2023 Deer Harvest: Full Interview with Chad Stewart of the MI-DNR 

We have a 600 acre camp in northern Iron County. We have lost almost all of our hemlock and cedar trees because of disease or parasites. There are extensive areas of dead trees where there is slow or no tree growth. We also have wolves, coyotes, bear and bobcats that we've seen on trail cameras. Lack of cover, an abundance of predators, and periodic severe winters have had an impact on our deer numbers. However, I do believe that the tipping point has been the increase in wolf, and other predator, numbers in our area. We still see an ocassional deer, and moose, but the numbers are definitely down. It's rare to see a mature doe with a yearlng deer. There are very few yearling deer that even make it from birth to the Fall. I think that can only be attributed to predators.

I was on the DMI team here in the U.P. Chad and DNR staff were great to work with

No disrespect to Mr. Stewart. We need deer biologists from Michigan!! The U.P. needs it's own biologist. U.P. deer have different challenges than L.P. deer. Not to mention way different challenges than Pennsylvania, Indiana, or Illinois deer! U.P. 1 buck rule. No does period no matter what season and season ends dec. 1st. Leave yarding deer alone.

So… instead of bringing up snowfall records and temperature records from the past and comparing, we”ll just say it’s the weather causing it. 😂. Also maybe the bear population is up in the southern UP but from the 20 cams I’m running I don’t think bear numbers are up on the north side of highway 41. Also there is now a small pack of wolves coming within 200 yards of my neighborhood. Do I not let my dogs out or let my little kids play outside in low light conditions or after dark? Something bad will happen and then it will all boil over. Give it some more time. Thanks DNR! 👍

let's talk the L.P. you have given out way to many doe permits. in the U.P. i quit hunting years ago. don't even waste your time if you are not in menominee or delta county.

And by the way, Stewart doesn't seem passionate about his job. It wasn't until he spoke about his hunting, did he even sound interested in the conversation. He seemed to repeat the key words and talking points to end the interview as quickly as possible. Just do your job. You would think for a $90k+ a year salary, you would take more of an ownership in what he is doing.

its just like when the dnr introduce pine marten in the 80s and protected them we lost all the small game for years... now we have WOLVES THAT ARE PROTECTED. What hunts a wolf in michigan? The winters are hard enough on the deer its always been that way. When you see more Wolves than deer you have a problem. From Powell Township..

I have heard about the habitat loss (Hemlock, cedar) in Deer Wintering Complexes for quite some time now. And there is a lot of discussion on how to improve that. And I understand that much of the DWC acreage is located on private land. Presumably land that is enrolled in commercial forest programs. Question: Has anyone tried contacting the the large CFP land owners of the DW Complexes and simply ask them to stop cutting hemlock and cedar as part of their management plans? Seems really simple. We know where the DWC's are. We know who owns those properties. What is being done to contact these land owners and work directly with them to prevent the harvest of hemlock and cedars. I know this is a strange concept in this day and age. But has anyone just asked these folks to stop the harvest of the important habitat trees? Trees which I understand to have virtually no value as a timber product.

I’ve hunted deer in Montmorency County since 1967. The deer hunting has gotten worse nearly every year since 1999. Fewer deer and more predators. Very poor deer management practices by Michigan DNR.

I liked the topic, but it didn’t raise my confidence much. I am glad that the DNR is willing to try something new and host committee meetings. At the very least, they recognize that what they have been doing hasn’t worked. Solving the issue is not an easy task and the DNR is not in an enviable position. However, by Mr. Stewart’s own admission, the problem isn’t new. Ask John Ozoga, he’s weighed in on this for years. Mr. Stewart said they are targeting younger individuals to sit on the committees, those in their 20s through 40s, since they have a longer term vested interest in the outcome. That makes sense; however, I hope they also recruit a few older individuals, as with age comes a significant amount of wisdom (at least for some). If I were the DNR, I’d start by getting everyone on the same page. I’d provide an overview of the historical problem, what the DNR has identified as the various root causes throughout the years and then what steps they took to address those root causes. They should lay it all on the table, admitting where they were wrong and communicate what worked and what didn’t work. For example, on one occasion maybe they identified the correct root cause, but their solution did not correct the problem. That may be because they misidentified the solution or, because they couldn’t control the variables to the degree they needed to in order to improve the heard by a statistically significant amount. It sounds like they may be doing this to some degree but, it didn’t sound like it would be this detailed. Yes, the dynamics have changed over time. Thirty years ago, wolves were not part of the equation. However, taking this approach addresses two key aspects. One, it normalizes the knowledge base of the committee members and provides everyone with an overview of what has been tried in the past. You need to start with everyone having this baseline information. Hopefully, this eliminates one person from simply stating, “it’s the wolves” or another “it’s the hunting regulations”. Yes, those items come into play but by having a deeper understanding of the problem, those individuals will take a broader view of the issue. And, by having a complete overview of past practices, it may open up some members to think about things they might not have thought about if they were more singularly focused. Two, it ensures the management practices these committees define don’t repeat previous mistakes. If the committee concludes that something that was tried previously should be tried again, then the discussion focuses on why it didn’t work the first time and what needs to be done differently to increase the odds of success. There is no easy answer, and it will be a long arduous journey.

