It’s dusk in Allegan County as a herd of deer tears through an alfalfa field like a buffet. The landowner takes a glance at his rifle but can’t fire. While it’s his field he’s poured his energy into the land, Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources holds the reins.
It can make you wonder: Do you really own your land? Or are you just leasing it from the state?
That’s the thought many Michigan farmers, either for hobby or for employment, ask themselves regularly. They sink everything into their property, but when deer shred crops or coyotes stalk livestock, permits and tags often stop them from taking action.
It makes you question what “owning land” actually means. The DNR says rules keep the woods alive with game, but when your field’s been eaten down to stubble, it feels like the state has you cuffed.
Nothing stings quite like owning land but needing the government’s approval to remove the critters who are wrecking it. And it doesn’t just affect the land, it hits the wallet too.
Hunting your own property costs $11 for a base license, $20 for a deer tag. And extra antlerless tags run $20 each, up to $200 for the max. Coyotes eyeing your chickens? A nuisance permit is $100, and that’s if the DNR agrees that there’s trouble.
With property taxes already bleeding you dry, these extra fees can feel like a kick in the shins.
Farmers are allowed to shoot the deer chewing up their crops, but it’s not a simple process. The DNR’s Deer Damage Permits let landowners fight back against serious agricultural damage, even outside regular hunting seasons.
A good solution, right? Sort of.
Getting one of these permits means proving “significant damage,” which requires photos, crop loss estimates, and a personal DNR inspection. You have to plead with the state to protect your own livelihood.
These permits also come with a large set of rules: a limited number of deer, specific areas, and a tight time window to take action. Every kill needs a report, and if you forget, the fines hit hard.
Some farmers can hire private nuisance wildlife control companies, but that’s yet another expense. Even with a permit, you’re still on the DNR’s leash. During regular hunting seasons, farmers need standard hunting licenses, too.
Why all the hassle? It’s about control.
Permits allow farmers to target problem deer without completely wiping out the population. Michigan’s 2 million deer are a shared resource, and unchecked culling can destroy healthy animal populations. The DNR uses permit data to track deer numbers and diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease, which can also destroy herds if it spreads.
It turns out there is, in fact, logic behind the red tape. A buck on your corn today is a buck in a state forest tomorrow.
If every landowner went rogue, the logic goes, deer could vanish from public lands. The system also provides 171,000 Michigan jobs and nearly $9 billion in hunting revenue every year, giving every kid with a bow a shot at making a memory.
Hunting regulations in Michigan have completely revived turkeys, gone in the 1900s but now over 200,000 strong thanks to proper management.
Michigan elk also nearly went extinct, but now they roam the U.P.—bears, too. These comebacks keep our state filled with healthy Michigan wildlife, funded by licenses (and, unfortunately, red tape).
Nobody can blame farmers for cussing when deer trash their crops while the DNR tells them to wait. A Michigan homesteader, with his garden destroyed, doesn’t care about “wildlife balance” so much.
That frustration is very real. It helps to think of buying a license as investing in game-filled woods for your kids.
Farmers can play it smart too. They can file depredation permits early, use fencing or motion lights to scare off deer, or join the DNR’s Hunting Access Program to let hunters thin herds while pocketing some lease cash.
Michigan’s hunting rules can make you feel like you don’t own the very land you live on, but they are why our forests and animals remain healthy.
A $20 tag or filing a permit is certainly annoying, but it’s nothing compared to the alternative of an empty woods.
Tom Zandstra is a passionate outdoorsman and CEO of The Fair Chase. Follow him on X @TheFairChase1.
