The Natural Resources Commission met for 10 hours Wednesday to discuss the implementation of a one-buck rule for hunters in the 2027 hunting season.
The goal is to incentivize the hunting of does, which would reduce Michigan’s deer overpopulation and balance out the doe-to-buck ratio.
More than 50 people spoke during the nearly five-hour-long public comment section, and opinions on the one-buck ruling were varied.
One commenter, Jason Perry, spoke in favor of the one-buck ruling. He said taking does needs to be a priority for hunters going forward.
“This has to be the foundation, not an afterthought, and not a secondary step after someone shoots a buck,” Perry said. “Antlerless harvest is the only real mechanism for population control. It affects crop damage, car deer collisions, habitat damage, native vegetation, ecosystem impacts, disease risk and the overall health of the herd.”
Another commenter, Brad Grim, said he is a hunter from the Lower Peninsula that commonly took two bucks a season.
He said it was unfair for the commissioners to institute a one-buck policy across the entire region.
“Down where we live, we have a buck-to-doe ratio that’s the bucks are equal,” Grim said. “It's almost one to one in our area.”
Grim asked that commissioners instead implement a “earn a second buck” model, which would require hunters to take a doe before taking a second buck.
“But leave our two bucks alone,” he said.
There is a chance that a “earn a second buck” model will come to the Lower Peninsula in the future.
As a part of the amendment to hunting regulations, commissioners requested DNR to create a framework for the model that they could pilot in Zone 3, which includes the southern half of the Lower Peninsula.
DNR would be required to present the framework to commissioners at their July meeting.
Hunters in the Upper Peninsula will maintain their “hunter’s choice” model and will not be limited to one buck.
Commissioner David Nyberg said implementing the one-buck rule on the Lower Peninsula was a compromise among the commissions.
“In an imperfect process this, this proposed amendment tries to get as close as possible to achieving what we're hearing and what the science is showing that we can support Michigan,” he said.
The new regulations will take effect March 1, 2027.
