Posen station reports 10 pointer on final day

The number of hunters visiting the Department of Natural Resources deer check station in Posen this year increased from 2002. The 16-day firearm deer season came to a close at nightfall Sunday in Michigan, and according to two seasonal wildlife assistants who have managed the Posen station for about half a decade, the numbers were up quite a bit. ?There wasn?t a lot of time to kill the first week,? said Jason Arbogast of Lewiston, who has been in Posen during the firearm deer season four years running. ?It?s all gone pretty good…and everyone was real responsive.?

Arbogast was assisted by Beverly Kinney of Atlanta, who has worked at the Posen station since 1998.

THE HIGH for the more than two week period was 39 on the second day of the season November 16, and there was an average of approximately 30 deer a day. There were 18 deer brought in on the final day. The actual number of deer checked was not available. It wasn?t just locals stopping at the Posen station, as nearly half of the hunters were from downstate. Arbogast said the first weekend obviously was higher, but the buck with the most points was registered on the final day when a Mount Clemens man brought in a 10-pointer. The antlers measured 28 millimeters at the base. The most unusual, according to Arbogast, was a spiker with antlers that stretched out nearly a foot above the deer?s head, but without any additional points. DNR staff recorded harvest location, deer age, sex, total antler points, and antler beam diameter. The data is important to evaluate the health and condition of the deer herd for future management.

AS PART of the DNR?s effort to monitor bovine tuberculosis (TB) in deer, hunters taking deer in 33 counties were encouraged to bring their deer or deer heads t

o any DNR office for free TB testing. Presque Isle County had deer check stations in Onaway and Posen. Hunters can get the test results online, 7-10 days after submitting the deer head or tissue. Arbogast said, of the deer checked in Posen, there were no suspect deer detected this year. Last year there was one suspect which later tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. As part of the statewide Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Plan, 62 sample counties were selected for deer head submission to Michigan State University for CWD testing. This work helps ensure that CWD is not present in Michigan?s deer herd.

THE 2003 SUCCESSFUL hunter patch continues to be a driving force in bringing hunters into the check stations. Some hunters were more interested in receiving the patch than having their deer looked at by the DNR. Arbogast said there were hunters who saw lots of deer and others who didn?t see any. The majority of reporting hunters in Posen said the herd is down but the bucks were larger this season.