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In 1994 an enterprising habitat biologist wanted to know what the hunters in his service area were experiencing during the firearm deer hunting season. Craig Albright, who works out of the Gladstone field office for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality (MDNRE), created the Deer Camp Survey with initial responses from 57camps and 352 hunters in the south central UP.

His objective was to gain data that could be layered against other scientific information to see if it showed a constant that would help verify what he and other biologists were doing to assess deer hunting seasons and quotas from year to year.

Albright wanted to know how many days the average hunter was afield, how many deer he saw and whether they were adults or fawns, male or female. He also wanted to see how many deer were taken on which day on the average throughout the firearm hunt. The study would also provide a trend analysis as to hunter success.

Today the survey covers 17 Deer Management Units (DMUs) from the Wisconsin border all the way to Schoolcraft County and all counties north and south. There are 414 camps and 1,930 hunters participating, many of which have been involved with the annual project since it started. The only drop in participation occurred in 2003, when 27 less responded.

The format is simple but detailed enough to give specific measures. It also asks for input about sightings of non-game species of wildlife including predators. Another component that has been part of the study since its start, is a comment section where hunters express their views as to what may be happening and effecting their outcomes.

One anomaly of the study is how the season of 1997 and 2009 are similar.

In both situations, the hunter success from two years prior was high with 44% in 1995 and 33% in 2007, dropping in the next two years to lows of 20% and 21% respectively. Each of the drops followed bad winters with significant die-offs of adult deer and fawns including spring mortality.

A similar climb occurred during the time from 1998 through the season of 2000, however deer population recovery almost flat-lined until it arched upward in 2006, peaking again in 2007.

At this point it may be noteworthy that the recovery cycle of overall populations has not gained at peak levels, dropping an average 5.5% overall. Hunters reported 5,942 fawn and 13,530 doe sightings in 2009 - a ratio of 44 fawns per 100 does. This was the second straight year in which the ratio was below the long term average of 53 fawns per 100 does. In fact, this year tied 1997.

The data collected shows some significant changes in relation to long term averages and, again, a pattern similar to that seen in 1997.

According to the report, “the average number of deer observed per hunter during the entire 2009 firearm season was 13 deer (2 bucks and 11 antlerless deer per hunter). This was well below the 16 year average of 18 deer seen per hunter with only the 1997 season having lower total sighting numbers of only 12 per hunter.” This will most likely create similar fawn recruitment implications for upcoming deer seasons as it has patterned out before, now compounded due to being the second consecutive year of decline. This will ripple towards a probable reduced amount of 3.5 year old bucks available in 2010.

“During 2009, 66% of camps called the season poor, second only to 1997 when 77% of the camps gave the season this rating. Only 2% of camps related the 2009 season as excellent - the lowest percentage of excellent ratings ever recorded in the 16 year history of this survey.”

Some good news is that hunters seem more willing to pass on bucks in areas where they have multiple buck sightings per season. There is increased awareness of the need to advance age class of the buck population, however even the “Let-em Go and Let-em Grow” program did not have the same effect in areas where few if any bucks are seen. There were also antler restrictions for bucks harvested by those who opted to buy a combination license also known as the “Hunters Choice Buck Rule.” One can consider that as a result, the percentage of 1.5 year old bucks harvested seasonally has dropped from 49% in 2007, to 24% in 2009.

The numbers of furbearer species of wildlife sightings per 100 hunter days has climbed on the average since 1999. Coyotes lead all species with an average of almost 3.4 per 100 hunter days up from 2.75 seen last year. Wolves are catching up fast, with an elevation to an average 2.7 per 100 hunter days in 2009 also up from 1.75 seen last year. The other furbearers listed in the report include marten, fisher, bobcat, fox and cougar.

The numbers and comparisons I’ve presented here are the overall average from all points reporting. If you’d like to see what happened in your particular DMU, or if you are considering enrolling as a participating camp, a copy of the 2009 Deer Camp Survey is available free of charge through the MDNRE Gladstone office. You can also call for a copy or sign up at (906)786-2351. Those who do participate are eligible for prizes, drawn at random and sponsored by UP Whitetails Association, Inc.