Announcer:
You know what that sound means. It's time for the Michigan DNR's Wildtalk Podcast. Welcome to the Wildtalk Podcast where representatives from the DNR's Wildlife Division chew the fat and shoot the scat about all things habitat, feathers, and fur. With insights, interviews, and your questions answered on the air, you'll get a better picture of what's happening in the world of wildlife here in the great state of Michigan.

Hannah:
Welcome to Wildtalk. I'm Hannah Schauer and hosting with me today is Rachel Leightner.

Rachel:
It wouldn't be November if we didn't talk about white-tailed deer, so this episode we'll be talking deer. We'll be joined later by Chad Stewart, the deer, elk, and moose program specialist.

Hannah:
And we'll be answering your deer related questions from the mailbag. But first, we'll kick things off with what's happening around the state.

Announcer:
Do you still need to get to the store or go online to buy your license for the firearm deer season? If so, why not give yourself a shot at a prize package worth thousands, as well as licenses for elk, bear, spring and fall turkey, antlerless deer, and first pick at a managed waterfowl area.

Announcer:
Just pick up a $5 application or two for the Pure Michigan Hunt while you're getting your deer license. There's no limit to the number you can buy. For more information, including a list of sponsors and prizes, visit michigan.gov/pmh.

Hannah:
It's now time for some updates on what is going on in Wildlife Division around the state. Let's start in the southwestern portion of the state. Rachel, what do you have for us?

Rachel:
Well, because the Chronic Wasting Disease Core Area and Management Zone encompass 19 counties in Southwest Michigan, the majority of the fall months have been spent planning, stacking, and staffing deer check stations. This year, we hired additional staff to work at check stations from the archery season to the end of the late doe season. And since the Liberty Hunt in mid-September, deer have been consistently coming in to get checked.

Rachel:
In addition to all things deer, our southwest staff have been spending time engaging with their local schools and communities. School teachers and students are in the midst of their science and biology lessons during the fall classes, and so there's been lots of opportunities for staff to go talk about wildlife in classrooms or attend career fairs, give natural resource talks at the town hall meetings.

Rachel:
That's always fun. It's great to watch a student's face light up when they get to see and touch a deer pelt or coyote fur for the first time. For our staff, it's a little reminder to slow down from all the deer hunting hustle and bustle, and see wildlife for the first time again through a kid's point of view.

Rachel:
Lastly, bird hunts are underway. The Pheasant Hunting Initiative began in October with the release of rooster pheasants on select state game areas across Southern Michigan, and waterfowl hunters are also finding success throughout their season. Hunters at Rose Lake experienced higher-than-normal water levels this year, which helped to draw more birds into the area.

Rachel:
So, Hannah, as always, our dynamic Southwest staff is working hard and keeping busy this fall.

Hannah:
Excellent. I love to hear it.

Rachel:
What about in the southeastern region, Hannah?

Hannah:
Deer check operations ramp up in the southeastern region in November, as we've talked about with the other regions as well. The Southeast is no exception. They will have many check stations and drop boxes available to successful deer hunters.

Hannah:
This year, we are especially interested in testing deer heads from Jackson County, in particular, the southern portion of the county. We're looking for about 2,500 deer heads from Jackson County to help determine if there are any additional CWD-positive deer in that area.

Hannah:
Five deer have tested positive from the county so far, and these positives were in Spring Arbor, Liberty, and Summit townships. Our staff look forward to connecting with hunters to hear how their season went, and to hear their concerns and answer any questions that they have. So be sure if you're hunting in those areas to stop by one of our check stations.

Hannah:
In addition to gearing up for deer season, duck and goose seasons continue through November and into December. Our Wetland Wonders, or Managed Waterfowl Areas, are harvesting plenty of ducks. Make sure you get out to one of our Wetland Wonders this season and enjoy those frosty mornings huddled in the marsh.

Hannah:
Don't forget, in November, each Wetland Wonder will host youth waterfowl hunting events where youth will be given priority in hunt drawings. Additional youth activities will be held as well in partnership with local hunt clubs. These days are really fun, so check out the 2019 Waterfowl Digest for dates of these upcoming youth hunts.

