Deer Population

Humans have had a large impact on the deer population in Michigan. It is important to know the history in order to keep populations safe and stable. Without hunting in the state of Michigan the deer population would be out of control. As Americans began to industrialize we started to push wildlife into smaller and smaller areas. We have taken over a vast majority of the land, thus decreasing the habitats and removing parts of the food chain that are required to keep an ecosystem stable. Hunting is not only to lower the population of a species, but also to provide funds to regenerate a species. Overpopulation can be caused by a lack of predators of deer, such as the gray wolf (Mississippi State). Another contributing factor to overpopulation
Humans to started to influence the deer population beginning with migration into southern Michigan. At this time the deer population was primarily in the south, because of unregulated shooting and logging by early settlers, it forced the deer population into the North. As recorded by the DNR, “Logging camps of 100 to 200 men used venison as the primary source of meat for months at a time. Railroads that had been developed to facilitate the timber market also provided transportation of game meat to Eastern markets (DNR, 2017).” The deer population fell to nearly nothing by 1870, as a result many started to perform research, leading to the regulation of hunting, so by 1930 there was a recognized “abundance of deer”. “Mr. Llo Bartlett, the state's first deer biologist, reported that there were 1.125 million deer in the state in 1937” (DNR, 2017). This increase in the deer population caused many problems for the state of Michigan.
From this point on, the primary problem with deer population was over population. This is a result of deer taking advantage of human agriculture which provides them with a much larger food source than the forest alone. “In addition to the food sources available to them in forests, deer have successfully exploited the human-altered environment, feeding in agricultural fields, orchards, roadsides, lawns, and gardens” (Rawinski).
Hunting has increased the conservation of land and animals. The taxes on fishing, hunting and shooting equipment, and the fees for licenses and stamps are all deposited into the American System of Conservation Funding. If you consider donations and taxes from hunters, the American System of Conservation gains $3 billion for conservation over the course of a year (Sportsmen, 2013). Controversy aside, one point made by the Michigan DNR about the influence of hunters is undeniable, “Hunters pay for the bulk of wildlife conservation across the country through the Pittman-Robertson Act, or PR. Established in 1937, this act created an excise tax on guns, ammunition, bows, arrows and other hunting-related equipment” (Michigan DNR). This does not include the funds from hunting licensing, in which all money goes to projects for research and improving habitat. Through, these actions hunters have been shown to care deeply for the conservation of animals, which has been extremely beneficial.
Humans are historically the primary cause of the rise and fall of deer populations in Michigan. The overpopulation of deer has “devastating and long-term effects on forests” (Rawinski) along with the commonly seen dangerous collisions with cars. Throughout this essay, the causes in the change in the deer population had been discussed and the impact this change can have. Along with this information, hunting has been proven to be a way