LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — The Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) enacted a series of new deer hunting regulations for the 2024 season, seeking to address the state’s growing deer population while balancing the needs of hunters. The changes made on July 11 include a prohibition on shooting bucks during youth and disabled hunter seasons and an expansion of antlerless deer hunting opportunities in parts of the Lower Peninsula.

The primary goal of these new regulations is to manage the increasing deer population in Michigan, particularly in the southern Lower Peninsula. With a current deer herd estimated at around 2 million, the overpopulation has led to issues such as crop damage and a high number of deer-related car accidents.

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Chad Timmer, owner of The Outdoorsmen Pro Shop in Jenison, described the doe population in southern Michigan as “out of control” to Bridge Michigan: “We’re shooting too many bucks and not enough does. If we could go to a one-buck state, in just a handful of years, we would revolutionize the quality deer herd in Michigan.”

The newly adopted regulations include extending the archery season for antlerless deer through January 31 in several counties, including Huron, Kent, and Washtenaw. Additionally, early-season hunts for youth and disabled hunters will be limited to antlerless deer only in 2025, whereas previously, these hunters could use a license to hunt either antlered or antlerless deer. 

The commission also approved the expansion of early and late firearm seasons for antlerless deer to both public and private lands.

However, several expected changes, like lifting the baiting ban in the Lower Peninsula and implementing antler point restrictions statewide, were not approved. The former aims to reduce the spread of diseases among deer, while the latter is designed to promote the growth of mature bucks by limiting the harvest of younger ones.

Chad Stewart, a deer management specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), summarized the differing views within the hunting community. “There’s the two schools of thought: one is to protect every doe because they’re the ones that get and have fawns,” Stewart told Bridge Michigan. “The other group is saying you can support as many deer as you can, and you’ve got these very skewed and imbalanced sex ratios, and that’s contributing to the problem.”

The Michigan United Conservation Club, a supporter of the baiting ban, is still evaluating the new changes. In fact, they have been encouraged by the commission’s promise to reconsider some of the recommendations in the future.

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“We’re not totally satisfied,” Mike Ketelaar of the Michigan chapter of the National Deer Association and a member of the Deer Management Initiative group said to WCMU Public Media. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, and we’re going to engage in that work. All in all, I think the results could have been better, but we understand it’s a process.”