Hannah:
Also in November, our Wetland Wonders host veterans' waterfowl hunts, the weekend of Veterans Day in November, with drawing priority given to parties with veterans to honor those who've served our country. Again, check out that Waterfowl Digest for dates.

Hannah:
All right, moving north. Rachel, what is going on in the Northern Lower Region?

Rachel:
Our Northern Michigan folks just wrapped up bear and fall elk seasons. It's an exciting time of year. This year, the first four days of the fall elk season were slightly cooler than normal, so they had good weather to go hunting in, which led to early success. Of the 100 elk tags issued this fall, 71 of those elk were harvested. All three of our Pure Michigan Hunt winners harvested their bull elk this fall as well.

Hannah:
Awesome.

Rachel:
Now, we're just getting ready and planning ahead for the final December elk hunt. Again, a hundred hunters will attend the elk hunting orientation and receive their tags, and get their chance at that big prize.

Rachel:
Bear season wrapped up as well. Some Bear Management Units had an increase in their license quotas this year. That was reflected in the amount of bears that were harvested. The Cadillac Customer Service Center saw a record number of bears for their check station this year. I had the chance to go spend the day with the Cadillac staff during the first week of their season, and we checked 26 bears in one day.

Hannah:
Oh, my goodness.

Rachel:
It was really cool. That was more than double the bears that they've been checking in previous years. It was awesome to see so many hunters come in and be so excited. There were lots of good sized bears, bears that weigh about the average amount, but there were a few that tilted the scales between 450 and 550 pounds. One of our biologists described those bears as notably large. It was really exciting, and congratulations to all of our bear hunters out there this year.

Rachel:
Additionally, staff have also been spending time discussing species regulations. The regulation cycles for deer and for bear, turkey, waterfowl, bears, these will all occur over the next few years, and so staff are starting now to seek input and discuss potential changes that they will eventually present to the Natural Resource Commission.

Rachel:
Much like the rest of the state, the Northern Lower has prepped and is in full deer season mode. Check stations have seen a good number of deer come through so far, especially bucks. Despite the warm weather at the start of the archery season, we've had good success rates so far.

Rachel:
In a few weeks when the firearm season opens up and the temperatures really cool down, we're expecting to check even more deer. Our northern staff who work check stations during the frigid, harsh Northern Michigan winters are a dedicated bunch, so if you're a Northern Michigan hunter and you shoot your whitetail, make sure to stop in to a check station, have your deer checked, and get your patch.

Rachel:
Finally, Hannah, what updates do you have for us from the Upper Peninsula?

Hannah:
Well, in the UP, hunters have ample opportunities to harvest many different game birds. Deviating from our deer topics as of late, we're going to talk a little bit about some of those opportunities to harvest a couple of the harder-to-find birds in the Upper Peninsula.

Hannah:
There are some great pheasant hunting opportunities in parts of Delta and Menominee counties. Most of these opportunities are provided by the stocking of pheasants coordinated by the Menominee County Pheasant Club. Pheasants will be released on private property, and also pheasants will be stocked on a piece of public land that is locally known as the Berg Farm. This portion of the Escanaba Forest Management Unit is in central Menominee County, east of the town Daggett.

Hannah:
The Menominee County Pheasant Club and the DNR Wildlife Division have partnered to do intensive habitat work at this location and provide habitat that is suitable for pheasants and pheasant hunting. We did parking lot improvement at this location, maintain walking trails, do some prescribed fire to enhance and maintain the grasses that provide those cover for pheasants. It's a great place to check out if you're in the area and want to do some pheasant hunting.

Hannah:
Besides pheasant hunting, there are some other upland bird hunting that are popular in the Upper Peninsula. Ruffed grouse is a targeted species, but hunters might also move from the woods to the fields in the far eastern Upper Peninsula later in October to pursue a different grouse species, the sharptail grouse.

Hannah:
Sharptail grouse is a grassland species. They like to hang out in those open or semi-open habitats, from farmlands, to marshes, and larger openings across the eastern half of the UP. They're most abundant in eastern Chippewa and Mackinac counties on the far east end of the UP where low-intensity agriculture, like hay and pasture land, helps to support them as well as other grassland species.

