season rows and zone units below are the guide.
For Marquette County the regulation summaries carry 47 dated hunting rows covering 23 species, among them White-tailed deer, Black bear, Wild turkey, Ruffed grouse and Woodcock.
Species from the source (Public foot access for hunting, trapping and fishing; all open seasons.); bag limits from the DNR regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Every hunt that reaches Marquette County
For Marquette County, 47 segments cover deer, small game, waterfowl and furbearers this license year.
| Species | Hunt type | Zone or unit | Opening | Closing | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Muzzleloader | Upper Peninsula | Dec 4, 2026 | Dec 6, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Amasa BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Baraga BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Carney BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 1 | Gwinn BMU | Sep 9, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Amasa BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Baraga BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Carney BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 2 | Gwinn BMU | Sep 14, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Amasa BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Baraga BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Carney BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Black bear | Hunt period 3 | Gwinn BMU | Sep 25, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | |
| Wild turkey | Fall | Fall unit M | 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 | Pheasant Zone 1 unit | Oct 10, 2026 | Oct 31, 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 | North Zone | Sep 26, 2026 | Nov 22, 2026 | |
| Ducks | Split 2 | North Zone | Nov 28, 2026 | Nov 29, 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 | North Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| Light geese | Light goose part 1 | North Zone | Sep 1, 2026 | Dec 16, 2026 | |
| 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 | |
| Bobcat | Hunting | Bobcat Unit A | Jan 1, 2027 | 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.
The Commercial Forest Lands table
17,140 active parcels (2,166,342 GIS acres) in 50 counties are open to foot traffic. The Upper Peninsula dominates: Marquette, Baraga and Ontonagon come first. Use the county PDF lists to find enrolled parcels.
From the source, DNR GIS, experience.arcgis.com. Checked October 22, 2026.
Mandatory reporting numbers for the Commercial Forest Lands area
Deer reported in Marquette County for 2025: 1,502. The reporting era peaked at 2,087 in 2022 and bottomed at 1,248 in 2023. The starred 2026 bar (223) is partial. 92 spring turkeys were reported in Marquette County in 2026. Of the counties Commercial Forest Lands touches, Marquette comes first; its figures follow. No harvest is published for Commercial Forest Lands itself, so county and DMU totals are the finest level.
Reported deer around Commercial Forest Lands
| Year | Antlered | Antlerless | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026* | 175 | 48 | 223 |
| 2025 | 1,241 | 261 | 1,502 |
| 2024 | 1,512 | 154 | 1,666 |
| 2023 | 1,126 | 122 | 1,248 |
| 2022 | 1,836 | 251 | 2,087 |
Marquette County turkey table
| Measure | Birds |
|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | 92 |
| Fall so far | 22 |
| Fall 2025 estimate | 46 |
| Hunters, fall 2025 | 195 |
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.
Commercial Forest Lands: nearby towns and businesses
Covered towns come first, measured straight-line, then shops, processors and DNR desks.
County write-ups on this site: Alger County, Allegan County, Antrim County, Baraga County, Barry County, Benzie County, Berrien County, Cass County, Charlevoix County, Cheboygan County.
Butcher shops and taxidermists for Commercial Forest Lands trips
Agency offices closest to Commercial Forest Lands
Service center for Marquette County: DNR Marquette Customer Service Center.
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.
Legal shooting light at Commercial Forest Lands
Deer hunters at Marquette County get legal light from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, read from the DNR table for the date.
| 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.
Commercial Forest Lands questions with data-backed answers
Which Michigan licenses do I need for Commercial Forest Lands?
eLicense or the Hunt Fish app sells everything needed; nonresidents pay $151 for the base license.
Are screw-in steps allowed on Commercial Forest Lands?
No permanent stands or blinds, no tree steps, nails or cutting.
Who writes the rules for Commercial Forest Lands?
Private owners in the Commercial Forest program treats it as a private forest open to foot access under the Commercial Forest program.
Is Commercial Forest land posted?
No camping.
Which part of Michigan does Commercial Forest Lands cover?
Its acres fall in Alger, Allegan, Antrim, Baraga and 40 more counties.
What is the acreage figure for Commercial Forest Lands?
Roughly more than 2.2 million acres.
Does the deer baiting rule allow bait at Commercial Forest Lands?
No: the Lower Peninsula ban covers it. Free-ranging deer from Allegan, Dickinson and Kent counties have tested positive since 2015.
What game does Commercial Forest Lands hold, per the DNR?
Any species in an open season, as long as you follow the area rules.
How do I report a deer from Commercial Forest Lands?
Within 72 hours, online or in the Hunt Fish app; keep the confirmation number.
Is hunter orange required on Commercial Forest Lands?
Aug. 15 through April 30, in daylight shooting hours.
Commercial Forest Lands: what to confirm
Refuges, closures and drawing schedules at Commercial Forest Lands can change during the season; the agency page and Mi-HUNT have the current picture.
Sources for this page: Michigan DNR · DNR GIS · experience.arcgis.com: b773f1eb07ee48a9bc18ad89bde37571; regulations from the 2026 Michigan hunting regulation summaries. Checked October 22, 2026.
Other photos on this page: rkramer62 (CC BY 2.0); seabamirum (CC BY 2.0).