2022 Wildlife Division Annual Report

Dear reader,

Thank you for reading our annual report. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division is proud to serve Michigan’s citizens as the public trust managers of wildlife. Inside this report are highlights of our accomplishments during 2022. Our team of Wildlifers continues to find resiliency and creative solutions for the persistent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The work environment changes as rapidly as the physical environment. In that environment, the division has taken a page from nature’s playbook and adapted to the situation with astounding results. This year brought additional disease challenges, including highly pathogenic avian influenza, which impacted birds in every Michigan watershed. But as we have said, we are proud to have brought the latest science and the best professionals to maintain healthy wildlife in Michigan. Additionally, we made strides to modernize deer harvest data collection by releasing the online harvest reporting tool. Deer hunters reported their success within 72 hours of harvest, allowing everyone to observe real-time season updates through the deer harvest report dashboard. More than 300,000 deer were reported in the inaugural year. We appreciate our hunter’s willingness to pivot online and provide us with the most accurate data on which to base our scientific management decisions.

Finally, but certainly of the highest regard, we honor Dave Luukkonen, a 30-year Wildlife Division veteran who passed away in December of 2021, and Victor Weigold, a 33-year Wildlife Division veteran who passed away in October 2022.

Throughout this report, you will find a wide variety of great work from each region, section and unit of the division. Together we will continue to protect and conserve Michigan’s wildlife and natural resources for future generations. Thank you for your continued support for Michigan’s wildlife.

Sincerely,

Jared Duquette, Wildlife Division chief

The Eurasian strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, H5N1, was first detected in the United States in January 2022. The virus spread across North America in both wildlife and domestic poultry. Low-pathogenic strains of avian influenza regularly circulate in wild waterfowl. Highly pathogenic strains in wild birds are rare. In 2022, significant amounts of sick and dying wild birds were observed. The first detections of HPAI in wild mammals in the United States also occurred. In late March 2022, HPAI was detected in Michigan in two captive non-native swans, prompting surveillance of wild birds. The DNR conducted HPAI surveillance through public and staff observations and sample submissions. The Wildlife Disease Laboratory tested 385 samples for HPAI, focusing on monitoring the disease's geographic spread throughout Michigan. There were 162 positive samples. The DNR identified species at greatest risk and tracked the spread of HPAI northward as migrating birds moved through the state. HPAI is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted between wild animals, humans and domestic animals. Staff met with other state and federal agencies monitoring human and domestic animal health to share information and manage the response. The poultry industry is at high risk when HPAI is circulating. Heightened biosecurity measures are critical for protecting flocks. Few human cases have been detected globally and were limited to those working near infected domestic flocks.

The DNR Chemical Immobilization Program is an essential part of our work. It supports wildlife management, response and research throughout the state. The Wildlife Division veterinarian leads this program. Animal capture is a key part of wildlife management. Many wildlife species can only be safely handled with the administration of pharmaceuticals (drugs). The DNR provides chemical immobilization training and certification to personnel. Currently, 34 DNR staff are trained in chemical immobilization across the state.

Disease monitoring and surveillance in deer was again a major priority for the lab, division and department overall. Following the initial detections of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild deer in Michigan, we implemented intensive local surveillance to understand the scope of the disease. Once we understood the spatial extent of the initial CWD outbreak, we began sampling in new, lesser-sampled areas of the state through a rotational approach. Implementing surveillance in a rotational method allows us to intensively sample a portion of the state each year, increasing efficiency and building confidence in early disease detection. Early disease detection is the true goal of our current CWD surveillance. Once we have enough information to be confident in our detection of CWD at or below a certain prevalence level, we shift efforts to a new state region. In 2022, CWD surveillance continued in the southern lower peninsula as part of this approach and has to date, been successful at meeting this goal. Through this testing, one new county, Hillsdale County, was identified with CWD in 2022. In 2023, surveillance moves into the Northwest Lower Peninsula as we continue our rotational approach. Surveillance will also continue in Isabella and Hillsdale counties in response to newer detections. Outside of our surveillance areas, testing is available to all hunters through the self-submission of samples to one of two veterinary diagnostic laboratories. Testing and shipping via this method were free to hunters in counties where CWD has previously been detected. Monitoring for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) continued in the northeast part of the Lower Peninsula in 2022, continuing a 25-year monitoring program. New sampling goals were set as part of the bTB Memorandum of Understanding negotiated between USDA, MDARD and MDNR in 2021. Goals for the 11 bTB counties, set at 3,500 samples, were exceeded by testing nearly 5,000 deer in this area. All deer received at the Wildlife Disease Lab are screened for bTB, and over 16,000 deer total were screened statewide in 2022. In the 11-county bTB area, 28 bTB-positive deer were identified. No positives were found outside this area.

