Houghton Lake Resorter
A perceived decline in the deer population brought concerned citizens and Rep. Joel Sheltrown together for a lunch at the Tin Fish Cafe in Roscommon Aug. 23.
Bob McReavy, a self-described "frustrated hunter" and his wife, Judy, of Nester Lodge, Dick Cronk, owner of Rolling Oaks Archery, Roscommon, and Doug Smith, Tin Fish owner, and other concerned residents and government officials sat down with Sheltrown to discuss ideas about deer management.
Bob McReavy had asked Sheltrown's office to assist him in circulating petitions to the Natural Resources Commission from Rose City to Clare.
"The deer are gone," he said.
McReavy presented the approximately 1,200 signature-petitions to the NRC in Lansing July 7.
Judy McReavy thanked Cronk, Smith, and Roscommon County Commissioners James Smolarz and Edward Nellist for assisting in the petition drive as well.
Cronk said deer sightings are down significantly and that the Department of Natural Resources should take advantage of local resources, people who know their "backyard," to count the deer accurately, rather than relying on deer droppings data.
Smith suggested counts are off because of the lack of field offices. With the DNR keeping only regional offices open, the count is "not even close."
Other issues discussed with Sheltrown were clear-cutting by the DNR, the decline of bovine TB and a possibly increasing coyote population.
Sheltrown said he is aware of many complaints in Roscommon County about the clear-cutting.
"It's offensive to people," he said. There has been legislation submitted addressing the need for buffer zones in clear-cut areas.
Concerning clear-cutting, Sheltrown said a public hearing will be held in St. Helen in the near future on the topic. He also plans to meet with members of the NRC to discuss deer hunting regulations and he plans to take some of the suggestions brought up at the lunch meeting back to Lansing, such as operating lottery ticket sales for sportsmen, keeping DNR deer check stations open on Sundays and investigating the coyote population. Sheltrown said the DNR needs more avenues for generating money to scientifically count the deer.
Cronk, the McReavys and others plan to collect another set of signatures on a 2006 petition. The petition requests the NRC significantly reduce the number of antlerless deer permits in deer management units in the region, except for DMU 452 and other DMUs where bovine tuberculosis has been found. The new petitions are to be turned over to Sheltrown's office by Jan. 1, 2006.
"We are here to stay," Cronk said. "There's just too many people that feel this way."