MARQUETTE, MI— Deer hunting in the Upper Peninsula should be good this year.
The Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division says most of the U.P. saw an extremely mild 2023-2024 winter—a change from the two previous winters. Low snowfall and lack of extreme cold likely resulted in fewer deer affected by winter starvation and predation. Officials say deer came out of the winter in better condition and with better fawn production, with many sets of twins observed this spring.
Despite no additional cases of chronic wasting disease being detected in Dickinson County since 2018, the DNR is still collecting baseline surveillance data for CWD in many U.P. counties. The department encourages hunters to consider submitting a sample for CWD testing from deer harvested in Baraga, Chippewa, Dickinson, Houghton, Keweenaw, Luce, Mackinac, Ontonagon, and Schoolcraft counties.
