Michigan hunters brought home 15 percent fewer deer last year than they did in 2013. A report from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources blames the decline on bad weather and depleted populations in some areas.
Deer Management Specialist Chad Stewart says the Upper Peninsula was particularly hard hit.
“They’re coming off two extremely severe winters that really dropped the deer herd down and then they are dealing with a pretty high predator load up there, as well, that … keep numbers suppressed,” says Stewart.
Hunters in the U.P. harvested 36 percent fewer deer than in 2013. In the northern Lower Peninsula, the decline was about 14 percent.