In the Prairie Pothole region, wildlife biologists had estimated the duck numbers up 8 percent since last year’s record numbers – a total of a 43 percent increase over the past 60+ years.

This spring, biologists estimated the duck population to slightly top 49 million birds. That was an 8 percent increase over the record numbers of ducks seen just the year before.

That population represents a 43 percent increase over the long-term average of ducks that have been counted the past seven decades.

Thank you hunters and your conservation contributions in the form of licenses and excise-taxed gear over the years!

Hat tip from The Missoulian here…

Upper Peninsula – Western Mackinac County

Over 1,300 oak saplings were planted in western Mackinac County this spring to increase hard mast for deer.  The plantings were focused on areas that have been hit hard by beech bark disease (BBD), and also in deer wintering complexes.  BBD areas will see a large loss of beech nuts, and the oak acorns that are produced in the future will help to mitigate some of the loss from BBD.  “We were able to get saplings planted to help avoid problems with deer browse, and as a bonus they’ll also throw acorns sooner,” said DNR wildlife biologist Dave Jentoft.  “We had great cooperation with our sister division, the Forest Resources Division, in making these plantings happen.”

After receiving heavy snowfall across much of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this week, the Department of Natural Resources is monitoring snow depths and assessing potential impacts on wildlife, particularly the deer herd which is still recovering from the two previous severe and snowy winters.

Supplemental feeding of deer is allowed on private land in the northern U.P. counties along Lake Superior each year beginning in early January and in the southern counties if accumulated snowfall meets established minimum depths by mid-January. However, if snow depths continue to rapidly climb this winter and exceed the supplemental feeding triggers before the January dates, the DNR will consider taking emergency action to allow feeding at an earlier date.

“With more than 20 inches of snow already on the ground in some of the southern U.P. counties and more than 40 inches reported in some northern locations, we are looking at ways to mitigate potential detrimental impacts of the early and significant snowfall on the deer herd,” said DNR Wildlife Division Chief Russ Mason.

According to Mason, the DNR’s Wildlife and Forest Management divisions are also evaluating current timber sale contracts to identify opportunities to retain tree tops at logging sites on public land for deer to forage on throughout the winter.
Read more