LANSING, Mich.(WLNS)— Thousand and hundreds of hunters will enter the woods tomorrow able to bag a buck. It is a vacation for some Michiganders as firearm deer season begins at dawn on Friday.
Based on Rachel Lincoln, Wildlife Outreach Coordinator with the Michigan DNR, there’s been a slight improve in deer licenses.
“Just in terms of deer licenses that have been sold this year to last year,” said Lincoln. “There seems to be just about a 1% increase in deer licenses that have been sold up until last night.”
Though there’s an increase in licenses, there’s nonetheless a scarcity nationwide.
“Longer term trends, so over the last several decades,” said Lincoln. “We are seeing a decline in deer hunters, and we are still very much seeing that trend occur.”
She says final 12 months, there have been about 530,000 hunters in Michigan, however that’s nowhere what it was.
“That’s about 200,000 fewer deer hunters than there have been within the early 2000s,” stated Lincoln.
Although there’s a lower in deer hunters, Alex Younger, supervisor at Younger Chevrolet, is hoping his Buck Pole occasion in Owosso can change that.
“What better fun than to be out in the woods and watching nature unfold around you?” said Young. “You know, maybe you get a deer, maybe you don’t, but I can guarantee you’ll see a bunch of things that you never saw sitting on the couch in front of a TV.”
Whereas hunters are out and about with nature, Lincoln nonetheless needs them to recollect some security precautions.
“If you’re going up into a tree stand, you’ll also want to make sure that you are strapped into your tree stand,” said Lincoln. “No matter the distance above the ground.”
She additionally urges hunters to put on orange.
“Not only because legally you have to,” said Lincoln. “but also so that you are remaining safe because other hunters will be able to see you, but the deer won’t.”
