The Upper Peninsula will have a license quota of 2,200 for the upcoming fall turkey hunt, with licenses available on a first-come first-served basis starting Aug. 15, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Upper Peninsula will have a license quota of 2,200 for the upcoming fall turkey hunt, with licenses available on a first-come first-served basis starting Aug. 15, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday.

The limit is one license per hunter, valid for one bird of either sex on public and private lands, within the U.P.

There will be no application period. Licenses can be purchased online at eLicense, through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app or at a license retailer. Licenses will go on sale at 10 a.m. Eastern time Aug. 15.

For hunters in the Lower Peninsula, excluding Monroe County, an unlimited number of licenses will be available. The purchase limit is one license per hunter.

The season runs from Sept. 15 through Nov. 14 statewide. Formerly, Michigan had 11 units and a license drawing for the fall season. The Upper Peninsula fall turkey license quota in 2024 was 1,500.

“This update simplifies the process and improves access while still supporting healthy turkey populations and hunting opportunities,” the DNR states in a news release. “It also reflects the shift in focus for the fall season — from population control to providing more recreational opportunity.”

Adam Bump, upland bird specialist in the DNR’s Wildlife Division, says past fall seasons have shown that the harvest doesn’t have a substantial impact on the population.

“It’s a dramatic streamlining of the regulations and its increases flexibility,” he told Outdoor News as the license changes were discussed in the spring. “The only downside is for the few people who take more than one bird. They would lose that opportunity.”

In the past, leftover turkey tags could be purchased in the fall, making it possible to take more than one bird.

Changes for the fall season were approved by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in May.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.