Hannah:
Hunting season for sharptail grouse is open from October 10th through 31st in a limited portion of the eastern Chippewa and Mackinac counties. The bag limit is two per day and hunters are limited to six birds for the season. For those interested in sharptail hunting, more details, including a map of the hunting zone, are in the Hunting Digest.

Hannah:
The DNR has worked with the Conservation District and land owners in the area to provide access to over 5,000 acres of private lands through the Hunting Access Program, which is oftentimes where you might find some of these sharptail hunting opportunities. The HAP program provides public hunting access to these properties on a first come, first serve basis.

Hannah:
It can still be challenging to find one of these birds, so hunters can expect to do a lot of walking across fields and are not guaranteed to see one. But many sharptail hunters have enjoyed this unique hunt for the Upper Peninsula and appreciated the opportunity to see and maybe even harvest one of Michigan's sharptail grouse.

Hannah:
That's all from around the state. Next, we'll be chatting with Chad Stewart, so stay tuned.

Announcer:
The Wetland Wonders Challenge started October 12 and runs through February 10, 2020. Winners take home a duck hunting prize package including a $500 gift card for duck hunting gear, a custom Zink Duck Call, a YETI water bottle, and a Golden Ticket good for one first choice pick at a non-reserved Managed Area drawing.

Announcer:
You must hunt at least three of the seven areas to qualify, but each additional area you visit gets you another entry. Visit michigan.gov/wetlandwonders for more info.

Rachel:
Welcome back to Wildtalk. Today, Hannah and I are joined by Chad Stewart, the DNR's deer, elk, and moose program specialist. Welcome, Chad.

Chad:
Hi, Rachel. Hi, Hannah.

Hannah:
Hello, hello. Thanks for being here.

Chad:
Thanks for having me.

Hannah:
Yeah.

Rachel:
White-tailed deer and deer hunting are really important to Michigan's economy and Michigan in general, so your job as the deer specialist is equally important. What are some of your most favorite or most exciting parts about being the deer specialist?

Chad:
What I really like about it is that each day is different than the other. We're talking about deer or elk, but the topics are different. At this time of year, we're talking a lot about hunting, and deer hunting regulations, and weather and how that might influence things. But later in the year, we could be talking about wildlife diseases, we could be talking about deer-vehicle collisions, in the summer, a lot of times we talk about deer and agricultural conflicts.

Chad:
There's so many things to talk about. Earlier in the year, we talked about urban deer management and what that looks like. There's a lot of different topics to talk about within the deer world. It's all about deer, but it's all very different. I think that's really cool. Keeping that conversation with wildlife and deer, which you know I love, obviously, but then exploring different avenues, whether it's management, or research, or conflict resolution, or disease. I think that's just really interesting and fun. It keeps the job really kind of fresh.

Hannah:
Absolutely. No two days are the same.

Chad:
Exactly.

Rachel:
This time of year, I'm sure you're extremely busy, but are you finding some time to get into the woods yourself?

Chad:
Yes. I've been out only once so far. It was not the greatest evening to be out, but you wait all year to sort of get into the woods, and I just had to do it. It's really getting to that great time of year to be out when the deer are really active, they're moving, the leaves are obviously starting to change color. I don't know, there's just a feel in the air that you kind of enjoy.

Chad:
I'm definitely going to be going out more. Honestly, I'm going to try to do some different kinds of hunting that I usually don't do every year. I've got a new German shorthair pointer, so I'm going to try to do some bird hunting behind him. I'm really looking at sort of diversifying my hunting experiences here over the next couple of weeks and months.

Hannah:
Awesome.

Rachel:
Exciting. This year, there were some major changes to some deer hunting regulations. Could you talk a bit more about what some of those regulation changes are and what hunters should be aware of as they're gearing up for the firearm deer season?

Chad:
Sure. Yeah. A lot of the deer regulation changes that we made this year because we're in what we call an off-cycle deer regulations year. Typically, when we make deer regulations, it's every three years because we want to give those regulations an opportunity to sort of play out over time to see if they're having an impact, either good or bad, and what we anticipate their intent to be.

