As publishedZone 1: Oct 10-31, 2026; Zone 2 & 3: Oct 20-Nov 14, 2026; Zone 3 December unit: Dec 1, 2026-Jan 1, 2027
Zone 1 (Upper Peninsula, Menominee County + portions of Delta/Dickinson/Iron/Marquette): Oct 10-31. Zone 2 (Lower Peninsula): Oct 20-Nov 14. Zone 3 (Lower Peninsula, entire zone = the 'December pheasant management unit'): Oct 20-Nov 14 AND Dec 1-Jan 1. Males only. $25 pheasant license required for hunters 18+ on Lower Peninsula public lands or Hunting Access Program lands (exempt: private land, UP public land, preserve hunters, hunters 17 and under). 13 state game/wildlife areas in southern MI receive pheasant releases for both the Oct 20-Nov 14 and Dec 1-Jan 1 windows in 2026.
Same Pheasant/Quail Cooperators survey (since 1999) as bobwhite quail — an in-season hunter-reported flush-count instrument, not a discrete pre-season forecast document. Active monitoring, no dated pre-season report exists to cite.