Disabled vets can get free hunting, fishing licenses

Disabled veterans living in Michigan will be able to receive free hunting and fishing licenses in the state starting in March.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will allow a disabled veteran to obtain any resident hunting or fishing license free of charge. Those seeking licenses must provide proof of eligibility, and must carry proof when using the license. The offer doesn’t include hunting or fishing licenses for which a lottery is required.

The offer was made available with the passage of legislation, House Bill 5292, which Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law last week.

Under the new law, veterans must meet one of the following two requirements to qualify for a free hunting or fishing license:

• Be determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled as a result of military service and be entitled to veterans’ benefits at the 100-percent rate, for disability other than blindness; and

• Be rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be individually unemployable.

The new program to provide free licenses is a small token of the DNR’s gratitude for veterans’ sacrifice to the country, DNR License and Reservations Manager Denise Gruben stated in a press release.

“We want veterans to be full participants in outdoor sports,” she said. “We’re pleased to make these licenses available to qualifying veterans.”