When it comes to deer season in Michigan, few areas are as passionate about the sport than the Upper Peninsula. Not only do the hunters begin salivating as soon as the latter part of summer arrives, but businesses know that their revenues will climb thanks to the import of hunters from outside the U.P.
So, when the
Department of Natural Resources announces the deer herd predictions, people tend to take note.
"Deer season is what I wait for," says Leonard Wikstrom, of Gwinn. "I schedule my vacation around it. I would go hunting even if they didn't give me my vacation time then."
Fake coughs and sick days aside, the DNR's recent forecast for the hunting season are positive for the U.P.
Within the Upper Peninsula, the department reports, deer populations continue to slowly increase thanks to two mild winters in a row. Antlered deer numbers are expected to be on the rise, too, which bodes well for the more than 100,000 hunters who come to the north woods for the hunts.
For those wondering where all the deer will be, the DNR has predicted that more deer will be found in the Southern Upper Peninsula near Lake Michigan, with fewer numbers near Lake Superior to the north.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
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