Area deer rely on help to survive winter

As snow depths reach over four feet in parts of the Copper Country, it becomes hard for animals like deer to survive. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources encourages supplemental feeding by residents throughout the Keweenaw Peninsula.

There are several conditions that must be met to have a site on your property. The DNR only allows the practice between January 1st and May 15th each year. The feed has to be placed at least a quarter-mile from a paved highway and one mile from animal herds or farms growing produce and fruit that deer would potentially be attracted to.

Feed has a specific definition. The DNR will accept only a mix, “grains, second cut alfalfa and clover, and pelletized food materials containing no animal protein which is scattered or dispersed directly upon the ground to a depth which shall not exceed three inches.”