I live in Delta County just north of Rapid River and between 3 hunters we saw a total of 3 deer for all of rifle and BP season. My daughter shot a 6 point on opening day, and good thing she did because she never saw a thing after that and ate her doe tag. 15 years ago we would see 10-12 deer /day. It has gotten steadily worse every year since then. I've seen wolves several times near here in the last 10 years. IMO the X factor here are wolves. Manage the wolves and the deer will rebound. Until then, one buck tag and doe tags only in select areas. I haven't talked to a single guy who hunted that saw sh#t for deer. We used a lot of trail cams too and saw hardly any deer on them. I may not even buy a tag next year !

Good show

Are the tribal harvest total counted.

Wolves are not the only problem. Many people do not or cannot register their deer on line. In Wisconsin it's been estimated that 30% p!us deer are killed and not registered since mandatory carcass tagging and In-person deer registration has been discontinued. License sales have dropped. Wisconsin hunters have been begging that tagging be returned along with In-person registration to better manage the deer herd.

Beautiful work. Have doubt

Is there habitat loss in every county??

Not from Michigan But love the Content!

Its really sad that a wolf gets an unlimited bag limit on deer but I get a fine if I bag more than two 🤔

No doe harvest.Especially early in the season with bow

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves 😢

This best describes Michigan. You want a trophy buck of 130” or better you hunt the shotgun zone , Clare south. You want an 80” public land buck a year or bear every 10 years you hunt the northern lower from Mack to houghton lk. If you want to kill a bear every year or other year you pick the UP. And if you want to kill a wolf a week you pick the UP.

Online deer registration does not work. You cannot properly manage the deer herd with substantially poor harvest data.

...how many deer are killed by a Cougar in a years time

#1 PROBLEM DNR: Do Nothing Right

By every measurable metric, this DNR representative has failed. To continue to listen to these Blatant lies should only solidify to the viewing public, This individual needs to be replaced immediately. Interviews like this need to have data to push back on these lies. That pushback must be delivered in a firm and Insertive way.

Wolves not snow . Wolves wolves by by deer.

Yep, you are clearly missing something in terms of managment. Its listening to the hunters and the people in the U.P. and yes Its a number of problems, number one is harsh winters. Cant do much about that and number two is predators and there are a variety of "SOLUTIONS" for that one. Why is the state not focusing on that problem like yesterday! When I see more Wolf tracks than Deer tracks out hunting, seeeeeems like kind of a PROBLEM!? If that might be of some help on the mismanagement side of things! DNR needs to presure the state hard on the predator problem as the voice of the people here in the U.P./state! Call me silly but it sure seem like the people we put into office or fund through licencing actually dont really do whats in the best interetst of what the majority of the hunters/people need on this type of issue! Just mostly rhetoric and excuses! Little help here, please!! Thanks!

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves

Anybody ever had wolf burgers?

Its nearly impossible to manage one species when you have another species that is left unmanaged. When a cougar will take over 100 deer a year half of which are fawns and wolf will take 30 deer in a year and you don't acknowledge that fact your deer herds are doomed. I live and hunt in Idaho and have seen it on our elk populations. In my home area we have year around wolf seasons and up to 10 tags and still have 3 times the states objective on wolves.

U KNOW THE PROBLEM WOLVES AND WINTER HABITAT FIX IT NOW ITS YOUR JOB I HAVE SEEN ALL THE CYCLES. STOP THE POLITICS FIX IT , FIX IT, FIX IT. U ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME GO TO WASHINGTON AND GET THE WOLVES DE LISTED. AND FIX THE WINTER COMPLEXES THE MONEY IS THERE

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves ❤

Top 3 problems: 1. Wolves 2. Wolves 3. Wolves

It’s the same story from the Dnr they pretty much just collect money . When I was a kid we used to cut cedar trees for fence posts and we fed the deer when things were bad winter . They need to get out of the office and go talk to loggers and farmers and walk around they just sitting collecting their checks and giving excuses. Maybe they should just get out of totally and let somebody else run it .

The deer herd in the manistee national forest in nw lower is the lowest ive seen in 40 years. Along with the hunters. The deer herd is not down because of severe winters here. Only been able to ride snowmobiles for about 2 weeks in the last 3 years. So i would say its a predator problem here also. MI DNR just grubbing our money and lying their asses off. Start stocking fish again to. That would be nice.

Wolves.

Its 100% miss management by the DNR . And that guy iis part of it

1 buck state. Make youth hunt antlerless only. And let people bait if they want to.

He can’t even look at you, but I know it’s the government sadly

Is he essentially saying the harvest numbers are lower because some people break the law and dont report!? Thags the most insane, totally opinionated, reason for low harvest numbers ive ever heard. Who is this guy!? Lol

The dnr sucks, Chad can’t answer any questions He’s such a politician Thank you for questioning him on everything. He sucks No one trusts them because they just lie all the time

Do away with the 72 hour harvest reporting . I know of a few deer taken at remote camps that dont have phone or internet service. Hunters dont want to leave camp to go find service for this unnecessary requirement.I feel report by end of season would have higher compliance

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves ❤

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves

Also the bear, coyote and bobcat population just keeps getting larger because hound hunters won’t take their dogs to hunt the yoop because of the wolves