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 miss it for the world.

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

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

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

Back at camp, they have fun playing cards and goofing off and eating well.

As hunters prepare to head to their blinds for opening day of firearm deer season today, state data shows fewer Northeast Michigan families share the Thatchers’ enthusiasm.

Across every ZIP code that touches Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties, the number of residents with a deer hunting license declined by 2% between 2019 and 2023, according to data from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

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

Statewide in that time, the number of residents with a hunting license actually climbed slightly between 2019 and 2023, though the 2023 count remained lower than in 2020, the peak over those five years.

That’s part of a long-term trend.

In 2019, MLive, using similar DNR data, found the number of hunters declined more than 18% statewide between 2013 and 2018, including a 15% decline across Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties.

Amy Trotter, chief executive officer at Michigan United Conservation Clubs, said a number of factors keep people out of the woods.

People are just busier these days, for one, and she said “access has been a challenge,” with fewer high-quality deer habitats open to the public. Hunters tend to be older nowadays, and some of them physically can’t access hunting grounds.

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

“Growing up, if you don’t know anybody else that hunts, you’re not as a kid probably going to seek that out or find somebody that’s going to take you,” she said. “It does take a good mentorship.”

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

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

‘CRAZY BUSY’

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

On a per-capita basis, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties rank in the top five among Michigan’s 83 counties for revenue from hunting licenses, the number of deer slain, and economic activity related to hunting, according to the United Conservation Clubs study and DNR data. Alpena County falls within the top 25 on those 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 across Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties, compared to $652 per person statewide, according to a News analysis of data from the United Conservation Clubs study.

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

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

Between those times, however, hunters utilize the store most often and generate a large portion of the store’s annual revenue.

“We begin to see a jump in business about Oct. 1 and it picks up a little more about Nov. 1,” Zampich said. “Then it is crazy busy on opening day until about Thanksgiving when it begins to taper off.”

But he and other sporting goods store workers said they’re seeing fewer hunters than in years past.

Check out the interactive graphic below showing the number of residents in ZIP codes in Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties with at least one hunting license each year. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below graphic.

Check out the interactive graphic below showing the number of residents in across Michigan with at least one hunting license each year. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below graphic.

‘ALMOST A RELIGION’

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

United Conservation Clubs hasn’t replicated its study in more recent years to track whether a decline in hunters had lessened the sport’s economic impact, but anecdotal evidence points to some trouble.

Mike Mahler, economic development director at the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber doesn’t specifically track the economic impact of hunting in Northeast Michigan.

However, 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 hunter-orange caps and heard nothing but talk of heading out to camp as his neighbors loaded up on supplies.

“I had no clue,” Mahler said. “Hunting up here is almost a religion. We actually close the schools for that.”

Nowadays, Mahler said, “You don’t see that level of excitement, that level of economic activity, at least according to my windshield assessment.”

Mahler said any economic losses in Northeast Michigan might be lessened compared to elsewhere in Michigan because many downstate hunters travel here for their hunting camps.

Still, employees and owners at several firearms and outdoors gear stores told The News they’ve seen a slowdown in activity around hunting season, especially among the younger crowd.

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

“The business side of hunting and fishing is not dwindling, because, even if 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 year before. Across the state, hunters slayed nearly 29,000 fewer deer.

That worries wildlife management specialists.

Michigan’s natural resources already see the damaging effects of an increase in the deer population, DNR officials said.

Deer consume all vegetation within reach, decreasing the amount of food and cover they and other wildlife can get from the area.

Those areas may see more rapid growth of invasive species that deer and other animals won’t consume. In turn, those invasive species have a greater opportunity to outcompete native plants, reducing biodiversity and degrading the overall quality of the habitat.

“As deer numbers increase, they tend to reduce the biodiversity of a plant community in a given area,” DNR Deer, Elk, and Moose Management Specialist Chad Fedewa said. “As they consume so much of it, the stuff 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.”

Overpopulated deer also feed more on crops and disrupt cattle operations through a quicker 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 the number of deer and allow vegetation to regenerate to hopefully see less impact on natural resources in the area.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

For the last several weeks, reporters at The News have studied data and talked to hunters, economic development officials, wildlife officials, and outdoors supplies stores to understand the impact a decline in the number of hunters has had on Northeast Michigan.

Here’s what they found:

* TODAY: Hunting declines in Northeast Michigan

* SATURDAY: The economic impact of a decline in hunting

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

* TUESDAY: Meet a family of multi-generational hunters

Check out the document below detailing the results of a Michigan United Conservation Clubs-commissioned study on the economic impacts of hunting and fishing in Michigan.

Study on Economic Impact of Hunting and Fishing by JustinHinkley on Scribd