Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
This year’s firearm deer hunting season appears to have produced fewer successes in the Upper Peninsula.
Wildlife biologists with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported yesterday that preliminary results from their check-in stations showed the harvest at about five percent less than last year, and five percent under the 10-year average.
DNR deputy public information officer John Pepin said heavy snowfall may have kept hunters out of the woods.
The eastern U.P. was hit by a major storm at the start of the season in mid-November, and check-ins at Sault Ste. Marie were down by 54 percent. Road construction near the Soo station may also have limited reports there.
The western and central U.P. were hit hard by snow last week. Check-ins at Baraga were down by 11 percent.
Pepin said poor weather not only limits the hunt, it also discourages hunters from visiting the voluntary check-in stations.
DNR staffers said hunters reported seeing plenty of deer.
Read the DNR’s full release here.