Chad:
This year was an off-year, but we still developed regulations because of new information because of chronic wasting disease. Specifically, the one that's getting the most traction this year in terms of public visibility is a feeding and baiting ban in the Lower Peninsula. Essentially, everything in Zone 2 and 3 below the bridge, everybody is essentially prohibited from using bait for the assistance of taking deer, whether you're on public or private land. That's going to be a major change for a lot of hunters because there are so many people that have used bait as a technique for their harvest strategies previously.

Chad:
The reason that we've done that is because of the expanding footprint of chronic wasting disease that we have on our landscape, as well as the continued persistence of bovine tuberculosis in our northeastern deer herd. Both of those diseases are transmissible, which means they can be transmitted from one deer to another. Especially in the case of chronic wasting disease, it can actually be picked up from the environment.

Chad:
So when we are bringing deer into close proximity, through the repeated act of baiting and feeding, the likelihood of transmitting the disease from one infected animal to a non-infected animal is certainly elevated. That's something we're trying to incorporate in our risk mitigation of this disease.

Chad:
Another thing that we've changed was our CWD Management Zone. We added three additional counties for CWD management. And so Barry, Lenawee, and Midland counties were all added to our CWD Management Zone this year. They join the previous 16 counties, so we now have a 19-county CWD Management Zone. That was another major change that hunters in those three counties will be seeing some changes that we incorporated previously last year into those other 16 counties will now be eligible for those three counties.

Chad:
Another one that we recently incorporated through our Natural Resources Commission was adding antler point restrictions in three counties in the Lower Peninsula, so specifically Mecosta, Montcalm, and Ionia counties. Those three counties now are under a 4 point to a side antler point restriction. Essentially what that does is it protects at minimum a 50% of the yearling bucks in the landscape, and is really geared toward trying to facilitate increased antlerless harvests in those areas. In doing so, it's protecting a few more bucks on the landscape that previously would not be protected.

Chad:
The hope is that hunters will continue to better, I guess, manage the deer herd in some of those areas by taking more antlerless deer, improving those ratios that we see on the landscape between bucks and does, providing some additional opportunities for them down the road, and hopefully, it actually assists with our disease management.

Chad:
We've actually incorporated a study moving forward to try to evaluate both hunters' effectiveness in trying to manage the deer herd in those areas, as well as the impact that they could have on CWD and potentially the spread of CWD. That's going to be one of those projects that we plan on evaluating here over the next couple of years and seeing if that is one of those regulations that can sort of coexist with the idea of CWD management moving forward.

Hannah:
Very interesting. Can you tell us a little bit about ... So far, this has been about regulations in the Lower Peninsula, primarily. What about the Upper Peninsula? Can you touch on the UP Core CWD Surveillance Area and what's changed up there for this year?

Chad:
Sure. Yeah, we also have a baiting and feeding ban in what we call our UP Core Surveillance Area. That's boundaried by several major roads up there in southern Dickinson, Menominee counties. I think it gets into Iron County a little bit. The best way to know if you're hunting in that area is to probably visit our website, which is www.mi.gov/cwd. There is a comprehensive map there that shows you where the exact boundaries of that core area are. But there's no baiting and feeding in that approximately 660-square-mile area that we've designated.

Chad:
There are some additional changes in that area. Also, hunters will not have any antler point restrictions where they're hunting off of, regardless of the deer license or the combination license that they're using in that area. No antler point restrictions in those areas. Again, a decision made by our Natural Resources Commission, who is our governing body in terms of regulations.

Chad:
And then there is some additional changes in some of those surrounding DMUs in that general area, specifically the return of taking antlerless deer during the archery season, with your either deer license or combination license. If you can remember a couple years ago, our Natural Resources Commission removed that opportunity to try to facilitate the growth of our deer herd after several really hard winters had an impact on our deer herd in the Upper Peninsula.

Chad:
That regulation remains throughout most of the Upper Peninsula, but it was added back in that sort of farm country that we have in Menominee County, where the deer are a little bit more productive. The winters aren't quite as severe. There's some additional opportunities in, I believe it's about five DMUs, for archers this year to use their either deer license or combination license on antlerless deer if they desire.

