Managing Deer and Deer Hunters in Northeast Lower Michigan
Brent Rudolph, Ph.D. Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division
Deer and Elk Program Leader (517) 641-4903 ext. 248 [email protected]
Overview
• Summary of deer permits and licenses• Deer Management Unit 487 special regulations• Review of northeast Michigan deer harvest,
population, and TB trends• Hunter opinions regarding TB management
• Disease Control Permits• Deer Damage Permits (“Crop Damage” Permits)• Deer Management Assistance Permits (“Block”
Permits)• Antlerless Licenses• Archery, Firearm, and Combination Licenses
Deer Permits and Licenses
• Livestock producers and private landowners in a county with a confirmed case of TB or 30 mi radius of confirmed disease
• Antlerless or antlered deer• Antlers must be submitted; heads must be
submitted if required• Free of charge
Disease Control Permits
WCO Section 5.77
Deer (Crop) Damage Permits
WCO Section 5.40
• Landowners with significant agricultural or horticultural damage documented by Department
• Not valid during deer hunting seasons• Antlerless, or antlered deer if approved by
Wildlife Supervisor• Free of charge
• Landowners or their designated agent where a variety of conditions exist, including where “regulations are insufficient to achieve landowner deer management objectives”
• Only valid during deer hunting seasons• Antlerless deer
Deer Management Assistance Permits
WCO Section 5.80
• Separate Private & Public licenses and quotas
• Early & Late Antlerless Seasons (private land)
• Archery, Firearm, Muzzleloader Seasons
• Liberty Hunt & Independence Hunt
Antlerless Licenses
WCO Section 3.101
• Archery and/or Firearm: new license package replaces with single tag, all season license
• Combination License (2 tags)• Typically “buck” tags
– Some opportunities for antlerless deer– Some restrictions on types of antlered deer
Archery, Firearm, Combination Licenses
WCO Section 3.101
DMU 487 Regulations
DMU 487• Only 50-60% of hunters purchase
1 or more antlerless licenses• >50% of harvest is antlered bucks• >50% of antlered bucks harvested
are yearlings
DMU 487 Hunting & Harvest
Statewide• ≤50% of hunters purchase 1 or more antlerless licenses• Hunting strategy of ~40% of hunters: take 1st legal buck• Point restrictions typically increase 2 ½-yr-old buck harvest
DMU 487 Regulations
• Antlerless deer: firearm hunters use any license • Antlered deer: min 3 antler points OR 1 buck
– shift harvest pressure from young bucks to antlerless deer (to reduce the population)
– do not constrain harvest of older bucks (more likely to be TB positive)
• Assessments will consider:– Short-term success: increasing antlerless deer
harvest over last 4 seasons?– Long-term success: decreasing TB prevalence,
population size?
Harvest, Population, TB Trends
5-County Deer Harvest
5-County Deer Population Trend
Relation to Highest and Lowest Antlerless Harvest
1995-2012, DMU 452
TB Deer TrendAp
pare
nt P
reva
lenc
e an
d 95
% C
onfid
ence
Li
mits
,Ad
ult
Whi
te-T
aile
d D
eer
No Trend, 2005 – 2009
Hunters, TB, and Deer Management
Hunter Opinions: TB and Deer Management
It is important to reduce or get rid of TB…From deer:• Strongly Agree 23.2%• Agree 56.5%• Not sure 5.0%
From livestock:• Strongly Agree 35.4%• Agree 54.6%• Not sure 3.5%
Hunter Opinions: TB and Deer Management
It is possible to get rid of all TB…From deer:• Strongly Agree 4.7%• Agree 19.4%• Not sure 14.1%
From livestock:• Strongly Agree 8.2%• Agree 38.3%• Not sure 13.9%
TB Management VolunteersThe opportunity:Michigan sportsmen & women
outnumber Detroit Lions & Pistons combined home attendance
The Limitation: Hunting is another form of
recreation, and participants expect to enjoy the product
Thank You!
www.michigan.gov/deer