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Winter severity index

5K views 38 replies 23 participants last post by  GrizzlyHunter 
#1 ·
Is there a MDNR website that shows current W.S.I. ?

I am seeing higher than normal snow levels and far below normal temps.

I am also seeing browsing on less desirable browse much earlier than normal, including in my yard, By both deer and rabbits. Based on my obsevations over a few decades, I am getting concerned that our already drastically reduced deer herd may be in trouble.

On a more positive note, I am seeing much less coyote sign and nightime howling than I have in several years. Hopefully something(disease) reduced that probllem this past summer.
 
#2 ·
I don't know where it is posted, so I cant help you there.

Im a bit concerned though for the deer in my area. Where I hunt is in the heart of where the ice storm hit. So anything the deer might eat like acorns is under a thick coat of ice. I don't for see that ice going away anytime in the near future. So that is a big concern for me.

With the damage this area received, im also wondering how many deer are laying dead under trees/heavy branches.
 
#3 ·
IIRC luv2hunteup usually posts the WSI when he gets it. If I had to guess, it probably won't be available until the new year - purely speculation though.

First weekend of muzzleloading parts of our property had knee deep snow by Sunday and deer were already browsing on red pine so it looks to be shaping up to be a tough winter. Chainsaw season for me will start very early this year.

As for the coyotes I thought I read somewhere that there were in fact some disease issues within the population this year though I couldn't find a link to confirm.
 
#9 ·
It appears we picked the right winter to log our property because all the treetops are being picked clean by the deer right now so at least we are putting some reachable browse on the ground for them. I am hoping the weather will break soon and spare the northern areas ASAP.

Ganzer
 
#10 ·
I've seen some deer in traditonal yards and they appear good at this point, running when snowmobiles are approaching etc..

BUT, this time of year around here, they usually are in decent shape....End of Feb. and all of March is the time visually one woudl start to see signs of starvation. Been way colder and more snow for a length of winter, in a long time, gotta feeling mother nature is setting the reset button!
 
#11 ·
I've seen some deer in traditonal yards and they appear good at this point, running when snowmobiles are approaching etc..

BUT, this time of year around here, they usually are in decent shape....End of Feb. and all of March is the time visually one woudl start to see signs of starvation. Been way colder and more snow for a length of winter, in a long time, gotta feeling mother nature is setting the reset button!
The yards i have been visiting look to be in good shape. I ve noticed plenty of downed trees and low hanging limbs, I have even noticed that deer are still pawing up acorns near some of the yards. I havent come across any mortalities as of yet.
 
#12 ·
....End of Feb. and all of March is the time visually one woudl start to see signs of starvation.
Is this the time of year that they may not run when pelted with snowballs?
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
B&N

I'm pretty sure this is what it's referring to. There is more in the law section if you want to check it out.

Quote by a banned member.
Yes as Jr. stated in his post above I spent last week in the Huron Mts. in NW Marquette Co., and Baraga Co. (April 21 thru 26) WOW! 36" on the level at camp, river not open and 52" at my friends camp 10 miles North of me. Spent Wednesday, 24th in the deer yards along the Superior watershed, East of Lanse and around Skanee. Found a dead doe, starvation I would assume, on Black Creek Rd. Most deer we encountered were extremely lathargic and stressed, ribs and hip bones showing. They would not even move when hit with a snowball. The surprising thing that I observed was the lack of any canine tracks. We drove 35 miles through the yards after a snowfall and saw NO wolf OR coyote tracks. Going back up for the walleye opener, hope things are better. I'm just hopeing that the late thaw makes the fish in the Pesheke spawn on May the 15th.
 
#17 ·
Deer are tough creatures, most will make it through this winter just fine. It takes a long duration to really knock back the deer numbers. It's still early in the year. IIRC the DNR has not been posting the first WSI report until the first few weeks of February.

The UPs 2013 deer harvest was down last fall but it was not down as bad as most would have thought. It lasted until the end of April in 2013. Here's the link to last years WSI. Note how high the UPs index was last year. They even had to re-scale the graph to include the high points. Look at the index numbers in the left column to compare the severity of all three zones.

http://deer.fw.msu.edu/docs/2012_Weekly_WSI_Report_4_1_13.pdf
 
#18 ·
Ok!? This was a thread going good with good information, and then well, some just need attention. Thanks luvtohunteup for getting it back on track.

Yes..its a long winter. Brush...I too have seen quite of bit of scratching for acorns in other areas, but the snow is getting deeper and I have not seen as much, but maybe acorns are running out?!
 
#20 ·
Ok!? This was a thread going good with good information, and then well, some just need attention. Thanks luvtohunteup for getting it back on track.

Yes..its a long winter. Brush...I too have seen quite of bit of scratching for acorns in other areas, but the snow is getting deeper and I have not seen as much, but maybe acorns are running out?!

The cheerleaders here need a reality check!! I will leave you with the quote of my DNR biologist friend...


"it's not like we started the year [2014] with 300,000 deer and are going to end up with 100,000]"


"We started with 100,000 and going to end up with.......????"


Dave
 
#21 ·
Farmlegend: One who makes a show of liking another person with profuse or excessive displays of camaraderie, such as vigorous hand clasping, back-slapping, hearty words of greeting, etc.

Dont worry FL, qdmaman will be your friend even without the excessive displays liking him!:lol:
 
#22 ·
I snowshoed into the middle of my swamp early in January and dropped a couple of Hemlock (on the advice of a forester). I haven't been back there to see if the deer have eaten on it but will go in soon to see if it was helpful, and if more need to be dropped for them.

I can't imagine what the turkeys are doing to survive this if they aren't getting some supplemental feeding.
 
#23 ·
Farmlegend: One who makes a show of liking another person with profuse or excessive displays of camaraderie, such as vigorous hand clasping, back-slapping, hearty words of greeting, etc.

Dont worry FL, qdmaman will be your friend even without the excessive displays liking him!:lol:
B&N, if you want to be buddies just move up a couple of tax brackets and buy some hunting land, it's really that easy.

Now...back to the original topic.
I walked my property Sunday and observed every last one of my Norway spruce (2-3'ers) nibbled down to the trunk.
In the SLP winter serverity is rarely a concern but some winters, like the one we're experiencing, are tougher than others and do present a higher degree of stress rather than starvation.
 
#25 ·
I saw a few deer today and they looked in good shape. What surprized me is with all the snow we have been getting is how open many of the hay fields are. The wind is doing a good job of keeping them open but it cannot be good for the deer with these temps. I was in a cedar swamp the other day and the deer were there and seemed to have a lot to eat with the snow weighting down the branches. The next couple months will tell. There were a couple of bean fields that they didn't pick and the deer and turkeys have been in them real heavy.
 
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