New Michigan one-buck rule raises worries about hurting deer hunting
The new limits Michigan hunters will face on harvesting antlered deer next year could hurt the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' bottom line, causing further problems for a department already dealing with declining license sales and increasing costs. The new rules are intended to reverse deer population trends in Michigan, where some southeast Michigan communities have taken the controversial step of culling their abundant herds and where does often outnumber bucks. DNR officials projected their initial recommendation for enacting a so-called "one buck rule" would lead to an annual loss of at least $1 million in license sales revenue, according to a memo department officials sent to the Natural Resources Commission in March. In May, a commissioner speculated that potential losses could range upwards of $6 million, a sizeable chunk of the $27.6 million in revenue the DNR receives from selling single, combination and universal antlerless deer hunting licenses. "It won't be disastrous, but certainly this level will still be painful to absorb while we have to contend with the responsibility we have to try and manage our resources appropriately as well," said Brent Rudolph, DNR deer, elk and moose management specialist, in an interview with The Detroit News. This
