DNR proposes new hunting regulations due to deer overpopulation

Farmer Jackie Beougher is tired of seeing deer destroying her crops.

The owner of Beougher Farms on Meridian Road said deer have been eating her crops for several years.

“When the seeds come out of the ground, they start nibbling on them, especially soybeans. They love soybeans,” Beougher said. “Then, when (the deer) are big and the corn is ripe, right before we pick it, they come in … they eat four rows.”

She says she expects to lose some of her crops to deer every year, which is having a negative impact on her farm’s finances.

“We need to get these deer out of here because it’s not our job to feed them,” Beougher said.

She doesn’t hunt herself, but has obtained 10 deer permits that allow local hunters to shoot the animals because of crop damage.

Malcolm Brubaker, a hunter for about 40 years, has been helping his neighbors, including Beougher, reduce the deer population. He said he has also heard from other local farmers that the deer are damaging their crops and even posing a risk of transmitting diseases to their cattle.

Brubaker also gives people free venison. He usually lets people know on social media that he’s going hunting, and they come pick up the meat.

“I put together a short post on Facebook and within two hours, 45 people showed up, saying they would like to get deer meat for their uncle and deer for their parents,” he said.

Meanwhile, state officials discussed proposed hunting regulations aimed at controlling the deer population with the public at a June 26 meeting in Gaylord. They will make a decision on the matter July 11.

Chad Fedewa, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources, said southern Michigan, in particular, is struggling with an overpopulation of deer, which not only damages agriculture but also prevents forests from regenerating.

“(The deer) are probably at or above the population level we would like to see them at,” Fedewa said. “Once the numbers get to a certain point, we see a lot of negative impacts from the deer.”

Brubaker said one reason for the overpopulation of deer is that there are far fewer hunters today than he saw as a child.

“If people had started … hunting more deer than usual, we would not be in the current situation where the population has reached almost critical levels,” he said.

In that same vein, Fedewa said the DNR is not only seeing fewer hunters, but is also finding that those hunters aren’t hunting much. He said many hunters are only killing one deer a year.

The number of people picking more than two fruits a year is “quite negligible,” he added.

“We’ve tried to change the regulations as much as we can to encourage hunters to hunt more antlerless deer (hinds) to reduce the population,” Fedewa said. “But we still see things going in the opposite direction at this point.”

Fedewa said a combination license is available, which consists of two tags that can be used on female and/or male deer. A person can purchase an additional 10 tags for female deer per year.

“It’s interesting because when I first started hunting, you could get one deer,” Brubaker said. “And if you were lucky enough to get a permit to hunt a doe, you could get one.”

Fedewa said regulated hunting is the primary method of managing the deer population because winters in the Lower Peninsula are typically not harsh and deer are not attacked by predators as often.

To achieve the long-term goal of reducing the deer population, the DNR is working on a deer management initiative, has implemented universal antlerless deer hunting licenses for every county and is seeking to increase funding for the Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger program.

Editor’s Note: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is a sponsor of WCMU. We report on them as we would any other organization.