Michigan deer season ends with fewer hunters despite healthier deer population

NORTHERN MICHIGAN (WPBN/WGTU) — Firearm deer season has come to a close in Michigan, and state wildlife officials say fewer hunters took to the woods this year. It’s a surprise that’s raising concerns even as the overall deer population appears healthier than in the past.

“Overall deer season this year, to date, seem like things have been going fairly slow,” DNR Biologist Steve Griffith said. “The hunters that we’ve interviewed have reported not a lot of camps in the woods.”

Griffith said seeing the low turnout was a surprise.

“It just seems like there were fewer hunters in the woods Opening day, which was surprising,” Griffith said. “Being on a Saturday, we expect there to be a spike. People don’t have to typically won’t have to take time off to hunt the first two days.”

The DNR is hopeful that the numbers in future years will even out and stay steady.

“We have the hunters that we that we have talked to have been seeing a moderate amount of deer,” Griffith said. “Most of them actually report seeing closer to a one-to-one buck to doe ratio.”

Despite the drop in deer hunters, Griffith said in the past, they used to see a 50-doe-to-one-buck ratio, and what we are seeing now with a one-to-one ratio, is much better.

“Getting the doe numbers down allows for some of the resources to be spread out and gives the bucks a chance to develop antlers and actually they have to move around a little bit,” Griffith said.

Seeing the drop in deer hunters around, it is creating some concerns.

“With the decline in the hunting community we are hampered as far as having enough hunters that are successful to keep tabs on the on the deer population,” Griffith said.

While we are seeing lower numbers in northern Michigan, Griffith said the southern half of the Lower Peninsula is doing better overall as more and more people are hunting closer to home.

“That’s where a lot of deer are down there. That’s farm country more fertile soils and so I’m sure the activity down there should remain pretty active pretty good,” Griffith said.