Last year, nearly 7,000 deer hunters voluntarily reported their deer harvest online to help test the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ new reporting system. Starting with the fall 2022 deer seasons, online harvest reporting is required for all hunters who successfully take a deer.
Chad Stewart, the DNR’s deer, elk and moose management specialist, said there are several reasons the department is moving to online harvest reporting, but one of the most important is more precise data.
“The decline in response rate to our post-season mail surveys increases the amount of uncertainty in our harvest estimates, which can lead to incorrect regulation recommendations in some locations,” Stewart said.
Brian Frawley, the DNR wildlife biologist who manages the surveys, agreed.
“Twenty years ago, 75% of recipients responded to the survey, but in recent years we have seen a response rate consistently under 40%,” Frawley said. “If we’re going to provide hunters, wildlife managers and the Michigan Natural Resources Commission with timely, accurate data, we need to change how we collect it.”
Reporting options
Hunters will have up to 72 hours after taking a deer to report their harvest. The DNR estimates it should take about three to five minutes to complete the report, and there are two ways to do it:
Report online at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport.
Use the DNR’s new mobile app – an even faster option – available in the Google Play store (for Android devices) and the Apple App Store.
Hunters who can’t report their harvest due to a lack of internet access or smart device may get help from a family member or friend with access, by providing them with their kill tag license number, date of birth and harvest location to report on the hunter’s behalf. Reporting by phone to the DNR is not
