Visitor Counter

hitwebcounter web counter
Visitors Since Blog Created in March 2010

Click Below to:

Add Blog to Favorites

Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions. This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization. Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

Subscribe via email to get updates

Enter your email address:

Receive New Posting Alerts

(A Maximum of One Alert Per Day)

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Michigan is out of control and pandering to hunter and farmer interests by seeking to institute a Wolf killing season..............Deer herds are robust and hunter take is being projected +10% from 2011 levels..............Why is there a need to thin Wolf numbers when the Michigan outdoor comunity should be looking to further expand their numbers, therefore continuing to regenerate our woodlands----------a by-product of that effort would be that the deer that do roam the forest and fields would be healthier and stronger

U.P. deer harvest: Firearm hunters enjoy increased opportunities

 
Preliminary estimates from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reveal that the 2012 deer harvest could be up as much as 10 percent compared to 2011
.
Each year, according to a DNR press release, estimates of the firearm deer harvest are released shortly after the conclusion of the 16-day season. While the Upper Peninsula seemingly had a better year, it remains to be seen how hunters below the Mackinac Bridge fared with preliminary data showing it could be anywhere between down 5 percent and up 5 percent.

Wildlife biologists use those preliminary numbers for assessment until a more complete picture is obtained through the annual hunter mail survey which won’t be completed until well into 2013.
Official numbers from the Mackinac Bridge show 6,460 deer have crossed in pick-ups, trailers and tied to the roofs of vehicles, compared to 5,731 in 2011. A spokesperson for the Mackinac Bridge Authority said that figure reflects a 13 percent increase.

That assessment was consistent with local observation.“My impression from my customers is its a much improved season over previous years,” said Brian Harrison of Leitz’s Sport Shop early today. “It’s been a pretty good season.”Harrison said he has heard of lots of deer harvested in the 8-10 point range and his personal hunting experience showed more buck sign than he had seen in a decade.
“I hunted four days from daylight to dark,” he said. “I just never saw him.”

Harrison also indicated that hunter excitement remains high even for those who didn’t harvest an animal to date. He said their prevalence of trail cameras are still showing plenty of good animals out there and as a result he has been doing a brisk business in muzzleloaders and accessories as hunters prepared to re-enter the woods with the smokepoles in hand.

Lou Hank, who just recently closed the doors of Hank’s Sport Shop, said he has received mixed reports.“From what other people are saying, some are seeing absolutely nothing and others are seeing lots of deer,” said Hank expressing the belief that 2012 was “a little better.”

At the Hank hunting grounds, there were four in camp who combined to take two bucks — a 6-pointer and an 8-pointer — during the firearm season.Hank said he saw the same two bucks every day he was out, but held off on the 6-pointer and the spike, waiting for a bigger buck to come wandering through. He also said that while he is currently empty-handed, he hasn’t closed the books on the 2012 season with plans to continue through the month of December with both a muzzleloader and bow.

No comments: