# MI deer population exceeds state limit



## Tom Morang (Aug 14, 2001)

http://www.detnews.com/2003/outdoors/0301/30/d11n-72089.htm

Thursday, January 30, 2003

Mich. deer population exceeds state limit

By Associated Press



LANSING -- Michigan's high deer population wasn't helped by last year's hunting season, when officials estimate fewer deer were killed than in previous years.

The state deer herd was about 10 percent higher, or 325,000 deer larger, than allowed under state guidelines in 2001, the Office of the Auditor General said in a report released Monday.

The state's target for deer is 1.5 million, but the Department of Natural Resources estimates there are about 1.8 million deer in Michigan, department spokesman Brad Wurfel said.

State officials had expected hunters to kill 325,000 deer during the 2002 season, but only 288,000 deer were bagged. It's not yet known whether the state met its target during last month's late firearm antlerless deer season.

The Department of Natural Resources needs to develop and improve its strategies to reduce the number of deer in certain areas, state auditors said.

Saginaw Bay and the southeastern and southwestern portions of the Lower Peninsula are the three areas of the state where the number of deer is at least 40 percent higher than population goals, state auditors said.

The three areas were among six, including the south central, northwestern and northeastern Lower Peninsula, where the deer population was 10 percent higher than state guidelines, the audit said.

The eastern Upper Peninsula is the only area of the state where the number of deer is lower than population goals. State auditors said the deer population in that area is 10 percent lower, or 11,339 fewer, than state guidelines, the audit said.

State auditors said that while it's important to have a healthy deer herd for hunting, there are negative effects of a large deer population. They noted that around 67,000 auto accidents involved deer in 2001, according to the Michigan State Police.

Although the Department of Natural Resources had approved new regulations for last year's hunting season at the time of the audit, state auditors suggested even stronger measures.

"Without stronger methods to reduce deer populations, it is likely that significant overpopulations in many areas will continue," the audit said.

Department officials told state auditors they're taking steps to bring the deer herd down to goal levels through unit supervisors, whose responsibility it is to set harvest goals and collect data.


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## twodogsphil (Apr 16, 2002)

This is a poorly written article that mixes data from an audit report that addresses the 2001 deer season with incomplete data from the currnt hunting season. Please realize that for the most part the article deals with history, not current events. All audit reports are historical and this one is no exception. The period covered by the report is from October 1999 through June 2002. The audit report does not relate to the 2002 deer season. The auditors comments and the numbers they reported relate to the 2001 deer season. 

In 2001, per the audit the deer herd estimated population was 325,00 over the DNR's deer population goal (1.5 million according to the article but 1.6 million according to the audit report). Also, by coincidence the 2002 gun season kill of 325,00 cited in the newspaper article matches the 2001 overpopulation number in the audit report. In reality, the actual DNR harvest report estimate for all 2002 seasons (youth, early gun, bow, firearm, muzzleloader, late firearm) will probably exceed 400,000. (DNR reported it was over 463,000 in 2001.) 

This story once again proves you can't believe everything that is in the news. Its also an excellent example of very poor journalism and demonstrates how the press can spin a story. 

In addition, both the audit report and the newspaper article are overly simplistic in that they fail to explain the dynamic nature of the deer population and that the DNR's 1.5 million population goal is for October 1 of each year. This population drops significantly through hunting season and continues to decline due to accidents, winter kill, predation, poaching, and etc. until it is replenished to a high point in the spring. It then begins to drop again due to predation, poaching, accidents, disease, and etc. through the start of the next hunting season


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Here is one report from Mason County

Deer population in county still high	
Doe permits sold out in 2002	

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=16448&PHPSESSID=2461b076a772462ca7807a9d5edf46ab


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