By: Richard P. Smith. During 2018, the DNR estimated there were 13,756 black bears in the state that were at least a year old on September 1, 2017. The estimate for the UP was 10,799 and 2,957 of those were in the northern LP. In 2019, the DNR estimated the state’s bear population was only 12,408 animals at least a year old on September 1, 2018, with 9,761 of those living in the UP and 2,647 residing in the northern LP. In other words, the population declined by 1,348 in one year’s time when the … Read More
Have Wolves Destroyed The (Michigan) Deer Population?
By: Carol Stiffler. Lou Bennett owns 20 acres of land east of Newberry and says he’s fed deer herds there for 30 years. It was perfect, he said. The woods offered plenty to eat, and many places for deer to hide. There was no pressure. Each winter, he’d feed between 250 and 300 deer. That began to change a few winters ago, and Bennett saw the herd drop hundreds of animals at a time. “Last year I was down to about 100, 125,” he said. “This year, not one deer came back. Not one.” Bennett … Read More
Home Waters – Don’t Be Fooled About Wolves
By: Dennis Smith. At a wolf symposium in Grand Junction (Colorado) in August of 2018, Dr. Valerius Geist stated: “I’m here to tell you why the wolf does not belong in settled landscapes. Wolves do unbelievable damage to wildlife, they do great damage to agriculture, they pose a real threat to public health and safety and they kill humans under now well-known circumstances. Moreover, after all the pain, suffering and depredations that wolves inflict on people in settled landscapes, after the enormous public expenditures to maintain wolves, all the effort and costs are for naught … Read More