Congratulations are in order for Michigan’s deer hunters in the northwest Lower Peninsula for a vote to strengthen the declining, unbalanced whitetail deer herd. By an overwhelming majority, deer hunters in the 12-county area, which includes Charlevoix, Emmet, Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Missaukee, Mason, Osceola and Wexford counties, have approved antler-point restrictions (APR). Next on the agenda is for the Natural Resources Commission to address the approval of the issue at its spring meeting.
The concept is modeled after DMU 045 in Leelanau County where three antler points per one side are a minimum under the current combo tag. However, for those hunters still wishing to kill lesser bucks, that option will remain, but they will only be allowed one buck deer per season. Therefore, everyone is to be accommodated under the new arrangement, but that doesn’t mean crybabies won’t cry.
Just what is their concern? Apparently, it is not the well-being of the deer herd. While some people believe that the regulations will favor trophy hunters – and, it very well may – it also will begin a transformation of management from sheer numbers to quality. That, my friends, will bode well for the herd in the long run, and thus, the same for today’s whiners.
We have to look no further than adjoining Leelanau County, where the system has been in place long enough to produce some startling results. Where once over 60 percent of its buck kill comprised of yearlings (adolescent bucks 1 ½ years of age), that figure currently is only 32 percent. The other 68 percent is made up of mature bucks broken down as follows: 29 percent of bucks taken are now 2 ½ years old and a whopping 39 percent are 3 ½ years of age or older. These decided results speak for themselves.
The grass-roots concept was developed by hunters – hunters that have been tired of seeing only does and small bucks. As part of the system, the DNR requires a follow-up vote five years after implementation. Guess what? After the rule change, hunters voted 72 percent in favor of keeping the APR in Leelanau County simply because there was no argument as to its effectiveness.
Not only is there a better, more natural buck to doe ratio, but the better age structure means that yearling bucks are no longer the primary breeders. Better genetics mean healthier deer. Period.
Michigan hunters rank at the top of the heap in the entire nation for killing yearling bucks. Not surprisingly, we also kill fewer adult bucks (those 2 ½ years or older) than any other state expressed as a percentage of the total buck kill.
Is it any wonder that our citizens often travel to neighboring states such as Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, etc. to hunt deer?
It’s difficult to predict if the movement toward better deer and better hunting will sweep the entire state, but we are well on the way. Maybe – just maybe – some of our lost hunting revenue will return to Michigan, if we are able to set aside short-term satisfaction in exchange for a long-term vision.
