ESCANABA — Michigan’s 2019 firearm deer season is approaching its halfway point. Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Escanaba Customer Service Center Wildlife Biologist Karen Sexton said the season has been going well locally.

“Preliminary deer check statistics for Escanaba Customer Service Center puts us pretty similar to 2018 and the 10-year average,” Sexton said.

Roughly 30,500 bucks were harvested across the Upper Peninsula in 2018. A similar number was seen in 2017.

According to Sexton, the Escanaba Customer Service Center has been receiving valuable feedback from hunters getting their deer checked there. The feedback has indicated hunters in the area have been seeing plenty of deer, including younger bucks.

“Folks have typically been passing those up for an opportunity to harvest a mature buck,” Sexton said.

Sexton noted customer service center workers have also heard about people getting into deer hunting this year.

“We’ve had the opportunity to hear some great first-hunt stories, and that’s always wonderful,” she said.

The current firearm deer season may not be going as smoothly as it has been locally everywhere in the U.P.

“In some areas in the U.P., the numbers are down, but it’s still preliminary,” Sexton said.

Sexton noted weather may be contributing to lower numbers in some parts of the peninsula. She said the Newberry Customer Service Center has indicated some hunters have been snowed out of their camps.

In the south-central U.P., however, snow was only on the ground for the season’s opening day.

“(That) might have made it difficult to track game,” Sexton said.

Aside from this, conditions have been ideal for hunting in the area.

“The weather has been good for sitting longer hours or throughout the day,” Sexton said.

Sexton also spoke about the DNR’s continued efforts to test deer heads for CWD. Hunters have been submitting samples from the core and expanded surveillance areas.

For 2019, the DNR is aiming to test about 2,600 deer. Sexton said she was unable to tell how close the DNR was to reaching this goal as of Thursday, but that a sizable joint submission of samples from a number of check sites in the U.P. was sent in recently.

The joint submission included samples dropped off at sites in Escanaba, Norway and Crystal Falls. More than 250 samples have been submitted since Nov. 15 at the sites included in the joint submission.

“We’re grateful to see cooperation again this year,” Sexton said.