Courtesy photo Deer tracks are seen in the mud in this undated photo provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

ALPENA — Jim Thatcher, Chris Thatcher and Ethan Thatcher look forward to deer season every year.

The family trio wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Their family has hunted for many generations and hope to carry on the tradition, instilling a love of nature, camaraderie and sportsmanship in all who choose to hunt.

Ethan Thatcher has hunted with his father, Chris Thatcher, since he was 4 years old. Chris Thatcher’s uncle, Jim Thatcher, mentored him over the years, teaching him the ins and outs of hunting.

All three enjoy the solitude of the woods and the thrill of shooting the biggest buck.

Back at camp, they have fun playing cards, fooling around and eating well.

As hunters prepare to head to the blinds for the opening day of firearms deer season today, state data shows that fewer Northeast Michigan families share the Thatcher family’s enthusiasm.

In every zip code spanning Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency and Alcona counties, the number of residents with deer hunting licenses fell 2 percent between 2019 and 2023, according to Michigan Department of Natural Resources data.

That’s a loss of nearly 300 Northeast Michigan hunters in five years.

Statewide during that time, the number of residents with hunting licenses actually increased slightly between 2019 and 2023, although the number in 2023 remained lower than in 2020, the peak in those five years.

This is part of a long-term trend.

In 2019, MLive, using similar DNR data, found that hunter numbers dropped more than 18 percent statewide between 2013 and 2018, including a 15 percent drop in Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency and Alcona counties.

Amy Trotter, executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, said a number of factors are keeping people away from the forest.

People are just busier these days, for example, and she said “access has been a challenge,” with fewer high-quality deer habitats open to the public. Hunters tend to be older these days, and some of them are physically unable to access hunting grounds.

She also said young people haven’t taken up hunting, in part because their parents and grandparents are less likely to hunt.

“As a kid, if you don’t know anybody else who hunts, you’re probably not going to look for it as a kid or find someone to take you,” she said. “It takes good mentorship.”

Hunting contributes millions of dollars to Northeast Michigan’s economy, according to a 2019 study commissioned by the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, and DNR officials say hunting plays an important role in managing wildlife populations and habitat.

“It’s something that’s very concerning, from a state standpoint, about the decline in hunting numbers,” Trotter said. “We don’t necessarily have a silver bullet that will stem the tide or reverse this trend.”

“Crazy Busy”

Despite the loss of hunters, deer hunting remains especially important to Northeast Michigan, with more than 2,000 of every 10,000 residents here holding a hunting license, compared to fewer than 600 statewide, according to a News analysis of DNR data.

Per capita, Presque Isle, Montmorency and Alcona counties rank in the top five of Michigan’s 83 counties for hunting license revenue, deer killed and hunting-related economic activity, according to the United Conservation Clubs study. and DNR data. Alpena County ranks in the top 25 in these metrics.

Last year, hunters killed 475 deer per 10,000 residents in Northeast Michigan, compared to 271 per 10,000 residents statewide, according to a News analysis of DNR data. Hunting-related economic activity equaled $2,297 per person in Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency and Alcona counties, compared to $652 per person nationally, according to an analysis of data from the United Conservation Clubs study.

John Zampich worked at Adrian’s Sport Shop in Rogers City for many years and saw different hunting trends during that time.

He said local fishermen create a steady stream of income during the spring and summer and again when ice fishing begins.

However, in between these times, hunters use the store most often and generate a large portion of the store’s annual revenue.

“We start to see business pick up around Oct. 1 and it will pick up a little bit more around Nov. 1,” Zampich said. “Then it’s crazy busy opening day until around Thanksgiving when it starts to taper off.”

But he and other sporting goods store employees said they are seeing fewer hunters than in years past.

Check out the interactive chart below that shows the number of residents in zip codes in Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency and Alcona counties with at least one hunting license each year. Watching on mobile? Rotate your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. The story continues below the graphic.

Check out the interactive chart below that shows the number of Michigan residents with at least one hunting license each year. Watching on mobile? Rotate your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. The story continues below the graphic.

“ALMOST A RELIGION”

The United Conservation Clubs’ 2019 study found that hunting license sales and spending on things like hunting and camping equipment, food and lodging contributed about $6.6 billion to Michigan’s economy, including $139.5 million in northeast michigan.

The United Conservation Clubs has not replicated its study in recent years to see if a decline in hunters has diminished the sport’s economic impact, but anecdotal evidence points to some problems.

Mike Mahler, director of economic development for the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber does not specifically track the economic impact of hunting in Northeast Michigan.

Still, he recalled that when he moved to northeast Michigan more than a quarter-century ago, he went to the store in the fall and saw nothing but orange hunting caps and heard nothing but talk of leaving in camp while his neighbors loaded. until supplies.

“I had no idea,” Mahler said. “Hunting here is almost a religion. We actually close schools for it.”

These days, Mahler said, “You don’t see that level of excitement, that level of economic activity, at least from my windshield assessment.”

Mahler said any economic losses in Northeast Michigan could be reduced compared to other parts of Michigan because many upstate hunters travel here for their hunting camps.

However, employees and owners of several firearms and outdoor equipment stores told The News they’ve noticed a slowdown in business during hunting season, especially among the younger crowd.

Trotter, of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, said, however, that higher costs for ammunition, firearms and other hunting equipment likely kept the economic impact high.

“The business side of hunting and fishing is not going down, because even though there are fewer hunters, they’re spending more money,” she said.

“INVASIVE SPECIES… CAN TAKE OVER”

DNR data shows hunters killed 12,294 deer in Northeast Michigan last year, about 2,300 fewer than the previous year. Statewide, hunters killed nearly 29,000 fewer deer.

This worries wildlife management specialists.

Michigan’s natural resources are already seeing the damaging effects of the booming deer population, DNR officials said.

Deer consume all available vegetation, reducing the amount of food and cover they and other wildlife can obtain from the area.

These areas may see a faster growth of invasive species that deer and other animals will not consume. In turn, those invasive species have a greater opportunity to outcompete native plants, reducing biodiversity and degrading overall habitat quality.

“As deer numbers increase, they tend to reduce the biodiversity of a plant community in a given area,” said DNR deer, elk and elk management specialist Chad Fedewa. “Because they consume so much, things they don’t like to consume — like invasive species or even native plants that tend to be less beneficial than other plants — can take over.”

Overcrowded deer also feed more on crops and disrupt cattle operations through a faster spread of bovine tuberculosis.

Fedewa said regulated deer hunting is the DNR’s management tool of choice, and increasing deer harvest is a good first step to help reduce deer numbers and allow vegetation to regenerate to see less impact on natural resources in the area.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Over the past several weeks, reporters from The News have studied the data and talked with hunters, economic development officials, wildlife officials and outdoor stores to understand the impact a decline in hunters has had on the North -eastern Michigan.

Here’s what they found:

* TODAY: Hunting declines in Northeast Michigan

* SATURDAY: Economic impact of hunting decline

* MONDAY: The impact of a decline in hunting on the environment

* TUESDAY: Meet a multi-generational hunting family

See the document below detailing the results of a study commissioned by the Michigan United Conservation Clubs on the economic impact of hunting and fishing in Michigan.

Economic Impact Study of Hunting and Fishing of Justin Hinkley on Scribd