June 23, 1999

On June 10 the Natural Resources Commission NRC passed by a 4 to 2 vote to make DMU 107 (located in southern Clare County) a demonstration area for 5 years. Starting in 1999 the first buck taken shall have no less than 3 points on one side with all points being at least 1 inch in length. The second buck rule doesn’t change, which is 4 points on one side minimum.

The object of this rule change is to better balance the biological structure of the deer herd. Also in DMU 107 there will be an unlimited number of anterless permits available to qualified applicants this year. Having access to 40 acres or more is qualification.

This rule change in DMU 107 is the culmination of 4 years of petitions to DNR director K.L. Cool and proposals to the NRC by Mr. Marc Yenkel. Mr. Yenkel is a citizen of Clare and a member of the Mid Michigan Branch Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), which supported Marc in his quest. Mr. Yenkel is available for comment, phone number 517-386-9488.

Having a rule of 3 points on a side minimum in DMU 107 protects approximately 50% of the 1½ year-old bucks. This is not a high standard and should be viewed as an introduction to passing and protecting yearling bucks. It is the recommendation of the Mid Michigan Branch that 4 points on a side be voluntarily followed which would protect 85% of the young guys.

This new buck rule and unlimited anterless permits now puts deer management decisions squarely in the hands of landowners and hunters. Whether you harvest a doe and how many, now needs some thought. The new rule takes out the "if it’s brown it’s down syndrome". This forces you to look and identify the deer before you shoot. This addresses the issue of safety and should lower the number of button bucks needlessly shot.

Even though 3 on a side is not a high standard, it should show satisfactory results in a short time. Passing on the young bucks adds to the deer population, so please keep this in mind when making a decision to apply for and utilizing those anterless permits. Deer need space, and if you hunt in a poor adult buck to doe ratio (should be 1:2) or high deer density area, the buck you passed on may just pass on to a better area. You literally need to make room to keep or attract bucks into your hunting spot.

Mr. Yenkel with the help of the DNR, NRC, concerned hunters and the Mid-Michigan Branch has just let in some daylight. Let’s make it a success and let everyone learn from this demonstration. Hopefully in the near future, the majority will adopt this thinking, make it a statewide rule and really let the sun shine in.