Michigan DNR photo A small group of white-tailed deer, one a mature buck with big antlers, stand in a field of golden grass against a dark forest backdrop.

ESCANABA — In Delta and Menominee counties, where a milder winter was experienced in 2024 to 2025, the deer harvest is expected to be up this year.

When it comes to deer analysis, the severity of a winter is gauged not by temperature but by the amount of snowfall and how long it covers the ground, making food sources inaccessible. There were significant periods during which ground was fully exposed, especially in southern Menominee County. With the exception of the snowbelts, other parts of the Upper Peninsula also had a winter that was also classified as mild. However, farther north, it was a different story.

“Any deer that didn’t manage to migrate out of the Keweenaw, northwestern Marquette, eastern Alger, or northern Baraga, Ontonagon, Schoolcraft, Luce, and Chippewa would have had a miserable winter. These areas all rated as a moderate to severe winter,” said Joe Sage, wildlife biologist for Delta and Menominee Counties with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The DNR uses a number of statistical indices to estimate the population of white-tailed deer in the state’s various regions. The numbers are primarily from hunter data, part of why hunters are required to report their kills.

They’re also beginning to gather information from camera surveys, which were placed for the purpose of gathering information on wolves but are triggered by other animals as well. More data from those cameras will likely be incorporated into population estimates in the future and provide better figures than indices alone.

“The unsatisfying side of relying on indices rather than detailed surveys is that we can’t say with certainty exactly how many deer are on the landscape, and folks like to hear those hard numbers,” Sage said. “But we can accurately judge whether our numbers are high or low, and rising or falling.”

He said that anecdotal observations suggest that in areas where winter was mild, the deer population appears to be slightly increased.

The winter of 2023 to 2024 was even milder. Does likely gave birth to more fawns the following spring, but that age class will only be a year-and-a-half old by this hunting season.

As far as 2025 births: “We’re just starting to see how our fawn crop is looking, but preliminary thoughts are that we should be at least average this year for fawn production,” Sage reported.

Because of an estimated increased deer population, the biologist predicted a few things:

For one, farmers may see crop damage, and the DNR will likely issue a good number of deer damage shooting permits, which “are issued to resolve agricultural or horticultural damage occurring on properties outside of deer hunting seasons,” according to the State of Michigan. If anyone experiences such damage, they may call 517-284-9453 or email their name, phone number and county to dnr-wildlife@michigan.gov.

Another type of crop may also be in danger — forests.

“Deer herbivory is being implicated in how well hardwood trees regenerate following harvests, with areas in the U.P. with higher deer numbers experiencing significant problems in regenerating hardwood trees,” Sage said. “There’s more to the hardwood regeneration issue beyond just deer herbivory, but there’s active research at the moment looking at the interaction.”

The Michigan Society of American Foresters (SAF) states that there are too many deer, and that policies need to change around their management.

“Excessive white-tailed deer herbivory in Michigan forests is impacting native tree regeneration, sustainable forest management, and long-term ecological health of Michigan forests and other vegetation types,” reads the SAF’s position statement on the deer issue. “White-tailed deer numbers must be low enough to allow for the regeneration of forests, the development of desired plant communities and wildlife habitats, and all the goods and services that managed forests generate. Policies and issues on both state land and private land, including urban and residential areas, need to be re-evaluated, especially those that will support family forestland owners to voluntarily take deer.”

Especially in areas that had a mild winter, it’s safe to say that deer numbers are fairly high at the moment. Hunter success was surprisingly low in 2023, and only a little higher in 2024. Sage predicts that this autumn’s hunting season will yield more tags filled, and reminds all hunters to report their harvests.