Blue Water Area hunters report more than 14K deer harvested this season

Hunters in Sanilac and St. Clair counties were in the top 10 counties in the state for the number of deer harvested this year - the first time they were required to report kills to the state.

Hunters in Sanilac County reported the most deer harvested this season in the state at 8,150. Hunters in St. Clair County reported the 10th highest number of deer at 6,139.

More than 300,000 deer were reported harvested in the state, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Deer hunters had to report a successful harvest within 72 hours or before transferring possession of the deer to another person, a processer or taxidermist, according to a new Michigan hunting requirement.

"Nearly 83% of hunters reporting a deer harvest this year were able to complete their report in under five minutes. The DNR website proved to be the most common way for reports to be submitted, with over 86% of reports received through the website, while the app accounted for 13% of reports. In total, 208,408 individual hunters submitted a harvest report," the DNR said in a statement.

Chad Stewart, a deer, elk, and moose management specialist with the DNR, said they were focused on education over enforcement for those hunters not compliant with the new rules.

"Moving forward, we are supportive of legislative changes that reduces the penalty from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction for failing to report the harvest. Our hope is that this legislation can pass and become established prior to the beginning of deer season," Stewart said in an email.

"Simply put, reporting is the opportunity for hunters to provide timely and accurate information to our agency so we can best understand the trends and impacts of our management recommendations. If this information is not provided to us, or is provided incorrectly, then our assessment of the deer herd will not be maximized, and our recommendations might not be aligned with what is occurring in our deer herd. An accurate report from hunters will be critical for managing our deer resource presently and into the future."

Contact Liz Shepard at lshepard@gannett.com.