LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Thursday is the opening day for the firearm deer hunting season.
–HUNTING TIPS-
Michigan State Police are releasing a list of tips via Twitter for hunters on opening day:
– Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.
– Be certain of your target, and what’s beyond it, before firing. Know the identifying features of the game you hunt. Make sure you have an adequate backstop – don’t shoot at a flat, hard surface or water.
– Keep your finger outside the trigger guard and off the trigger until ready to shoot. Don’t run, jump or climb with a loaded firearm.
– Avoid alcoholic beverages before or during hunting.
– Always let someone know where you are hunting and when you plan on returning.
– Wear hunter orange, be alert, and carry a cell phone in case of an emergency.
-HUNTER POPULATION DROPPING-
One state lawmaker is urging hunters to take the kids along, out into the fresh air for the good of the state.
The Department of Natural Resources says one of the resources that is becoming more and more scarce are hunters.
The demographic profile of the typical hunter gets older with every passing season, and many have aged out. Eventually the majority of them will.
State Representative Tristan Cole of Mancelona says the sport needs new blood, so to speak, and that’s why experienced hunters should introduce their children to the Michigan tradition.
The number of hunting licenses sold has dropped 21% since the turn of the century, what some say is an alarming drop.
Revenues from those licenses fund the state’s wildlife and habitat programs, and hunting and fishing creates jobs and income for the tourism industry.
Hunters also keep the state from being overrun by deer, which are animals that cause crop damage, run out into traffic and are encroaching more and more into neighborhoods.
-GET DEERS CHECKED-
The DNR is also asking for help from hunters in a greatly expanded 16 County area of the state, that is being monitored for Chronic Wasting Disease.
They are asking hunters to bring any deer they shoot into CHECKPOINTS for testing.
–DEER FOUND WITH PFAS-
One of the revelations to come out of Tuesday’s PFAS Hearing in Grand Rapids was that a deer has tested with high levels of PFAS in its blood near Clark’s Marsh in Oscoda Township.
Twenty deer were tested and only the one deer has tested high, but it was enough for Michigan Dept. of Health and the DNR to issue a warning not to eat any deer harvested within five miles of the marsh. It’s the first time they have found PFAS in a deer.
Health Dept. Spokesperson Angela Minicuci says the deer tested at well over 500 parts per trillion, about twice what they consider to be the safe level in fish.
They believe the source is fire suppression foam used at the Wurtsmith Air Force Base.
Be safe and happy hunting!
