I knew we were getting low, but wow!

[Jeff]

Never thought I would see this as an option. I'd be okay with it as long as they opened the season for wolves as a trade off.

DNR may cancel U.P. deer hunting season
Associated Press 3:59 p.m. EDT May 1, 2015
635612782109955159-deer-041602-cover2-stBuy Photo


ST. IGNACE, Mich. — State wildlife officials, responding to a declining number of deer in the Upper Peninsula due to harsh winters, have drawn up a list of options, including a ban on deer hunting in that region in the fall.

But officials emphasize that canceling the season would be an extreme choice and probably an unlikely one. The Natural Resources Commission will listen to staff at a May 7 meeting, although no decision will be made at that time.

"They're not recommendations at all. It's just opening up a dialogue. … I hope it's something that they don't pursue," said Chad Stewart, deer management specialist at the Department of Natural Resources.

Canceling the deer season in the Upper Peninsula "would be pretty incredible," he said Friday.

In December, state biologists estimated that the deer kill last season was down as much as 40 percent across the Upper Peninsula. Some places had 40 inches of snow by mid-November, and recent winters have been extreme.

Stewart said the number of deer killed in the U.P. last year was one of the lowest in 30 years. Other options for the DNR could be restricting the killing of does and limiting hunters to just one buck.

Closing the U.P. hunt would be a blow to tradition and culture.

Hunting gives a big lift to the economy north of the Mackinac Bridge. Some young hunters skip school on Nov. 15, opening day. A character in the 2001 comedy about Michigan hunters, "Escanaba in Da Moonlight," says opening day is "like Christmas with guns."

[fishpharmer]

I really know nothing about this situation beyond what I have read about wolves here on FF and on news.  I do find it odd that there is no mention of wolves being a factor.  I will hush and watch  it unfold from here.

[NWP]

What restrictions are currently in place. How many deer are you allowed to take?

[Jeff]

No does at all. One buck with antlers 3" minimum Or two bucks with one having at least 3 points on one side and the second buck with at least 4 on one side.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Why is the Deer population so low?

[trapper]

Read Jeffs original post and eliminate the dnr part about the snow.

[Jeff]

Why is the Deer population so low?

Harsh climate and an unnaturally high predator load. About anything in North America that can eat a deer or deer fawn outside of a grizzly bear or polar bear lives and feeds in the U.P.

[coxy]

its funny how they blame every one/thing BUT them self's

[drobertson]

It has always amazed me how many of the animals survive up north where the extreme weather conditions limit the availability of food.
Conservation has to be a challenge to say the least for the massive diversity that exist there.

[zopi]

I think of things like this everytime I see "bring them inside, it is cold out."

Lol..aske my neighbor the other day why she had a blanket on the horse..."He was shivering."

yeah..it was 45 degrees out there...

[Delawhere Jack]

Come to northern New Castle Co. Delaware. Herd them up and take as many as you want. Does and their young will feed within 75 feet of I-95. They show no fear at all for cars and trucks whizzing by at 70mph. Of course, they probably wouldn't last long on the U.P.

No. We are not interested in trading for wolves....