Eric Sharp: More antlerless licenses to hunt deer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
If someone asks if deer live in cities, refer them to Free Press reader James Bannan of Sterling Heights. He spotted a doe and two bucks with their antlers. There will be a small decrease in antlerless licenses in the Lower Peninsula.
By Eric Sharp;detroitfreepress.com
Hard to believe, but the opening of the archery deer season is approaching quickly, Oct. 1. And if you hunt the Upper Peninsula, you'll see small increases in antlerless licenses that the Natural Resources Commission has approved for the upcoming deer season.
That's because the U.P. deer population has grown a bit the past three years thanks to some mild winters. And no matter what one might hear about antlerless licenses, youth hunts, predation by wolves and other chimaeras, winter weather has a much greater effect on the U.P. deer population than all other factors combined.
Hunters in the Lower Peninsula will see relatively small decreases in antlerless licenses. Deer numbers have been spotty across the northern Lower Peninsula, and the Department of Natural Resources is trying to match the licenses available to regions where culling is needed while trying not to infuriate people who think their areas have seen too many deer killed.
And while the population in the southern Lower Peninsula is still above the DNR target in most regions, it has decreased enough in most places that it's trending the right way.
The DNR said it will authorize the sale of 708,650 antlerless licenses statewide, down 47,550 from 2011. The breakdown is 450 more private-land and 1,900 public-land licenses in the U.P., a decrease of 23,500 private-land and 1,300 public-land licenses in the northern Lower Peninsula and 4,150 fewer private- land licenses and 2,350 public-land licenses in the southern Lower Peninsula. The DNR also issues other licenses for specialized hunts.
Since more than half of the roughly 1.6-million deer live in the southern Lower Peninsula, that might make a difference in some small areas, but it probably won't have much effect on the overall herd.
Jim Cole said he's glad the DNR has reduced the antlerless take in the northern Lower Peninsula, where he hunts at a family camp near Mancelona.
"We've seen deer numbers drop like a stone in the last five years," he said. "They just let people kill too many does. How smart do you have to be to figure out that if you kill the mothers, you won't have as many babies."But Ralph Mortensen, who hunts about 50 miles south of Coles near Cadillac, said a better way to manage the herd would be to combine a reduced antlerless take with restrictions on the number of yearling bucks killed.
"All these people tell me they don't care about antlers, but if you suggest that we put in a rule that requires three points on a side, they'd have a fit," he said. "If they don't care about antlers, how come they want to keep shooting spikes and forkhorns?Brent Rudolph, the DNR's deer and elk program leader, said the agency's survey of hunters about proposed regulations shows there's more support from hunters who want more mature bucks in the herd.
But while the DNR supports voluntary antler point restrictions on public land, it only would implement mandatory restrictions in areas where at least 66% of the hunters say they want them.
We should get a better handle on the popularity of antler-point restrictions after the DNR completes a survey of people who hunted in 12 northern Michigan counties where restrictions will be imposed.
Surveys will start to be mailed in August; if you get one, return it to make sure your voice is heard. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, we're told, and if you get a chance to squeak and don't take it, you will have no reason to complain if things don't go your way.
For more information about the 2011 deer harvest and hunter survey and the DNR's deer management, go to www
.michigan.gov/deer.
Hunters in the Lower Peninsula will see relatively small decreases in antlerless licenses. Deer numbers have been spotty across the northern Lower Peninsula, and the Department of Natural Resources is trying to match the licenses available to regions where culling is needed while trying not to infuriate people who think their areas have seen too many deer killed.
And while the population in the southern Lower Peninsula is still above the DNR target in most regions, it has decreased enough in most places that it's trending the right way.
The DNR said it will authorize the sale of 708,650 antlerless licenses statewide, down 47,550 from 2011. The breakdown is 450 more private-land and 1,900 public-land licenses in the U.P., a decrease of 23,500 private-land and 1,300 public-land licenses in the northern Lower Peninsula and 4,150 fewer private- land licenses and 2,350 public-land licenses in the southern Lower Peninsula. The DNR also issues other licenses for specialized hunts.
Since more than half of the roughly 1.6-million deer live in the southern Lower Peninsula, that might make a difference in some small areas, but it probably won't have much effect on the overall herd.
Jim Cole said he's glad the DNR has reduced the antlerless take in the northern Lower Peninsula, where he hunts at a family camp near Mancelona.
"We've seen deer numbers drop like a stone in the last five years," he said. "They just let people kill too many does. How smart do you have to be to figure out that if you kill the mothers, you won't have as many babies."But Ralph Mortensen, who hunts about 50 miles south of Coles near Cadillac, said a better way to manage the herd would be to combine a reduced antlerless take with restrictions on the number of yearling bucks killed.
"All these people tell me they don't care about antlers, but if you suggest that we put in a rule that requires three points on a side, they'd have a fit," he said. "If they don't care about antlers, how come they want to keep shooting spikes and forkhorns?Brent Rudolph, the DNR's deer and elk program leader, said the agency's survey of hunters about proposed regulations shows there's more support from hunters who want more mature bucks in the herd.
But while the DNR supports voluntary antler point restrictions on public land, it only would implement mandatory restrictions in areas where at least 66% of the hunters say they want them.
We should get a better handle on the popularity of antler-point restrictions after the DNR completes a survey of people who hunted in 12 northern Michigan counties where restrictions will be imposed.
Surveys will start to be mailed in August; if you get one, return it to make sure your voice is heard. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, we're told, and if you get a chance to squeak and don't take it, you will have no reason to complain if things don't go your way.
For more information about the 2011 deer harvest and hunter survey and the DNR's deer management, go to www
.michigan.gov/deer.
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