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ALPENA — As new and returning hunters take to Northeast Michigan woods each year, the Michigan hunter population continues a decline, leaving more deer on the state's roads and in residents' back yards, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources official said.
To help manage deer populations and possibly lure in new hunters, the DNR this year created a new license that broadens the options for hunters gearing up for the beginning of rifle season on Nov. 15.
Previously restricted to hunting in one deer management unit, hunters can now take antlerless deer almost anywhere with the new universal antlerless license.
The license allows access to public or private land in any deer management unit open to hunting, according to Rachal Leightner, wildlife outreach coordinator for the DNR wildlife division.
Acting on recommendations by the DNR, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission approved the license after studying data to ensure the deer population could withstand the expanded hunting provisions.
Between 1998 and 2018, the number of hunters fell by 300,000 in Michigan, and the reported harvest decreased by 43%, Leightner said.
All those extra deer can cause problems, she said.
Each year, drivers in Michigan report nearly 50,000 vehicle-deer crashes to police, according to Michigan State Police data.
Michigan ranks fifth in the country for deer-vehicle collisions, with drivers facing a one-in-54 chance of hitting a deer, according to the most recent State Farm annual deer claim study.
Deer have also increasingly made themselves at home in urban areas, to the detriment of lawns, vegetable gardens, and front-porch hanging baskets everywhere, Leightner said.
With no real predators to help control the deer population and little chance they'll self-regulate by running out of food, the DNR urged the new universal antlerless license to reduce a barrier that might keep hunters both new and not-new out of the woods.
Hunters can purchase up to 10 of the licenses to help fill their freezers.
Last year, another license change allowed hunters in some deer management units to take an antlerless deer on a deer license during firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
The number of hunters will probably continue to decline, Leichtner said.
Hopefully, however, adjustments such as the expansion of licenses will at least make a dent in that decline and promote the hunting culture so vital to Michigan and its woods, she said.