Older deer are being checked in by the DNR, the number of deer taken in the region was up over the w
According to figures collected from the Department of Natural Resources at its four area deer check stations in Posen, Onaway, Alpena, and Atlanta, the hunt was down significantly in the early days of the firearm season, but made a comeback over the weekend. According to wildlife biologist Dave Smith, who is stationed at the regional office in Atlanta, the 2005 numbers were down nine percent through Sunday, compared to the same time a year ago. ?When everything is done, we?ll probably be down a little again, which is expected. We have been continuing to bring the overall population down and that shows up with total deer harvest,? said Smith, who has worked for the DNR as a wildlife biologist for 33 years. ?We got off to a really slow start. A lot of it was contributed to the weather the first three days, which is normally one of the things we look at to see how the season is going to go.? Comparing the first three days of the 2004 firearm deer season, the number of deer checked at the stations was down 30 percent this year. The weather conditions were cold and windy. As the season progressed into the weekend, the winds calmed and the temperatures were milder.
?AS OF LAST night (Sunday), we?re only about nine percent down,? said Smith. ?The last three days of this season exceeded 2004, so we?ve been doing some catching up.? The Mackinac Bridge Authority figures are similar to those collected in Presque Isle, Alpena, and Montmorency counties. The deer count was at 3,951 Monday afternoon at the bridge, which is down six percent from 2004. At this time last year, the count was at 4,221. Toll both operators tally each deer being transported across the five-mile span connecting Michigan?s two peninsulas.
Smith said activity was expected to be slow during the three days before Thanksgiving, ?then there will be a pretty good flurry over the Thanksgiving holiday and weekend. People will be up and hunting. By the end of the holiday weekend, we?ll have a pretty good handle on what is going to happen.? While the overall numbers were slightly down, some of the deer Smith have seen have been surprisingly older.
?WE ARE SEEING some really nice deer, some really nice bucks,? said Smith. ?We?ve seen a shift in our bucks into a few older animals in the older age class, which will bring in some nicer bucks.? There have been two and half year old, three and half year old, and even a five and half year old buck taken this season. The five and half year old buck was bagged in Presque Isle County. Smith said it was a massive eight pointer with an estimated field dressed weight of about 175 pounds. The DNR has also checked in a four and half year old 10-pointer in the region. This buck was taken
?That?s quite unique,? he said. The button buck may have been a direct result of the excellent food the herd had available to eat this past year. There was plenty of green grass, berries, and acorns in the fall. That might also explain some of the larger fawns DNR workers are seeing at the check stations. ?Spring started out with all kinds of high-nutritious food,? Smith said. ?It?s been an extraordinary food year.?
Smith encouraged hunters to visit one of the four deer check stations through the end of the season. They are open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The only days the stations will be closed are Thanksgiving Day and November 25. ?We would like people to submit those heads for us so that we can keep a high level of testing and monitoring in the area,? Smith said.