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Michigan DNR Passes "One Buck Rule" for Deer Hunting in Lower Peninsula
The rule is intended to make hunters more selective and boost antlerless harvests as Michigan reports 153,604 antlered deer taken in 2025.
- On Wednesday, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission voted to limit Lower Peninsula hunters to harvesting one antlered deer per season starting March 1, 2027, reducing the annual bag limit from two bucks to one.
- Michigan's deer hunting culture has historically skewed toward harvesting bucks, leading to imbalanced herds; the DNR says the new policy will encourage hunters to be more selective and increase antlerless deer harvest.
- Commissioners also approved a pilot 'earn a second buck' program for southern counties, requiring hunters to harvest an antlerless deer first, and eliminated firearm restrictions in the southern Lower Peninsula starting this year.
- Hunter Elliot Hubbard called the vote 'a waste of time,' while critics warn that a 'one and done' restriction could depress participation; some supporters believe the rule is necessary for conservation.
- Michigan officials noted that Pennsylvania successfully implemented a similar one-buck limit 22 years ago, and the NRC plans to develop measurable scientific benchmarks to assess whether these new regulations effectively manage the state's deer herd.
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Associated Press News+6 Reposted by 6 other sources
Michigan limits hunters to one buck in Lower Peninsula, urges doe killing
At a meeting that lasted more than nine hours, Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission voted Wednesday to limit hunters in the Lower Peninsula to killing one antlered deer starting next year.
·United States
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Lower Peninsula one buck rule approved following marathon debate
LANSING, MI (WTVB) – Following a marathon nine-hour meeting on Wednesday, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) officially approved the highly anticipated and fiercely debated “one buck rule” for the state’s Lower Peninsula, limiting hunters to harvesting just one antlered deer per season starting in 2027. The policy shifts the annual bag limit down from two bucks to one in an effort to incentivize the harvesting of antlerless deer, cu…
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Total News Sources17
Leaning Left6Leaning Right3Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Center
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources are Center
47% Center
L 35%
C 47%
R 18%
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