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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 3, 2009
Contacts: Brent Rudolph 517-641-4903 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014
DNR Preliminary Estimates Show Firearm Deer Harvest Declines 10 to 20
Percent from Last Year
Initial estimates indicate Michigan firearm deer hunters killed 10 to
20 percent fewer deer this year than in 2008, according to the
Department of Natural Resources. Decreased harvests were most noticeable
in the Upper Peninsula and less apparent in the southern Lower
Peninsula.
Weather -- both a harsh 2008-2009 winter and unseasonably high
temperatures during most of the firearm season -- likely contributed to
the decreased harvest, wildlife officials said. Although weather across
the state was good to ideal for hunters to sit in the woods, it was less
than optimal for encouraging deer movement.
DNR biologists estimate the harvest was down by 20 to 30 percent in the
Upper Peninsula, 15 to 25 percent in the northern Lower Peninsula, and 5
to 10 percent in the southern Lower Peninsula.
*The season has gone pretty much as we expected in the Upper
Peninsula,* said DNR deer program leader Brent Rudolph. *We set
antlerless quotas lower in anticipation of a smaller deer herd following
last winter. We may have had fewer hunters in the Upper Peninsula. If
you have fewer deer, fewer hunters, and deer moving less than usual,
those factors are going to have an effect on your deer harvest.*
Biologists were a little surprised by the size of the decrease of the
harvest in the northern Lower Peninsula, where a more modest decline was
anticipated.
*Check stations reported a lower than usual percentage of 1*-year-old
bucks in the Upper and northern Lower Peninsula, an indication of poor
survival of last year*s fawns,* Rudolph said. *Antler development
was below average as well, another indication of the impact of last
winter*s severity.*
In southern Michigan, a cool summer that caused corn to mature late and
a wet October put the corn harvest far behind schedule, providing
additional sanctuary for deer in many areas.
*The corn harvest was around 35 percent by Nov. 16,* Rudolph said.
*In an average year it*s 80 percent. So it*s likely that some deer
never left the standing corn. That may become apparent during the
muzzleloader season.*
Rudolph emphasized the preliminary estimates show a wide range in the
harvest because of changes in data collection this season.
*Because we operated so many fewer deer check stations, we could not
utilize the models as we have in previous years for our preliminary
estimate of the firearm season harvest,* he said. *But we*ll have
solid numbers next spring after the mail survey is completed and those
are the numbers we use for making management decisions.*
The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management,
accessible use and enjoyment of the state*s natural resources for
current and future generations.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 3, 2009
Contacts: Brent Rudolph 517-641-4903 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014
DNR Preliminary Estimates Show Firearm Deer Harvest Declines 10 to 20
Percent from Last Year
Initial estimates indicate Michigan firearm deer hunters killed 10 to
20 percent fewer deer this year than in 2008, according to the
Department of Natural Resources. Decreased harvests were most noticeable
in the Upper Peninsula and less apparent in the southern Lower
Peninsula.
Weather -- both a harsh 2008-2009 winter and unseasonably high
temperatures during most of the firearm season -- likely contributed to
the decreased harvest, wildlife officials said. Although weather across
the state was good to ideal for hunters to sit in the woods, it was less
than optimal for encouraging deer movement.
DNR biologists estimate the harvest was down by 20 to 30 percent in the
Upper Peninsula, 15 to 25 percent in the northern Lower Peninsula, and 5
to 10 percent in the southern Lower Peninsula.
*The season has gone pretty much as we expected in the Upper
Peninsula,* said DNR deer program leader Brent Rudolph. *We set
antlerless quotas lower in anticipation of a smaller deer herd following
last winter. We may have had fewer hunters in the Upper Peninsula. If
you have fewer deer, fewer hunters, and deer moving less than usual,
those factors are going to have an effect on your deer harvest.*
Biologists were a little surprised by the size of the decrease of the
harvest in the northern Lower Peninsula, where a more modest decline was
anticipated.
*Check stations reported a lower than usual percentage of 1*-year-old
bucks in the Upper and northern Lower Peninsula, an indication of poor
survival of last year*s fawns,* Rudolph said. *Antler development
was below average as well, another indication of the impact of last
winter*s severity.*
In southern Michigan, a cool summer that caused corn to mature late and
a wet October put the corn harvest far behind schedule, providing
additional sanctuary for deer in many areas.
*The corn harvest was around 35 percent by Nov. 16,* Rudolph said.
*In an average year it*s 80 percent. So it*s likely that some deer
never left the standing corn. That may become apparent during the
muzzleloader season.*
Rudolph emphasized the preliminary estimates show a wide range in the
harvest because of changes in data collection this season.
*Because we operated so many fewer deer check stations, we could not
utilize the models as we have in previous years for our preliminary
estimate of the firearm season harvest,* he said. *But we*ll have
solid numbers next spring after the mail survey is completed and those
are the numbers we use for making management decisions.*
The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management,
accessible use and enjoyment of the state*s natural resources for
current and future generations.