A late antlerless firearm hunt will be held Jan. 2-5 and Jan. 9-12 on private land in southern Alpena County, Michigan. The Department of Natural Resources is offering this season to provide an opportunity for deer management at a localized scale in northeast Michigan’s bovine tuberculosis area.
The hunt will be held on private land south of Highway M-32 in Alpena County. This portion of Alpena County is a mosaic of land used for cattle farming and crop production, and the landscape also contains plenty of deer habitat. Increased antlerless deer harvest in this targeted area will reduce the number of deer interacting with farms and help limit the number of bovine tuberculosis-infected wildlife and cattle herds in the future.
Hunters who do not own property in the area still can participate. The Hunting Access Program provides access to quality private land across the state for increased public hunting opportunity. Multiple locations are available in the southern half of Alpena County for all hunting seasons. Additional properties now are being enrolled in short-term leases exclusively for this January 2020 hunt. View enrolled properties at Michigan.gov/HAP and on Mi-Hunt at Michigan.gov.MiHUNT.
Hunters can take antlerless deer with an unused 2019 deer license, deer combo license or private-land antlerless license for DMU 487. Additional tags can be purchased at any DNR license agent through Jan. 12. Disease control permits issued for 2020 also will be valid for use during this season.
The DNR strongly encourages successful hunters to bring their deer to the Alpena DNR deer check station between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. any day of the hunt. Sixty percent of deer that test positive for bovine tuberculosis show no signs of the disease, so testing is important. Self-service drop boxes to submit heads for testing are available 24 hours a day at the Alpena deer check station and the Mio DNR field office (see locations at Michigan.gov/DeerCheck). The use of a smartphone is required to use the drop boxes.
Hunters also have an opportunity to donate their deer to help the community. Michigan Sportsman Against Hunger, the Foodbank of Eastern Michigan and the DNR are working together to collect deer for donation during this hunt. Just bring field-dressed deer to the Alpena DNR deer check station between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the eight days of the hunt.
Contact DNR Wildlife Health Specialist Emily Sewell at SewellE@michigan.gov or 231-340-1821 with any questions.
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