Whitetail deer will likely be plentiful when Michigan’s firearms season opens on Nov. 15, the result of relatively mild back-to-back winters and a proliferation of fawns. Chances of bagging a big buck will also improve because far fewer hunters will be roaming the woodlands. But their decline in number carries consequences for both wildlife management and the state’s recreation economy.
Stalking whitetails has long been Michigan’s most popular
blood sport. Deer permits comprise 90 percent of all hunting licenses issued
annually in the state. Some Upper Peninsula schools close for opening day, while
local newscasts feature regular "Big Buck" reports.
Still, the sale of deer hunting permits statewide has
declined by 22 percent since 1998, although there was a slight up tick in 2006.[1]
Not only has the absolute number of permits dropped, but so, too, has the
proportion of Michigan residents who purchase one.[2]
Michigan is not unique in its loss of hunters. Between 1991
and 2001, the number of hunters nationwide declined about 8 percent, from 14.1
million to 13 million.[3]
The number of deer hunters here peaked in 1998, following an
increase of 58 percent between 1960 and 1975, and another 10 percent between
1975 and 1998.[4] The recent decline has been accompanied by the aging of license
holders, half of whom are now 41 years or older.[5]
In response, state officials last year lowered the minimum
age to hunt from 14 years to 12 years, and created an "apprentice" license that
enables a youth to obtain a hunting license for two years before he or she must
successfully complete the safety course otherwise required for a hunting permit.
A deer hunt weekend for youth in late September is also scheduled each year.
A proposal to double the cost of a deer license within three
years has some within the hunting community worried about further thinning of
their ranks. A firearm or archery deer permit now costs $15, a rate last
adjusted in 1996. (Seniors pay $6.) House Bill 4624, introduced on April 19th by
Rep. Matthew Gillard, D-Alpena, would, if enacted, increase license fees to
$18.75 this year; to $22.50 in 2008; to $26.25 in 2009; and to $30 in 2010. The
legislation also would authorize a 5 percent "inflationary" increase in license
fees for 2012 and 2013.
Currently, the cost of a firearm deer license averages about
$20 among the eight Great Lake states.
License fees are earmarked for the state’s Game and Fish
Protection Fund, which partly finances the state Department of Natural
Resources. Some 76 percent of the agency’s budget is derived from such
restricted funds. Proceeds from a 10 percent federal excise tax on firearms and
ammunition also is channeled to state game and fish agencies. To the extent
fewer permits are sold each year, less of the earmarked funds are available to
the DNR.
Hunting is an integral part of wildlife management. With few
natural predators and suited to a variety of habitats, a deer herd will expand
rapidly. Whitetails also possess a robust reproductive capacity. Where food is
abundant, fawns may begin breeding at 7 or 8 months old, and twins are common.
In September 1962, for example, six bucks and nine does were released on South
Fox Island in Lake Michigan; in just eight years, hunters harvested 382 deer
there.[6]
An overabundance of deer can quickly deplete habitat and
create hardships for farmers and fruit growers. Herds also become weakened if
allowed to increase unabated. Wildlife biologists thus recommend removing at
least one-quarter of a herd each year to maintain a healthy and stable
population.[7]
Hunting also has played a critical role in controlling the
spread of bovine tuberculosis.[8] Researchers have determined that the vast
majority of infected deer in Michigan — some 98 percent — have originated from a
five-county area. The DNR has instituted extra rifle seasons and unlimited
antlerless deer permits to reduce the whitetail populations in Alcona, Alpena,
Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego and Presque Isle counties. Subsequently,
deer numbers have declined by 51 percent in the areas most affected by the
disease.[9]
The DNR has set population goals of 1.35 million whitetails
statewide: 350,000 for the Upper Peninsula; 500,000 for the northern Lower
Peninsula; and 500,000 for the southern Lower Peninsula. Based on estimates of
the current population, the herd currently exceeds the population goal by some
496,000, with 359,000 in the Upper Peninsula; 513,000 in the northern Lower
Peninsula; and 974,000 in the southern Lower Peninsula.
Hunters harvested nearly 456,000 deer in 2006, according to
state data.[10]
The recreation economy has been hard-hit by the decline in
hunting. As the graph below indicates, fewer hunters mean fewer hotel and cabin
bookings; fewer restaurant orders; and fewer equipment purchases.
