Managing Deer and Deer Hunters in Northeast Lower Michigan
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]
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 TrendA
pp
are
nt
Pre
vale
nce
an
d 9
5%
Con
fid
en
ce
Lim
its,
Ad
ult
Wh
ite-T
aile
d
Deer
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 Volunteers
The 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