Hannah:
We've been getting a lot of questions, too, as we touched on with the baiting ban, but also some questions about food plots. People can still plant food plots on their private property, correct?

Chad:
Yeah, that's a great question. Food plots, just like any agricultural practice, is still allowed. The Department of Natural Resources or the Natural Resources Commission doesn't have authority over those types of agricultural practices.

Chad:
I've heard those same questions, just like you guys are getting, why are we allowing food plots? Isn't that also concentrating deer and promoting a risk factor? The answer is yes, it is still concentrating deer because of a human-assisted activity. It's probably not to the extent as a bait pile, which is obviously a lot smaller in area. It's usually a 10' x 10' area, whereas food plots can be anywhere from maybe a tenth of an acre, a quarter of an acre, or even larger in some instances. But it really comes down to authority, and our Natural Resources Commission does not have the authority to ban agricultural practices, which food plots are considered.

Chad:
Those are perfectly legal activities. In the absence of baiting, it's possible that ... It's too late, obviously, at this time of year to get food plots in, in most cases. But that's something, a strategy to look forward to in the future. That's an opportunity for people to really take a yearlong approach with their deer management and incorporating some of those food plot activities that they might do in the summer, and hopefully have benefits in the fall when they're hunting over them.

Hannah:
Are there other types of attractants that people can use to aid in their hunting, especially if they're hunting on public land where they're not necessarily going to have access to a food plot or something like that? But what else can people do to be successful this year?

Chad:
Yeah. Attractants and different types of lures are still legal to be used. There might be some restrictions in certain cases. We know a lot of people use urine-based products to attract or try to draw deer to a specific location, relative to their deer stand, or to use it as a cover sent. A lot of times, people will put some sort of doe urine on their boots to cover their scent going in, or have some sort of drag rope behind them to, again, cover their scent. That practice is still legal and allowed, provided that the urine that they're using has what we call the ATA seal of approval, ATA being the Archery and Trade Association's participation in what they call the Deer Herd Protection Program.

Chad:
Essentially what that means is that that product is coming from a facility that really goes above and beyond in terms of trying to protect their herd from having CWD entered into their program. It's a less of an opportunity for introducing prions into a new environment that might be associated with a lesser regulated facility. Probably about 80-90% of the commercial products that you see in your stores have that ATA seal of approval on them, so it shouldn't impact hunters too much.

Chad:
Then there's other kind of lures or attractants, and those are sort of like the food-scented ones. People are very familiar with those sprays or aerosols that they have that smell like acorn scents, or apples, corn. I've seen some that say cherry vanilla, which is kind of an interesting idea.

Hannah:
Oh, yeah.

Chad:
But anyway, those are also able to be used, but they have to be sprayed or placed in an area where it's not accessible to deer. So the idea of spraying something that's apple scented on leaves where multiple deer can come up and sort of munch on that bush or that area is not considered a legal use. But you can spray it certainly on your boots, you can put it, if you get into a tree stand, you can spray it up there. You can spray it on top of your blind.

Chad:
There's a lot of different ways you could use it to make it inaccessible to deer and still hopefully get that curiosity behavior where they come in and see what's going on, and then that allows you to have an opportunity to harvest that animal.

Hannah:
Right. A lot of good tips and things that people can still take advantage of.

Chad:
Yeah, I hope so. We know that some of these regulations can be certainly challenging and frustrating to a lot of people, but we know that there's certainly a lot of deer out there.

Chad:
The reason that these are being done, these activities or regulations are put in place, is ultimately because we feel that it's minimizing risk. We feel so strongly about something like chronic wasting disease taking hold in our deer herd, and spreading, and having impacts years or decades from now. We really feel that these are the right approaches moving forward. It certainly takes some time to get used to, but hopefully people can get used to it and still enjoy hunting today and years future.

Rachel:
Speaking of chronic wasting disease, you mentioned we have 19 counties in the Southern, Southwestern Michigan that are part of the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zones and Core Area. Do you have any idea how many deer have been tested for chronic wasting disease out of that area?

Chad:
Out of the 19 counties, I don't have a good estimate, but I know since about 2015 when we first started testing for CWD rigorously, we've tested over 60,000 deer for chronic wasting disease. That's across the entire state. Obviously, most of those deer are coming from our CWD Core Areas or CWD Management Areas.