A variety of factors contribute to the trend — among them, a
more sedentary lifestyle. A 2003 Harris Poll, for example, found that recreation
requiring physical activity has declined in popularity. When asked to name their
favorite leisure-time activities, the largest numbers of adults mentioned
reading (35 percent) and watching TV (21 percent).[11] Moreover, the median number
of work hours has increased while leisure time has remained flat, as the chart
below indicates.[12]
For a generation accustomed to immediate gratification,
hunting may simply require too much time and patience, said Rodney Clute,
big-game specialist for the DNR. "It requires planning," he said. "You have to
select your sites and receive permission to hunt on certain lands. After all
this, you may or may not bag a deer."
Indeed, only 46 percent of hunters statewide harvested a deer
in 2006.[13]
There’s no shortage of land on which to hunt, but some
sportsmen complain about crowded conditions and poor habitat on state-managed
properties. About 87 percent of the animals harvested in 2006 were taken on
private lands.[14]
The DNR for years has leased private lands for hunting, but
now has only about 10 percent of the acreage it once provided under the Hunter
Access Program. Many landowners now prefer to manage the leasing on their own,
the better to control who gains access to their property.
"For many farmers, they can receive the same economic gains
with a smaller group of hunters with less headaches," said Mark Sargent, the
coordinator of the Hunter Access Program.
For some hunters, the last straw was the conservation
officers who, seemingly intent on generating state revenue, issue tickets for
minor infractions. "Conservation Officers often issue tickets for minor
infractions when a warning would suffice," said one commenter on
AbsoluteMichigan.com, a Web site featuring news and information about the state.
"In the last five years, I have noticed a marked increase in CO presence in the
field and a marked decrease in their demeanor. I’m sure that the DNR themselves
have driven many folks out of hunting and fishing."[15]
The state instituted hunting regulations in 1859, with the establishment of a seven-month season to preserve deer populations in the southern Lower Peninsula. Prior to settlement, abundant herds of deer roamed the southern regions of the state, where the mix of hardwood forest and wetlands was ideal for whitetails. The mature forests to the north, however, were less conducive to deer, and were mostly inhabited by elk and moose. But as settlement spread, and in the absence of property rights over wildlife, hunting dramatically reduced the number of deer in southern Michigan. Meanwhile, as timber cutting began in earnest in the northern portions of the state, the herds there quickly flourished.
Large-scale commercial hunting prompted the state in 1881 to
prohibit the sale of venison beyond Michigan’s borders. Market hunting and
commercial sale of venison were banned outright in 1901.
Deer populations fluctuate depending upon weather and other
natural factors. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the return of wolves to the
Upper Peninsula has not depleted whitetail herds, according to DNR officials. A
population of 500 adult wolves could consume 15,000 to 25,000 deer annually.[16] But
greater population declines have occurred in the UP due to a shortage of winter
feeding areas brought on by an overabundance of animals, according to Clute.
Suburbanization in southeast Michigan actually has increased
deer populations; large lots and parks offer grassy areas in which deer like to
browse free from predators.
It remains to be seen whether the slight increase last year in the number of
hunting permits portends a trend after years of decline. Continued losses would
undermine wildlife management and Michigan’s recreation economy.
[1]
Frawley, Brian J. "Demographics, Recruitment, and Retention of
Michigan Hunters: 2005 Update," Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources, October
2006.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Sargent, M.S and Carter, K.S., ed. 1999, "Managing Michigan Wildlife: A Landowners Guide." Michigan United Conservation Clubs, East Lansing, MI.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources. See www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/ 0,1607,7-186-25804_25811-75930--,00.html.
[9] Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources. See www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases/ 0,1607,7-186-25804_25811-75930--,00.html.
[10] Frawley, Brian J., "Michigan Deer Harvest Survey Report 2006 Season," Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources, June 2007. See www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/deer_06harvest_198710_7.pdf.
[11] The Harris Poll, "Different Leisure Activities’ Popularity Rise and Fall, But Reading, TV Watching and Family Time Still Top the List of Favorites," Dec. 8, 2004. www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=526.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Frawley, Brian J., "Michigan Deer Harvest Survey Report 2006 Season," Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources, June 2007. See www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/deer_06harvest_198710_7.pdf.
[14] Ibid.
[15] www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan/should-the-dnr-raise-hunting-license-fees/.
[16] Michigan Department of Natural Resources, "The Impacts of Wolves on Deer in the Upper Peninsula," Aug. 29, 2006.
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