BOB@BBT
01-01-2005, 10:25 AM
http://www.michiganoutdoornews.com/MICHIGANOUTDOORNEWS/myarticles.asp?P=1053291&S=566&PubID=13483
DNR pegs gun deer harvest at 285,000
DNR Report
Lansing The DNR estimates the 2004 Michigan firearms deer season harvest was approximately 285,000 deer. An estimated 60 percent were antlered and 40 percent were antlerless.
Final deer harvest figures, available in July, are based on a mail survey of approximately 50,000 of this years deer hunters. The 2004 preliminary estimate is about 7 percent below the 2003 estimated harvest of 307,000, calculated from the 2003 mail survey. The states record firearms season harvest occurred in 1998, when an estimated 351,000 deer were taken.
The DNR has modified the regulations for obtaining an antlerless license and established special antlerless-only seasons since 1996 to encourage hunters to take antlerless deer in an effort to reduce the statewide deer herd. The harvests in the past five years reflect the success of this strategy. A smaller deer herd resulted in fewer antlerless licenses available in the northern Lower Peninsula this year, contributing to the reduced harvest.
Hunter success during the firearms deer season generally comprises approximately 60 percent of the total annual deer harvest. Archery seasons contribute about 25 percent, muzzleloading about 5 percent, and special antlerless seasons about 10 percent. The total deer harvest from all seasons this year is expected to exceed 450,000 deer.
The preliminary firearms season harvest is estimated through a survey of southbound traffic during the 16-day firearms season and DNR Wildlife Division employees assessment of the season. DNR Wildlife personnel, posted at strategic locations on the states major highways, record the number of vehicles with harvested deer seen during each counting period.
The DNR-operated highway deer check stations provide additional information on the ratio of visible to not-visible deer on vehicles coming through these stations. This data incorporated into mathematical models, provides estimates of the firearms harvest for the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula. Wildlife management unit supervisors, who rely on an extensive network of employee, hunter, and processor contacts during the firearms season, provide a harvest estimate for their area. The preliminary harvest estimate is derived using both the traffic survey and employee estimates.
An estimated 700,000 hunters took to the field during the Nov. 15-30 hunt. The weather conditions early in the firearms season included mild temperatures with some rain and fog creating marginal hunting conditions throughout much of Michigan for the first few days.
There was a decrease in the L.P. deer harvest from 2003. The preliminary harvest estimate is 247,000 animals compared to last years estimated final harvest of 264,000. This is primarily in the northern Lower Peninsula where the departments efforts to reduce the deer herd have been successful. U.P. hunters took an estimated 38,000 deer this fall, slightly lower than last years final harvest estimate of 43,000 deer. The Mackinac Bridge count of vehicles with deer crossing the bridge, throughout the firearm deer season, was down substantially from last year.
DNR pegs gun deer harvest at 285,000
DNR Report
Lansing The DNR estimates the 2004 Michigan firearms deer season harvest was approximately 285,000 deer. An estimated 60 percent were antlered and 40 percent were antlerless.
Final deer harvest figures, available in July, are based on a mail survey of approximately 50,000 of this years deer hunters. The 2004 preliminary estimate is about 7 percent below the 2003 estimated harvest of 307,000, calculated from the 2003 mail survey. The states record firearms season harvest occurred in 1998, when an estimated 351,000 deer were taken.
The DNR has modified the regulations for obtaining an antlerless license and established special antlerless-only seasons since 1996 to encourage hunters to take antlerless deer in an effort to reduce the statewide deer herd. The harvests in the past five years reflect the success of this strategy. A smaller deer herd resulted in fewer antlerless licenses available in the northern Lower Peninsula this year, contributing to the reduced harvest.
Hunter success during the firearms deer season generally comprises approximately 60 percent of the total annual deer harvest. Archery seasons contribute about 25 percent, muzzleloading about 5 percent, and special antlerless seasons about 10 percent. The total deer harvest from all seasons this year is expected to exceed 450,000 deer.
The preliminary firearms season harvest is estimated through a survey of southbound traffic during the 16-day firearms season and DNR Wildlife Division employees assessment of the season. DNR Wildlife personnel, posted at strategic locations on the states major highways, record the number of vehicles with harvested deer seen during each counting period.
The DNR-operated highway deer check stations provide additional information on the ratio of visible to not-visible deer on vehicles coming through these stations. This data incorporated into mathematical models, provides estimates of the firearms harvest for the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula. Wildlife management unit supervisors, who rely on an extensive network of employee, hunter, and processor contacts during the firearms season, provide a harvest estimate for their area. The preliminary harvest estimate is derived using both the traffic survey and employee estimates.
An estimated 700,000 hunters took to the field during the Nov. 15-30 hunt. The weather conditions early in the firearms season included mild temperatures with some rain and fog creating marginal hunting conditions throughout much of Michigan for the first few days.
There was a decrease in the L.P. deer harvest from 2003. The preliminary harvest estimate is 247,000 animals compared to last years estimated final harvest of 264,000. This is primarily in the northern Lower Peninsula where the departments efforts to reduce the deer herd have been successful. U.P. hunters took an estimated 38,000 deer this fall, slightly lower than last years final harvest estimate of 43,000 deer. The Mackinac Bridge count of vehicles with deer crossing the bridge, throughout the firearm deer season, was down substantially from last year.