News Photo by Mike Gonzalez DNR Conservation Officer Alex Bourgeois poses in front of forestry in a trail off of Indian Reserve Road on Friday.

ALPENA — As deer hunting season arrives, it’s important to follow the rules and guidelines outlined by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to stay safe and avoid fines, officials say.

DNR Conservation Officer Alex Bourgeois said one of the biggest things new hunters should do to understand the laws during hunting season is to study the rule guides posted by the DNR.

“Anything that’s in the guide is what we hold people to,” Bourgeois said. “Obviously, not every little law is in the guide but the most common things that people will have to worry about are going to be in the guides, and they make them really easy to read. You can find pretty much anything you’re looking for — a lot of important stuff they’ll have headers for and especially with deer and whatnot.”

A common issue Bourgeois finds when ticketing hunters is with deer baiting. Putting out bait or feed for deer is illegal in the Lower Peninsula and will result in a fine. Urine-based products are legal for hunters to use. A large reason for the ban of deer bait and feed is to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis in the animals.

“We’ve had that ban here for a while because the moment when the deer come close together with the bait, that’s how the disease spreads easier,” Bourgeois said. “We have a deer check station at the Alpena field office to check deer for TB.”

One of the other laws that Bourgeois said is a “little touchy subject” is the law that requires any deer kills to be reported within 72 hours of the kill.

He said many people don’t realize that, while it’s a law, it is intended to help the DNR’s wildlife division manage the deer population.

“It’s so they know, ‘Hey, we had 5,000 deer taken out of Alpena County and 2,000 out of Montmorency County,’ and they’re going to maybe give out less or more deer tags for people,” Bourgeois said. “We know this is a new thing. It’s educational, but if people don’t follow suit then yeah, they could get a ticket. But right now we’re kind of, you know, educating and making sure you do it. I just had a phone call today of a guy saying he couldn’t figure it out, so I walked him through it.”

Bourgeois said it’s good to see new hunters around and said that seeing a conservation officer doesn’t always mean the hunter is in trouble. He likes talking to hunters and giving helpful tips to people wanting to find certain types of game.

“We like talking to people and they tell us stuff, like, ‘Hey, I’m seeing a lot of grouse over that way,'” Bourgeois said. “When someone asks us if we’ve seen any grouse, we like to say, ‘Yeah, I just talked to a guy down the road about it.’ So that’s always good.”