Government

Want to keep roadkill? Bill would make it easier

By |

By BECKY McKENDRY
Capital News Service
LANSING – Sen. Darwin Booher, R-Evart, wants you to keep your roadkill – please. A bill by Booher and Sen. John Pappageorge, R-Troy, would relax the rules for claiming roadkill. Booher said he drafted the bill after constituents asked for simpler, quicker protocol than current Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requirements. “Some people said they’d see animals lying on the side of the road that they could use in their compost piles instead of stinking up the side of the road,” he said. “Why not make it easier?”
The bill would give first dibs to the driver who hits the animal.

Business & Economy

On the road, are dead deer cash cows?

By |

By LAUREN GENTILE
Capital News Service
LANSING – When dusk hits, it’s time for Russ Stoddard’s business to begin because the combination of deer and vehicles keeps him busy all fall long. “November is easily the busiest month of the year,” said Stoddard, owner of Michigan Highway Hazard Recovery, a private cleanup company in Capac. “We can get sometimes up to 100 per day.”
Stoddard is contracted to clean up deer and other animal roadkill in several counties across the state, including Oakland, Kalamazoo, Allegan, Calhoun, St. Joseph, Branch and Berrien. Oakland was one of the top five counties for deer-vehicle accidents in 2011, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.