A federal judge recently dismissed a case that alleged a conservation officer with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources fabricated evidence and infringed on the property rights of two central Michigan residents.
Last November, the DNR received a complaint about Daynelle and Dennis Vanderlaan while they were in their deer tent in Newaygo County.
Conservation Officer Cameron Wright was investigating the complaint made by their neighbor, when he approached the couple in their deer tent.
Wright asked the couple for their deer licenses. Daynelle can be heard on a video of the encounter saying "you shouldn't be on my property harassing me during my hunt" and went on to describe the encounter as "ridiculous."
Wright continued to question the couples' motive for hunting, citing a harassment incident the Vanderlaan's had with the same neighbor who made the complaint in the year prior.
“This is why I'm here. You guys have never hunted before. Last year you harassed the same exact person. I know about the neighbor issues going on," Wright can be heard saying during the encounter. "Suddenly you're sitting right here on the corner, acting all smart and pissed off. We all know exactly what you're doing.”
The Vanderlaan's said they were simply trying to hunt, and Wright said he was going to report them for harassment.
The couple ultimately filed a lawsuit, claiming Wright was fabricating evidence and infringing on their property rights.
Judge Robert J. Jonker for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan concluded that the Vanderlaan's did not provide sufficient evidence to prove Officer Wright was guilty of either claim.
"The Court agrees with Defendant Wright that the Vanderlaans have not plausibly alleged Defendant Wright fabricated evidence," Jonker wrote in his opinion. "Both sides reference case law and elements that more properly apply to fabrication claims arising under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment than claims under the Fourth Amendment."
Jonker also wrote the Vanderlaan's assertions were "blatantly contradicted" in the video evidence of the encounter.
The Vanderlaan's attorney, Philip L. Ellison, said the couple is appealing the federal case and that a similar lawsuit is pending in state court.
The state case is challenging Michigan's Open Fields Doctrine that allows DNR officers to enter private land without a warrant under certain circumstances.
"Government has always taken the position that they can go out into people's farm fields, hunting fields, the back 40 if you will, without the need of a warrant, even though it's not public land," Ellison told WCMU. "We are challenging that doctrine here in Michigan as being a violation of the Michigan Constitution."
Conservation officers and have been under fire recently. Ted Nugent, a Michigan rock artist known for his hits like "Cat Scratch Fever," testified at a House committee hearing in June of 2025. Nugent advocated for major changes in hunting and conservation law, saying Michigan conservation is "going down the toilet".
"These atrocities and abuses of powers are so wide spread," Nugent said, referring to hunting and property laws that he claims infringes on Michiganders rights. "The DNR and the NRC (Natural Resources Commission) are the enemies of conservation in Michigan."
DNR officials responded to Nugent's passionate testimony saying it was "insulting" and "misguided."
The state House passed a set of bills last fall that would limit the powers conservation officers have when entering private land. The legislation has yet to pass in the Senate.
WCMU's Rural Life and Agriculture reporting is made possible through the generous support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