Chad:
We've currently identified, we're sitting at about 130 animals that we've identified as being positive. Certainly, that number is going to grow as we get into the next hunting season, which is coming up.

Chad:
Certainly, that doesn't sound like a lot, 130 out of 60,000, but know that the number of positives are essentially coming from a confined, what I believe is just nine-county area, with most of them being centered on this Montcalm, northeastern Kent County area, whereas the 60,000 number is statewide.

Chad:
In some of those areas where we're really finding CWD more frequently, it's maybe at a rate of about 1 out of 100 deer that we're finding it, which, again, doesn't sound too bad. Certainly, if it stayed at 1 out of 100 sort of in perpetuity, we probably wouldn't be thinking about chronic wasting disease too much.

Chad:
But what we know with CWD from experiences in other states is that it doesn't stay at that level. The prevalence rate, which is simply the number tested positive over the number tested, is going to continue to increase in rate. What looks like 1 out of 100 today in that area might turn out to be 1 in 50, or 1 in 20 in 10 years, or it might be as high as 2 in 5 in 20 or 30 years. That's something we never want to get to.

Chad:
We're trying to sort of break that cycle as best as we can with the regulations that we've put in place. We can't guarantee that we're going to be successful, obviously, but we feel like we really need to take a stance and try to make an approach with it and give it our best shot.

Hannah:
Thank you for that update. Certainly, people can find more testing numbers, testing results, and all of the latest and greatest as far as testing numbers go right on our website at michigan.gov/cwd.

Hannah:
Now, Chad, I did want to touch back on ... You were talking a little bit about the new antler point restrictions as part of that study. You talked a little bit about wanting that to hopefully help increase some of the doe harvest. I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit more about why it's so important for deer hunters, especially in those disease areas, to harvest antlerless deer.

Chad:
Sure. When we talk about what does deer management look like in some of these areas where we have known disease, and how can we try to break that cycle? The best approach that we feel we can move forward with is to try to remove not only CWD-positive animals off the landscape, so they're not subsequently infecting naive deer or contributing to depositing the prions into the environment, but it's also to try to keep the numbers of deer overall in balance.

Chad:
That's something that we should just ultimately strive for anyway with good deer management. In some of these areas where we have CWD, we know we have a lot of deer that can probably withstand having fewer deer on the landscape. In order to do that, we need to really emphasize taking antlerless deer as well as antlered deer.

Chad:
When hunters ask us, "How can we help? What can we do to help manage disease?" the easy answer is to try to be a successful hunter. The example I give is not be very, very selective all the way through your hunting season, looking for that one buck that you really want to get. And then it gets down to the end of the year, and that buck never materialized or showed up. You try to be successful in taking either a lesser buck or a doe, and it just doesn't happen, so you wind up being an unsuccessful hunter, which in and of itself is fine, but in terms of trying to be beneficial for disease management, it would really be helpful to have a deer harvested out of that area.

Chad:
We certainly are encouraging early harvest of deer, whether it's an antlerless deer or an antlered deer, that way you're doing your part. You're helping manage things.

Chad:
Historically, in those areas, we've had sort of an imbalanced harvest ratio. We talk about for every maybe 10 antlered deer that are harvested in those, example, three-county areas where we have the antler point restrictions, we're only shooting about 7 antlerless deer.

Chad:
We'd like to get some sort of directional balance with our harvest regulations. Hunters have been there before. Back in the early 2010s, late 2000s, hunters were doing that. In recent years, they have not been there. It's been shifted to more an antlered-focused harvest. We're trying to get back to those days when harvest was more balanced between antlerless deer and antlered deer.

Chad:
We feel that we can have our hunters help balance our herd and hopefully be beneficial in managing the deer and the disease in that area. We're going to do everything we can to evaluate whether or not this sort of experiment or this regulation is able to coexist with disease on the landscape.

Rachel:
And, if I may add, in my amateur hunting experience, does just tastes better. The meat's more tender, and they don't taste as gamey as bucks do, and the flavors hold. Like, recipes, the meat holds seasonings and flavors just a little bit better, so I'm a little partial.

