By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

Management of Michigan’s deer herd is rife with challenges.  In our Southern zone, we have too many deer, while in the Northern reaches, the herd continues its worrisome decline.

The mandatory reporting system has given wildlife managers a necessary look into variables affecting the herd’s population and that’s a good place to start.  After all, we must understand the big picture if ever we want to do our part as wildlife managers.

To effect positive change, the DNR has said that hunters, wildlife managers, landowners, foresters and others need to cooperate.  Knowing the status is the first step in any successful management process.

The reported deer harvest for the entire state is down compared to last year by a total of 11 percent or almost 30,000 deer.  The harvest in Michigan as of December 5, 2023 (all deer seasons) decreased compared to the autumn of 2022 by 26 percent in the Upper Peninsula, 16 percent in the northern Lower Peninsula and 7 percent in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Relative issues of deer management in the Upper Peninsula include the following:

*  All 15 U.P. counties have recorded drops (all deer seasons) below last year.  Declines range from 10.9 percent in Mackinac County to 40.6 percent in Gogebic, Marquette at 40.1 percent and Ontonagon 42.2 percent.  Even in those three counties predicted to have good harvest numbers – Menominee, Delta and Dickinson counties – posted declines of 18.2 percent, 20.7 percent and 26 percent respectively.

*   Though legal in the U.P., feeding deer spreads diseases, causes social strife, kills deer through corn and toxic reactions to high carbohydrates and likely increases deer mortality by drawing deer away from deer-wintering complexes and into poor winter habitat.  Hunters could advocate for eliminating supplemental feeding of deer.

*  Predators (including wolves), winter weather, habitat quality, changes to deer harvest regulations, declining hunter numbers and changes in timber harvest all play a combined role in changes to the deer population in the Upper Peninsula.

*  Although the DNR predicts the deer numbers will rebound, there is one caveat:  weather.   Since 1996, the U.P. has experienced more than three times as many severe winters than between 1980 and 1996, along with three instances of back-to-back and two instances of three consecutive severe winters.  Severe winters are those with more than 90 days with snow depth of a foot or more.

*  Contrary to what some believe, wolves are not the main predator on fawns and fawn survival is what drives the deer population changes in most years. Other fawn predators include coyotes, bears and bobcats.  Removing wolves from protected status would help, but one judge in Washington D.C. has ruled against allowing states to manage their wolf populations.

Issues of the Southern Lower Peninsula’s deer abundance include the following:

*  The main issue is not enough does are taken.

*  Hunter participation continues a downward slide statewide and has declined at an accelerated pace.  The current level of youth recruitment is the lowest we have recorded since 1995.   If this annual rate of decline continues, the number of youth hunters will be cut in half in less than 10 years.

*  Bipartisan legislation was introduced in both chambers of the Michigan legislature that would create an elective program for Michigan school districts to host hunter and firearms safety programs within their schools.

Senate Bill 664, sponsored by Sen. Jon Bumstead (R-North Muskegon), and House Bill 5334, sponsored by Rep. Curt Vanderwall (R-Ludington) are both supported by the Michigan DNR and Department of Education.  However, the legislature has adjourned for the remainder of 2023.

*  Hunters need to properly identify their intended targets when attempting to take does.  Although 13,181 adult does have been taken (before late antlerless season), far too many mistakes have been made.  A total of 7,224 buck fawns and adult bucks having shed antlers were mistakenly killed by hunters and that doesn’t include the current late-antlerless season figures.  It would behoove all hunters to use good optics before guessing.

Certainly, there are conditions beyond our control but we hunters also have much needed room for improvement.

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

 

If there is a sacred moment in the ethical pursuit of game, it is the moment you release the arrow or touch off the fatal shot…Jim Posewitz, hunter/author.

After sitting out the entire archery deer season, regular firearms season, and muzzleloader season, the time had arrived to get in the game. After more than 50 years in the pursuit of whitetail bucks each year, a new paradigm in deer management had begun to take shape in an effort to reduce the deer herd. The late antlerless deer season presented the opportunity to go beyond talking points; it was time to walk the walk.

Even though my Ruger American rifle .450 Bushmaster caliber had been zeroed in months before, I had to verify it was still on target. Originally, it had been set up to maximize point-blank range, but since I decided to limit potential shots to 100 yards, a slight adjustment in elevation was achieved. I was out to gain the requisite confidence of the marksman that I am and the mission was accomplished in short order.

Hunting from a brushed-in Cabela’s Zonz hub blind atop a 10×10 platform at ground level would become the perfect ambush site for well-established travel patterns. A homemade bipod designed particularly for the blind’s shooting-window height was fashioned for stabilizing the firearm for the sacred moment to follow.

Weather and wind were also considerations. The blind was intentionally erected to face east, as an option to most others facing the prevailing western winds. Nighttime temperatures were not predicted to be below the freezing mark for several days, which would make for good weather to hang an unlucky deer, while a southeast wind cooperated with the concept.

With a couple hours of daylight remaining, the first whitetail emerged from a woodlot. The Leupold BX-4 binocular confirmed it was a small buck fawn carelessly intent on browsing available alfalfa and clover. As others began to follow the youngster, I studied each of them and discovered that at least two of them were bucks with shed their antlers and were to be avoided. Aside from fawns and antlerless bucks, a yearling doe was among the group; however, I was holding out for a trophy doe, if ever there was such a thing.

Another doe appeared to be the dominant animal in the group, as it chased one of the antlerless bucks from its presence. No doubt in my mind, this was the keeper I sought.

The doe moved farther into the opening almost directly in front of me some 60 yards away. It was extremely cautious, as most mature does are, when it paused to stare in my direction. Not knowing whether she had picked me off, and not wanting the wise deer to alert others, the crosshairs were settled onto an exact aiming point behind the front leg.

Pow! The large female gave the telltale sign of a positive hit, as she mule-kicked and made a U-turn toward cover. As the whitetail doe whirled around, I could see the red exit wound of a dead deer running. The perfect plan had come together.

There won’t be any trip to the taxidermy shop this year, and there won’t be any antler or tag soup on the menu. However, there’s good reason to be satisfied with a task designed to help mitigate the pending crisis of too many deer.

Editor’s note: This feature was compiled with the help of numerous DNR wildlife biologists and other staffers.

DNR and hunters look to address harvest decline in Upper Peninsula

By JOHN PEPIN
Deputy public information officer
Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The 2023 firearm deer season is officially complete. Although there are still deer hunting opportunities happening in December, we know most of our 2023 hunter effort is officially in the books.

The license sales and harvest data are mixed throughout the state.

Harvest figures

The reported deer harvest for the entire state is down compared to last year by a total of 11% or almost 30,000 deer. This is certainly significant in the eyes of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and something that is being closely watched. There are many factors that can contribute to the reduction of harvest.

Reported deer harvest in Michigan as of Dec. 5, 2023 (all deer seasons) decreased compared to the autumn of 2022 by 26% in the Upper Peninsula, 16% in the northern Lower Peninsula and 7% in the southern Lower Peninsula. Taking a look at where the highest harvest totals are within Michigan’s 83 counties, it is no surprise that they come in the southern portion of the state. Significantly milder winters and abundance of food from agriculture continue to support high deer density where these conditions exist. Read more