LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – As Michigan deer herd continues to grow, state officials say last year’s harvest was 8% higher than in 2023.
A mail survey sent to 58,000 hunters by the Michigan department of Natural Resources put the total taken in 2024 at 373,300.
Antlerless deer taken grew by an estimated 18%, while buck harvest remained nearly unchanged in 2024.
Hunting changes this past year included special extended late antlerless deer season that ran into January, adding seven counties to an archery season originally designed to target urban areas, and increasing firearm flexibility during the muzzleloader season in the Lower Peninsula.
Wildlife officials says the booming deer population has caused more car crashes and farm crop destruction.
Overall, the estimated deer harvest remains significantly lower today than its peak in the late 1990’s, with fewer Michigan hunters headed into the woods every fall and winter.
Overall in 2024, 604,088 people purchased a deer hunting license in Michigan, which is a 1.6% increase from 2023, but a huge drop from the 850,000 purchased in 1995. That 31% drop is similar to other state across the nation.
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