Chad:
There you go.

Rachel:
Well, thanks so much for joining us today, Chad, and taking the time to explain some of the new regulations and the APR study. We really appreciate you sharing all of these helpful tips with us.

Rachel:
Stick around. Next up, we'll be answering your questions from the mailbag.

Announcer:
If you are looking for an exciting fishing or hunting adventure, fall in Michigan has it. Whether you jump in a river filled with massive salmon and steelhead, intercept migrating woodcock and grouse, set a decoy spread for divers and puddlers, or hang a stand somewhere on Michigan's 8 million acres of public land, there is something to be pursued. We have what you need to get out and join in on the excitement. Visit michigan.gov/huntfishmich for more info.

Hannah:
Welcome back to Wildtalk. I'm Hannah, and I have Rachel here with me. Now, it is time to dig into your questions from our mailbag.

Announcer:
One, two, three.

Hannah:
Sticking with our deer theme, our first question is from Jason who called us wanting to know about using archery equipment during the firearm deer season. You can use archery equipment during the firearm deer season. You'll just need to follow all the firearm deer season regulations, which includes the firearm season antler point restrictions for the area you are hunting in.

Hannah:
Rachel, what do you got for us?

Rachel:
Mark was wondering if it was legal to pick up roadkill deer for personal use, and if a permit is required. Yes, you would need a roadkill salvage permit to collect a roadkill deer that you would like to take home. The roadkill salvage permit application is available at michigan.gov/roadkillpermit.

Rachel:
With deer in particular, please keep in mind that you cannot move the carcass of a roadkilled deer outside the county where the deer was killed, except for deboned meat, quarters, or other parts of the deer that do not have any part of the spinal column or head attached, antlers, antlers attached to the skull, or a skullcap cleaned of all brain and muscle tissue, hides, upper canine teeth, or a finished taxidermy mount.

Hannah:
Thanks, Rachel. My next question is similar to that. Julie wrote in and said, "I hunt some different public land within the chronic wasting disease area in the Lower Peninsula, and my processor is located outside of the CWD area. How do I get my deer there without getting in trouble?"

Hannah:
Similar to the roadkill transportation we just discussed, there are restrictions on what parts of your harvested deer you can bring out of the CWD area. Deer harvested in the Core CWD area, that's Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, and Newaygo counties, cannot be possessed or transported outside of those counties unless it is deboned meat, quarters, or other parts of the deer that do not have any part of the spinal column or head attached, the antlers, antlers attached to the skull or skullcap cleaned of all brain and muscle tissue, hides, upper canine teeth, or a finished taxidermy mount.

Hannah:
Or the other option is that the hunter has presented the head at a designated drop-off location within 24 hours after killing the deer. This means taking your deer to a DNR check station or drop box within 24 hours of harvest.

Hannah:
Similarly, deer harvested in the CWD Management Zone, so this is Barry, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Lenawee, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Ottawa, and Shiawassee counties, they cannot transport a harvested deer outside of the CWD Management Zone unless it is the deboned meat, quarters, et cetera, as we just mentioned. Or you've presented the head at a designated drop-off location within 24 hours. So bringing your deer to a DNR check station or drop box within 24 hours.

Hannah:
If you are in the CWD Management Zone, so those larger group of counties I just mentioned, you can take the entire carcass into the CWD Core Area with no restrictions.

Hannah:
If you harvest a deer you'd like to have mounted, we have some handy flow charts and information to outline your options for checking the deer and getting samples taken that will not damage your mount, depending on the type of mount you want to have done, of course. Visit michigan.gov/cwd, and click on For Hunters to get more information on carcass transportation options. Thank you for moving your deer responsibly this season.

Rachel:
Our last question for the mailbag is also deer-based. Scott asks about where in Michigan we need deer to test for bovine tuberculosis. The DNR works in partnership with the Michigan Department of Ag and Rural Development to establish surveillance quotas in order to detect changes in the occurrences of bovine TB in free-ranging white-tailed deer populations.

