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Michigan Law Act 451 of 1994 - (7) was intended to protect you from
being shot on your own property. IT DOES NOT
because the DNR, shoots animals at any
distance from your house and claims it isn't hunting. Your family is
put at risk by bureaucrats bending rules to boost their kill
numbers. Tell Senator Jon Bumstead (senjbumstead@senate.michigan.gov)
and Congressman Curt VanderWall (CurtisVanderWall@house.mi.gov)
you want everyone to obey this law.
www.stopthedeercull.org
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DMU stands for Deer Management Unit. This is the DNR's published plan for
the White-tailed deer in each county. The following is their published plan for
Mason County. Please note there is no mention of deer culls being needed. Mason
County is 053
Click Here to view the online publication by the DNR.
Area Description
The Mason County Deer Management Unit is in the Northern Lower Peninsula
Region. Only 17% of the land base is public land, most of which is federal.
State land consists of Ludington State Park, Pere Marquette State Game Area, and
other small parcels managed by the Parks and Recreation Division for river
access. U.S. Forest Service land is primarily concentrated on broad expanses of
glacial outwash plains in the eastern part of the county and on lake plain to
the northwest. Cover types consist primarily of upland oak and pine, some aspen,
and lowland deciduous and conifer inclusions in areas along outwash channels.
Agriculture is a major component of Mason County. Farmland consists of row
crops, orchards, and specialty crops including carrots, squash, pumpkins, and
asparagus. Farming is concentrated on the fine textured glacial till plains and
flat end moraine ridges in the central and western portions of the county.
Orchards are found on the moraine ridges along the lakeshore. Topography varies;
most of the county consists of flat outwash plains or flat moraine ridges,
though some end moraines provide steeper relief. River systems include the Big
Sable, Lincoln, and Pere Marquette. These river corridors provide important
lowland cover and migration routes for deer and other species.
Management Guidance
The desired population trend in the DMU is a slight reduction paired with an
increase in annual harvest. Two main goals guide the deer management in this DMU:
1) impact management; and 2) hunting opportunities. Impact management refers to
reduction of undesirable effects associated with deer over-abundance, in this
DMU these include crop damage, deer-vehicle collisions, and poor deer health due
to over population. Hunting opportunities refers to providing a large enough
deer population to meet hunters' criteria for what they consider a quality
hunting experience. A third factor that needs to be considered is that DMU 053
is within the NW Antler Point Restriction (APR) Zone. APRs limit which antlered
deer (bucks) can be harvested by hunters to provide a mechanism for yearling
bucks to graduate into older age classes. The APRs in place can be part of a
strategy called Quality Deer Management (QDM), which involves intentionally
letting some bucks reach older ages, 2) maintaining deer numbers below the
biological carrying capacity, and 3) striving for an equal buck to doe ratio in
the deer population. Antlerless deer (doe and fawn) harvest is recommended under
QDM as a means of reaching achieving the second and third principles of QDM.
Deer Management Recommendations
The deer population appears to have increased over the past five years as a
result of a series of mild winters and a steady reduction in hunter numbers. An
increased deer population puts a strain on the resources available to deer, as
evidenced by increased agricultural damage complaints and observations of
substantial deer browse to forest regeneration. Deer-vehicle accidents have also
increased over this time period which is a good index of deer population. Past
efforts to increase doe harvest (i.e. an increased antlerless quota) have
brought the doe harvest numbers closer to that of the buck harvest and in some
years resulted in a generally equal harvest ratio.
An increase in antlerless licenses is recommended to provide enough to address
an increasing deer population and maintain balanced sex ratios. The goal is to
provide a slight reduction in the population followed by stabilization at a new,
slightly lower level where there is abundant natural nutrition for the deer
population, and agricultural damage and deer-vehicle accidents are reduced. The
increase in licenses is on private land to place additional harvest where
productivity is high, and problems are most likely to arise. As hunter numbers
continue to decline in this DMU additional antlerless harvest opportunities will
likely be needed to keep up with the deer population.
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