Expect fewer deer hunters to participate in a specialized hunt on North Manitou that begins Friday, an outcome linked to complications in reaching the Wilderness-designated island.
Permits were issued for up to 200 hunters, but approximately one-quarter of them have notifi ed the National Park Service that they may not attend. The principal reason is that the Mishe Mokwa ferry won’t be dropping off hunters, who can use other means to reach the island — at a higher price.
“We have about 50 who inquired (about withdrawing),” said Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker. “We’ll work with each individual hunter and consider their request.”
The Mishe Mokwa won’t be making the trip because of safety concerns when the ferry is tied to a 100-foot dock extension needed because the National Park Service did not dredge its existing dock.
While the issue of safety remains unsettled — captain Jimmy Munoz, who has 31 years of experience plying the Manitou Passage, strongly disagrees with NPS engineers in Denver who are sticking by their design — would-be hunters who bought permits for the island’s coveted eight-day wilderness hunt scrambled to find alternative transportation.
Alternative is available, but it’s expensive. While the cost for a round-trip ferry ride was published as $150, the price jumps to $400 to board a landing-craft boat capable of beaching on the island’s southern, sandy tip with up to eight hunters aboard.
North Manitou, though lacking a natural harbor, is a 15,000acre gem among an archipelago of Lake Michigan islands. If spread out equally, each of the 150 hunters would have 100 acres to themselves.
The dock extension, built at a cost of $1 million, was considered a stop-gap solution to a long-term problem linked to a dock built in the 1980s at a southeastern point that requires annual dredging. In an attempt to avoid dredging costs — which can add up to more than $500,000 annually — the NPS built the flow-through extension as a temporary fix and recently issued a multi-million dollar contract to build a new dock in a new location that likewise will allow water to freely flow under its deck.
Having fewer island summer visitors might enhance North Manitou’s wilderness reputation, but having fewer hunters goes against a NPS goal of managing and even reducing the herd and its browsing damage to natural plant succession.
“I hope all 150 hunters shoot a doe, but I know a few trophy bucks will come off as well,” Tucker said. “We would love for everyone to shoot a doe so we can keep the herd manageable and sustain the balance.”
Whitetails were introduced to North Manitou for fee hunting in 1926 and artificially fed; that practice ended when the Park Service bought the deer-saturated island in 1984. The NPS promoted hunting as a way to reclaim forest understory and liberalized the take. Hunters are allowed to shoot as many antlered and anterless deer as they want.
North Manitou is not overrun with deer like it was in those early hunts. In 1984, some 5,000 applicants sought 1,000 permits. In the end only 710 hunters made the trip, returning with 825 deer. With no harvest restrictions the herd shrank, followed by a dip in the number of participants. The hunt hit bottom in 2005 with only two deer shot by 52 hunters.
The herd has since rebounded. Roughly 230 hunters went out in 2023, harvesting 127 deer including some truly fantastic bucks. But it’s hard to top 2021, when 196 hunters brought home 160 deer, including 101 bucks.
Hunters must abide by wilderness rules that include a ban on campfires and size limits on camping parties. Flexibility is required as Lake Michigan can turn dangerous in minutes, forcing delayed departing and pickup times.
Munoz and a friend also own the landing boat that will be taking hunters to the island. He plans on making several trips, weather dependent, to ensure those venturous enough to spend a week in wilderness have safe passage.
“The thing is, we lose efficiency. We would make more money using the ferry, but I won’t put people in jeopardy,” he said.
Kent Bacon of the Grand Rapids area won’t be going, but not because of the cost. He takes the wilderness side of the island hunt serious, attiring and armoring himself in 1700s motif.
After attending 23 out of the last 25 hunts, he figures it’s time to take a year off.
“I had a great time last year, and I have a good time each and every time I go to the island because it’s a unique environment. Wandering around the woods is three quarters of the reason for my going over. If I see a deer, I consider the hunt successful. If I get a deer, so much the better,” Bacon said.
He’s traveled to North Manitou aboard the Bear, the landing craft that will provide access this fall.
“As I recall it was more than double the normal fee. But they were very flexible as far as working with people’s schedules going over and coming back … Jimmy and those guys, they always do us right,” Bacon said.