Rachel:
Deer Management Units 487 and 452 are included in this bovine tuberculosis management area. Head submissions by hunters is critical in helping us meet those quotas. If you hunt in Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Presque Isle, or Roscommon counties, please bring your deer to a check station so we can test it for bovine tuberculosis.

Rachel:
Of course, hunters are asked to submit deer carcasses with chest lesions, suspicious for TB, from anywhere in the state. You can go to michigan.gov/deercheck to find check station locations and hours. You can also check your deer or elk TB lab results michigan.gov/dnrlab. To learn more about bovine TB in Michigan, visit michigan.gov/bovinetb. We'll be sure to include these links to all of the resources we've been talking about in our show notes.

Hannah:
All right, as we zip this segment to a close, remember, if you have questions about wildlife or hunting, you can call (517) 284-WILD, email dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov, or stop by one of our offices. Your question could be featured on the next mailbag.

Announcer:
Fur harvesters, if you plan to do any bobcat hunting or trapping this winter, be sure to pick up your bobcat kill tags by November 30th. Bobcat kill tags are free of charge to Michigan resident fur harvesters, but are only available through November 30th.

Announcer:
You can pick up your fur harvester license and kill tags anywhere in Michigan hunting and fishing licenses are sold, or purchase them online. For more information on fur harvesting opportunities in Michigan, or to buy your license online, visit michigan.gov/trapping.

Rachel:
We've talked a lot on this episode about deer hunting, and we aren't done yet.

Hannah:
Nope. Sure not.

Rachel:
After all, November in Michigan is the time to celebrate deer and deer hunting.

Hannah:
That's right. Deer hunting has long been a tradition in many Michigan families. Rachel, I know you and your dad enjoy doing some deer hunting together. Have you done any deer hunting yet this year, or are you waiting for firearm season?

Rachel:
We are ready for firearm season. My dad is a really big archery hunter, so he's been spending a lot of time in the woods yet, with no success just yet.

Hannah:
Bummer.

Rachel:
Yes, but not a bummer for me. I'm excited for all that is to come within the next couple of weeks. This past weekend, I sighted in my tried-and-true Knight muzzleloader. I've been hunting with that since I was 12, so I believe in it. So when the firearm season rolls around, hopefully it's a good experience for me and my dad this year.

Hannah:
Awesome. I hope so, too. People still gear up for the firearm opener by heading out to their deer camp with all their gear in tow. It's a great time of year to spend time with your family and friends, and enjoy the crisp fall air. I know that's my favorite part about fall. So spend some time sitting in the woods, bring a friend or a hunting buddy along with you to make some memories.

Rachel:
And if you don't already, you can use deer hunting as an opportunity to mentor a youth, or even an adult who is new to hunting, and to pass on the tradition. Youth 9 and under can get their mentored youth license. Youth 10-16 years of age can get their junior license or an apprentice license.

Rachel:
Adults that don't have hunter safety but would like to try out hunting can also hunt with a mentor using the apprentice license. Learn more about youth and apprentice hunting options at michigan.gov/mentoredhunting.

Hannah:
And before you hit the woods, we want to remind everyone to be safe. Please check out some of our hunting safety tips from our conservation officers at michigan.gov/huntingsafety.

Rachel:
Deer hunting is important to Michiganders in other ways, too. Hunting and fishing have been a significant economic impact on our state and bring in $11.2 billion annually. Of that, Michigan's 700,000 hunters bring in $8.9 billion.

Hannah:
And did you know, for every $1 million spent on hunting and fishing related purchases in Michigan, approximately 19 jobs are created for our state residents. During the 2018 hunting seasons, we had over 500,000 folks pursuing deer. Deer hunters play a critical role in providing that funding for wildlife conservation efforts here in Michigan.

Hannah:
We'll include a link to the economic impact study, commissioned by Michigan United Conservation Clubs, in our show notes if you're interested in learning more about the impacts of hunting and fishing on Michigan's economy.

Rachel:
Yes, so thank you to all of our hunters out there. We hope you have a safe and successful deer season. We'll see you back here in December.

Announcer:
This has been the Wildtalk Podcast, your monthly podcast airing the first of each month and offering insights into the world of wildlife across the state of Michigan. You can reach the wildlife division at (517) 284-9453, or dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.

Announcer:
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