Quality Deer Management in Northwestern Michigan
Ryan Ratajczak, President of the Northwestern Michigan Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA), discussed the work being done by his organization and others to manage the deer population in our area.
Nationally, QDMA has roughly 200 branches, with over 50,000 members.
Primary deer management strategies fall into three categories: traditional, quality, and trophy, with the four cornerstones of quality deer management being: herd management, habitat management, herd monitoring, and hunter management. On average. a deer hunter contributes $800 to our economy every year, resulting in roughly $1.8 billion in revenue for Michigan annually. However, in recent years, revenue from the sport has declined due to a steady decline (20%) in the hunter population in our area. The drop is due primarily to aging demographics and lack of youth participation.
A new deer management strategy implemented in Leelanau County a few years ago has helped improve the quality of deer in the county, and as a result, the steady decline in hunters in other counties does not exist in Leelanau. Expansion of this program is being considered.