By Glen Wunderlich Outdoor Columnist Member Professional Outdoor Media Association
With all the concern about bovine TB and Chronic Wasting Disease in Michigan – including the 2007 TB scare in Bennington Township – some citizens believe the DNR overreacted when it banned deer feeding/baiting in the Southern Lower Peninsula. I am not necessarily one of those, but nonetheless, felt somewhat victimized by the recreational feeding ban. Like any other lawful caretaker of the natural resources, I obliged and went one step further.
The DNR indicated it would test a certain amount of road-killed deer and asked that hunters voluntarily submit deer heads for disease testing, as well. Doing so is not always easy, but when we harvested deer on New Year’s Eve and another on New Year’s Day, I was compelled to help the DNR in its quest for knowledge – especially in light of the fact that one of the deer showed suspicious signs of some type of lung ailment.
About a week after processing the two animals, I took time off to head for the Rose Lake DNR facility and met a desk jockey there. The staff informed me that I couldn’t receive deer cooperator patches and I let them know that wasn’t the reason for my visit; I wanted to know what was wrong with one of the deer. A gentleman then filled out the requisite forms after I gave him the precise location of the kills. He tagged the heads and gave me two claim checks: numbers 288630 and 288631.
Approximately two weeks later, I entered https://secure1.state.mi.us/testresults on a search engine to follow up on the results at the MDNR Wildlife Disease Lab (the url is listed on the tags; How convenient!) After carefully entering the specimen numbers and my driver’s license number, no records were found for either number. Hmmmm. I then emailed Jean Fierke at fierkej@michigan.gov, because that’s what the site’s instructions advised. (There was also a phone number, but for the time being, I took the easy way out.) No response.
Then, while at the MUCC’s Outdoorama in late February, I strolled along an aisle and noticed a booth manned by uniformed DNR officials. Hmmmm again. I happened to have those two tags with me and a very polite and seemingly helpful agent plugged those numbers into the computer, along with my driver’s license number. Again, no record found. He even tried both tag numbers. Same result.
The helpful servant then telephoned the same Jean Fierke in Lansing, as I mentioned to him that I had emailed her with no response. He gave the phone to me and I ran off the driver’s license number to her and finished the conversation by giving her my telephone number before ending the discussion. The DNR representative at the show then explained how good their tracking system was and I went on my way after spending about a half hour of my life with them.
From the first of January to the first of May seems like a fair amount of time to answer an email or make a telephone call but maybe that’s just me. However, the next time the DNR pleads for hunting or fishing license fees, maybe I’ll have a talk with them. That is, if anyone cares to listen.
