Coincidentally, the winter of 2003-2004 was the first one where it was illegal to supplementally feed U.P. deer during the winter, except in northern counties. Had winter-feeding of deer still been legal in the region, deer losses might not have been as dramatic.

When a minimum newborn fawn loss of 50,000 in the U.P. is added to the 54,040 deer that are estimated to have died as a direct result of winter, winter was responsible for the absence of more than 100,000 whitetails in the U.P. last fall. The deer killed year-round by the 400 to 500 wolves that currently inhabit the U.P. is a drop in the bucket compared to winter loss.

The bow deer harvest was down 19 percent in the U.P. last fall compared to 2003, according to preliminary DNR estimates, and the previous winter is largely to blame. Bowhunters bagged an estimated 10,509 whitetails in Region 1 during 2004 versus 12,975 the year before.

The tally of antlered bucks tagged by archers in the region was down even more -- 27.8 percent. U.P. bowhunters only brought home an estimated 3,992 bucks during 2004 compared to 5,530 in 2003. The reason why is there were far fewer yearling bucks than normal due to the previous winter. They died as button bucks during the spring of 2004 before they were able to grow their first sets of antlers.

U.P. archers claimed more antlerless deer last fall than bucks, which may be a first. The bowkill among antlerless deer declined 12.6 percent from 2003. The tally was 6,518 does and fawns for 2004 compared to 7,457 the year before.

The deer kill among archery hunters in the western U.P. was down the most. The total bow season harvest was off by 20.9 percent there, but the percent of antlered bucks that were bagged was off by 33.9 percent. An estimated 8,136 whitetails were collected in the western U.P. during 2004 compared to 10,286 in 2003. The buck kill was 2,962 versus 4,482 for 2003. Eleven percent fewer antlerless deer were tagged, 5,175 versus 5,812.

Interestingly, the bowkill was off by 11.8 percent in the eastern U.P., according to preliminary figures, and the number of bucks bowhunters bagged there was only down by 1.7 percent. The tally for whitetails of both sexes in the eastern U.P. was 2,372 during 2004 compared to 2,690 the year before. Antlered bucks for last fall amounted to 1,030 versus 1,048 in 2003.

The antlerless harvest was down the most among archers in the eastern U.P. at 18.4 percent. There were 1,342 does and fawns tagged in 2004 compared to 1,645 the year before.

The outlook for the 2005 bowhunting season in the U.P. is slightly better than last year. The most recent winter was kinder to whitetails in the region. Although there were some losses, they weren't as high as the year before. Winter ended early this spring, and warm weather allowed new growth to provide needed nutrition for deer that survived.

Best counties in the western U.P. for bowhunters in terms of the highest deer numbers are Menominee, Dickinson, Iron and Delta. Schoolcraft and Mackinac counties are top choices in the eastern U.P. Archers interested in trying for trophy whitetails should set their sights on Houghton, Baraga, Marquette, Alger and Luce counties.