April O'Neil / news@WHMI.com

Firearm deer season is over and Michigan DNR reports the majority of the 2023 harvest is officially in the books.

According to a year-end press release from the DNR, the 2023 deer harvest for the entire state is down compared to last year by a total of 11%, or almost 30,000 deer. The decline was expected, and something the DNR is closely monitoring.

Other Great Lakes states, including Wisconsin (-17.6%) and Minnesota (-7.4%) also recorded harvest declines during their firearm deer seasons. A few contributing factors include fewer hunters, milder winters, lack of predators, and an abundance of agriculture.

In 2022, a new rule went into effect for Michigan hunters to report their deer harvest online. The new method gives the DNR a real-time estimate of deer harvest as it occurs. The majority of hunters filed their 2023 harvest report through the DNR's website or mobile app.

Since 1995, the DNR has sold hunting licenses using an electronic license sales system, allowing officials to maintain a central database with information on every license sold. License numbers through the end of November 2023, overall, show about 590,000 people obtained a deer tag in Michigan- a 1% increase compared to last year at this time.

Subsequently, the DNR reported a 33% decline in Michigan hunters, or, an average annual decline of 1.7%, since 1995. Hunter participation has declined with each generation, and 2023 marked the lowest level of youth recruitment ever recorded.

Using data to look toward the future, the DNR predicts that 434,000 people will purchase a deer hunting license in 2030. This represents a 25% decline from the number of licensed hunters in 2019.

The current and projected declines are part of a national trend, with very few exceptions, especially when looking at states that have experienced little to no population growth in decades, like Michigan.

More information and a link to the full press release can be found at the provided link.