(WXMI) — Michigan hunters will have expanded access to both public and private land in the Lower Peninsula during the early and late antlerless firearm seasons, according to new hunting rules released by the Department of Natural Resources.
The changes, which were announced statewide on July 10, will officially go into effect on August 1 ahead of the deer hunting season.
"That change was made last year that those areas would be open for individuals who want to go out and hunt antlerless deer. It continues again this year," said Chad Stewart, Wildlife Interactions Unit Supervisor with the Michigan DNR.
The adjustments over the past few years come in response to declining hunter numbers across the state. According to the DNR, Michigan had over 800,000 deer hunters 20 years ago. That number has now dropped to around 550,000.
"Just as you would expect us to make changes if we were to start to see an influx of like 250,000 hunters over a 20-year time, we have to start making some changes for that reciprocal decline, which is what we're seeing," Stewart said.
Local hunting retailers are hearing mixed reactions from customers about the recent changes.
"You see a lot of varying opinions between customers. I think I'm in favor of it, truthfully. I think everybody should be. We're trying to harvest more of those. It's been stated that we have a quote-unquote deer problem, if you will in certain counties, and you're starting to see that being expanded more," said Jon Schultze, store manager at Grand Valley Sporting Goods.
Despite the overall decline in hunter numbers reported by the DNR, Schultze says his store hasn't experienced a drop in business.
"We're not seeing that happen here. Our customer base is still very strong. Steady flow of customers coming in, picking up new stuff, continuing to hunt and purchasing tags," Schultze said.
Grand Valley Sporting Goods focuses on educating customers about the regulatory changes and promoting hunting safety as the new rules take effect.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
