Emergency Deer Regulations to Address EHD Impacts
November 9th, 2012MUCC has been reporting on the 2012 outbreak of EHD in Southern Michigan since it began in July.However, even prior to this MUCC’s Wildlife Committee drafted a resolution requesting that the DNR carefully monitor the impacts of EHD and take action if warranted to minimize the impact of this disease on the deer population in Southern Michigan. This resolution was approved unanimously at MUCC’s Annual Convention this summer.
Since that time, a minimum of 12,600 dead deer have been reported to the DNR. It is expected that this is just a MINIMUM estimate and that the impact is likely much greater. But thanks to the watchdog efforts of the MUCC Wildlife Committee and concerned hunters, the DNR took necessary action last night because they had at least this baseline information, which would not have been collected without the effort of committed DNR employees and volunteer reporting.
DNR Director Keith Creagh signed an emergency order that decreases antlerless license purchase limits for deer management units (DMUs) where the most EHD-related die-offs have occurred. Director Creagh signed the order at the regular monthly November meeting of the Natural Resources Commission.
Effective immediately, the purchase limit for DMU 486 is five private land antlerless deer hunting licenses per hunter (down from 10 in this unit). Also effective immediately, the public antlerless license purchase limit per hunter is two for each of the following DMUs: 012 (Branch), 034 (Ionia), 039 (Kalamazoo), 041 (Kent), 044 (Lapeer), 076 (Sanilac), 078 (Shiawassee), 079 (Tuscola) and 080 (Van Buren).
Individuals who purchased antlerless licenses prior to this emergency order are not required to return licenses. This order only applies to antlerless licenses purchased on or after Nov. 8, 2012.
