Victor Skinner

The Michigan Natural Resources Commission spent time at its October meeting reviewing research on deer behavior at bait sites and food plots to better understand factors for disease transmission.
Samantha Courtney, a Michigan DNR biologist based in Gaylord, outlined her research published in the Journal of Wildlife Research last year that examined deer contact rates in five Michigan counties.

The Michigan DNR has confirmed epizootic hemorrhagic disease in four counties so far in 2026, with plenty more tests pending in additional counties.
The DNR’s Wildlife Health Section and Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed EHD in Branch, Ingham, Jackson and Lenawee counties this month, with localized outbreaks also cited on social media in recent weeks.

Michigan hunters in five counties will be able to earn a second buck in 2027 through a pilot program approved by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission this month.
The pilot program will coincide with implementation of a one-buck rule approved by the commission in May that’s designed to reduce deer abundance in the Lower Peninsula, while improving buck structure and the buck-to-doe ratio. “The Natural Resources Commission asked that we develop an earn-a-second-buck pilot program to determine the effectiveness of the regulations at increasing antlerless harvest,” Brent Rudolph, the Michigan DNR’s deer, elk, and moose specialist, told Michigan Outdoor News.

A Clinton County, Mich., man faces dozens of firearm and wildlife violations after he reportedly filmed himself poaching deer at night last year and leaving them to rot.
Thomas House, 26, was arraigned July 23 on 50 criminal counts in 65A District Court in St. Johns, including five felony weapons offenses, reckless use of a firearm, three counts of possessing an uncased firearm in a vehicle, six counts of taking game from a vehicle, six counts of shining with a weapon in possession, and 29 violations of conservation orders for taking game without a license, improper method of take, and taking game out of season.