Courtesy Photo Whitetail deer roam Michigan woods in this undated photo provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

ALPENA — After a dip in 2023, hunters in Northeast Michigan harvested 27% more deer last year than the year before, according to data from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Hunters in Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties harvested 15,171 deer across all hunting seasons last year, up from 12,149 deer taken in 2023, according to the DNR data.

Hunters took 13,945 deer in 2022.

The number of harvested antlerless deer went up by 45%, while antlered deer went up by 12% in Northeast Michigan from 2023 to 2024.

“There are a couple of days left to report deer harvests,” Samantha Courtney, a deer biologist for the DNR, said last week.

Factors that led to an increased deer harvest included a mild 2023-24 winter, coupled with an early corn harvest, Courtney said.

“We had such a mild winter last year, so the deer came out in pretty good condition,” she said.

During an early corn harvest, the deer can’t hide and feed in the cornfields as easily as they can if the corn is harvested later in the year.

This year, a rougher winter is forecasted, so deer aren’t as likely to come out of it in as good of condition as they did last year, Courtney said.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what the weather does,” she said.

Another contributing factor was a 203% increase in the deer harvest during muzzleloader season, which was open to all firearms last year to help control the deer population, Courtney said.

The DNR would like to keep the 2025 harvest similar to 2024.

The deer population is in a pretty stable position, according to Courtney. If anything, wildlife officials desire a greater harvest of antlerless deer in Northeast Michigan.

The number of deer harvested in Alpena County increased by 920 in 2024 compared to 2023, totaling 4,294 deer taken last year — 2,292 antlered, 2,002 antlerless.

Presque Isle County’s deer harvest increased by 669, with 3,825 deer harvested last year — 2,220 antlered, 1,605 antlerless.

Montmorency County saw an increase of 814 deer harvested, with 2,800 deer taken last year — 1,401 antlered, 1,399 antlerless.

And Alcona County saw 619 more deer harvested, with 4,252 deer killed — 2,309 antlered, 1,943 antlerless.

Maxwell Olmstead can be reached at 989-358-5687 or molmstead@TheAlpenaNews.com.