That one buck limit for northern Michigan established last week by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission, the policy arm of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)?
It’s got the attention of Leelanau County deer hunters.
“We’ve been talking quite a bit,” said Daryl Couturier, an avid deer hunter from Lake Leelanau and founding member of an inactive organization named Leelanau Whitetails. The group at its peak in the early 2000’s accomplished its goal of convincing the MDNR and revving up hunter support to establish antler restrictions (APRs) in the county.
The new rule will begin with the 2027 deer season. APR rules will remain in affect.
Leelanau, history reveals, became the test case for much of the state. The popularity of rules protecting spike horns and four-points from being harvested eventually spread across much of Michigan. Now most of the northwest section of the Lower Peninsula have APRs in place.
Couturier’s concern with the one-buck rule — hunters can now harvest two adult bucks per season — is partially based on concerns that conservation officers will find the order difficult to enforce, and that provisions in the law will confuse even well-intended hunters.
“I feel like they should make it simple, because the average guy didn’t know this was coming. There is a lot to the one buck rule, and I think the earna- buck is the way to go,” Couturier said.
Indeed, the final version of the new rule was crafted through several amendments during a nine-hour MNRC meeting that included four hours of public comment from hunters in attendance. The harvest limit in all of the northern Lower Peninsula was reduced to one buck in 2027. One buck will be the norm for the southern portion of the Lower Peninsula, although a provision was passed directing the MDNR to propose the “earn a second buck” pilot program for so-far unnamed southern Michigan counties. Under that provision, hunters who tagged a buck would have to kill a doe to be eligible for a second buck tag. The unrestricted two-buck limit remains in place for the Upper Peninsula.
The goal of the discussion was to adjust policy to convince hunters to harvest more antler less deer, which ultimately controls herd size. Many hunters have been buying a “combo license” that allows the harvest of a doe or one buck as well as a second buck with at least four antler points on one antler.
County Sheriff Mike Borkovich — a driving force for Leelanau Whitetails and owner of a company that helps property owners manage for deer hunting — is supportive of the one-buck rule.
“My original proposal was one buck, four points on one side. I like the idea of harvesting one buck to one doe, because they are born one-to-one,” Borkovich said.
He also supports previous efforts of the MDNR to increase doe harvests by liberally issuing doe tags in hopes of reducing the overall deer herd size in Leelanau County and most of the Lower Peninsula. Yet, he acknowledges that only lip service is given to the often-stated message that shooting more does is the only effective way to control herd size and the level of crop damage inflicted on county farmers and orchardists.
The result of the one-buck rule, Borkovich hopes, is twofold. He’s anticipating that hunters hold off on shooting one-year-old bucks that meet APR restrictions, letting the population of bigger bucks occupy a higher percentage of the herd.
And he hopes that hunters who want to harvest two deer to eat will put a doe in their freezer.
Couturier and Borkovich say enforcement will be a key issue in determining hunter buy-in to the program. They discussed the baiting ban in the Lower Peninsula.
“If they do this, they have to enforce it,” said Couturier, who for several years owned specialized dogs that helped hunters find wounded deer. “It can’t be like baiting, where they don’t look. There are legal guys who quit hunting due to no bait, and there are a lot of guys who kept on baiting. When I was (dog) tracking, I’d say 80% of the deer tracked started at bait piles.”
Borkovich, who opposes the “earn-a-buck” program due to enforcement difficulties, believes limited baiting should be allowed.
“Our sportsmen are good people. Quit confusing them with all the laws,” he said.
