Starting Tuesday morning, more than half-a-million hunters will head out into the woods for deer season. It’s estimated that hunting contributes more than $2 billion to the state’s economy yearly. But a shift is happening as both numbers have trended down for years.
Local 4 went to Waterford at the Pontiac Lake Recreational Area, which was always packed where, over the years, as hunters sighted their rifles. But on Monday (Nov. 14), It’s a different story.
The day before rifle deer season, they ensured their rifles shot straight, and their skills remained sharp like 27-year-old Josh Edwards of Lake Orion, who said he loves it all.
“I learned from my grandpa, and pretty much I feel that’s how all younger people learned from dad or grandpa,” said Edwards.
It’s a Michigan family tradition as today it’s targets, and tomorrow it’s venison.
“Sitting out in the woods, spending time with him lots of time before you go hunting, you go out to eat, sitting in the woods relaxing with him,” Edwards said. “I guess that’s a lot of time spent with him. That was nice.”
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said they’ve lost a quarter of a million hunters over the past generation, which is a trend making managing the deer population more difficult, says deer specialist Chad Stewart.
“A lot of those hunters are freezer limited,” said Stewart. “They can only use maybe one or two on average deer to feed their families. It’s either family or friends, so asking those lower numbers of hunters to suddenly take three-four-five deer to make up for fewer hunters in the field is not really a viable option.”
Waterford hunter Dennis Ladd thinks he knows what the problem is.
“I’d like to see the younger generation get into it, but you know they’re more into computers and stuff,” said Ladd. “So even fishing, you know, hunting or fishing, that would be good for them.”
“I wish there were more younger people to hunt, but I guess, later on, I’ll have more land to hunt,” Edwards said.