There is no doubt about it; deer hunting here in Northern Michigan is big business. Hunters spend millions every fall at area hotels and restaurants, buying gas, licenses, paying for meat processing, and where it is allowed, buying bait. So when a viewer heard that one of the hardest economically hit areas in our viewing area may be seeing major changes when it comes to which animals hunters could target, they were worried. They had questions about the policy which didn't make much sense to them. The answers I found for them are the subject of this Fact Finder.
Keith Charters is the chairman of the state's Natural Resource Commission, which essentially decides which polices and procedures will be put in place. They deal with a wide range of topics from horseback riding to mining, but few raises tempers and eyebrows faster than deer hunting. As Charters see it "any topic with deer hunting seems to be sensitive one. If you get three deer hunters together you are going to get three different ideas as to what is the right thing to do."
With that in mind the DNRE is bound to get a few opinions about their most recent deer hunting proposal they have pitched to the Natural Resource Commission. Charters explains that the state overall is starting to see what he describes as a "positive slide" in the number of TB cases compared to where we were 10 years ago. Few deer management units (DMU) were impacted as much by TB as DMU 487 (Presque Isle, Montmorency, Alpena, Oscoda, Alcona and Iosco County). Hunters have already dealt with Tuberculosis in their deer heard and the baiting ban that followed, but those may not be the last impact a DNRE policy has on their hunt. Charters says one of the proposal that the fish and wildlife division of the DNRE has brought to the Natural Resource Commission's attention has to do with limiting which deer can be harvested from this particular DMU. Charters says simply "one of the proposals is that we have horn restrictions of 3 points on a side, at least 3 points on a side, basically a 6 point buck." Essentially, it's a similar quality deer management standard that has been set up in other parts of the state to try and allow more bucks to grow nice racks. But why put an antler restriction in place for an area that already has a tough time attracting hunters? Turns out, it's not to create more trophies for the wall. Charters says according to the DNRE fish and wildlife division "the theory behind that is that the older bucks have the higher presence of TB. This would encourage more people to shoot the larger bucks and therefore reduce the prevalence rate."
It's a proposal that as you can imagine has opposition. For the hunter who may only get a weekend to harvest their animal each fall, having to hold out for a 6 point or bigger may not be worth the trip up North, especially when combined with tighter baiting restrictions. Charters says "one of the other arguments to doing this is you are going to loose hunters. I will go someplace else in Michigan and the Northeastern side of the state is already having some economic problems."
So if you believe the arguments, its economy versus heard health. It may come down to a balancing act the Natural Resource Commission says they will have to weigh before they make their decision. While he is only vote on the commission, Charters says "I am a hunter, so I have my opinion too, but not always can I let these opinions interfere with what I really think is best for the resource for the next generation. In the end I try to say what's best for the resource."
In a press release the DNRE made the following announcement:
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment will hold a pair of meetings to provide information regarding recently proposed antler restrictions for deer hunters in Deer Management Unit (DMU) 487.
Meetings are scheduled for:
-- June 22, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Harrisville Township Hall, 114 S. Poor Farm Rd. (located off of M-72, two miles west of Harrisville), and
-- June 23, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Alpena Civic Center, 133 Johnson St., Alpena.
Meetings will be attended by both local and Lansing wildlife officials. Details regarding the proposal and anticipated results will be provided and a question and answer period will follow. Time will be reserved to accommodate those interested in having one-on-one or small group discussions with DNRE staff.
So what do you think? Would you like to see more antler restrictions here in Michigan? Less? Should it be DMU by DMU? Let me know where you stand. Leave a comment below.