The Wildlife Division has been proactive in developing tools to help us better manage wildlife in Michigan into the future and providing leadership across the country. A key challenge that the Wildlife Division faces in a changing climate is figuring out how to apply current climate science to the wildlife problems managers face daily. Adaptation program staff in the Planning and Adaptation section has been working with partners to address this problem by creating decision support. Three of the tools that we helped make were published last year. The Wildlife Climate Adaptation Menu project took 2,306 recommendations from 509 peer-reviewed wildlife management and climate change papers. It reduced them to a set of 80 approaches in 13 broad strategies. The menu of management options is designed to fit within a decision support tool called the Adaptation Workbook. The adaptation menu has been used by over a hundred managers across the country and Wildlife Division staff to inform oak management. The section also worked with many partners on a tool to measure wildlife species’ adaptive capacity and created a crosswalk to link adaptive capacity to management solutions. Additionally, in partnership with EcoAdapt and state agencies in Washington, California and Idaho, a quick adaptation checklist was developed, which managers can use to determine if climate adaptation is relevant to a given project.

Last year, we reached significant milestones in updating our state forest management plan, which integrates wildlife habitat management into forest harvest planning. These milestones were possible through a forest harvest planning model called "Woodstock," used to evaluate resource management outcomes and refine management decisions. After assessing the current condition of the state forest and identifying management priorities for the plan, the planning team (Forest Resources, Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and Recreation division staff) conducted 15 meetings with field staff around the state. This effort leveraged local staff knowledge to form the basis of the first forest harvest model scenario. Additionally, this effort identified priority featured wildlife species for each state forest management area. This scenario is the first step in assessing forest management options. It will be used to integrate wildlife habitat management goals in 2023.

A second model scenario addressed management issues with jack pine resources in Kirtland's warbler habitat. Due to past management decisions, changes in jack pine marketability and the narrow age range of Kirtland's warbler habitat, there was an upcoming projected habitat shortage. Woodstock was used to evaluate and decide on a feasible solution that incorporated some nontraditional methods in the first several decades to restore a balanced jack pine age class. This is currently being put into effect and serves as a great example of the power of this modeling tool to improve our management to benefit wildlife.

The 2022 deer season was historic because hunters were required to report their deer harvest for the first time ever, providing near real-time data to the DNR. The requirement for reporting came from years of declining deer hunter survey responses, which have historically been used to estimate deer harvests in Michigan. Response rates have dropped from over 70% 20 years ago to less than 40% in recent years, lending more significant uncertainty in the harvest estimates. The new harvest reporting system will not only provide us with valuable data to support deer management recommendations, but it will broaden the types of analyses that can be done and offer answers to questions we previously couldn’t answer. The first year finished out with approximately 303,000 deer reported through the system. Nearly 83% of hunters reporting their harvest were able to complete the report in under five minutes, and almost 91% of hunters were able to report their harvest within 72 hours.

The  Voluntary Wetland Restoration program , co-led by staff from the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, has issued 111 permits for wetland restoration and enhancement projects since program inception in the fall of 2019, including 38 permits in 2022. These projects contained regulated activities to: 

1. Restore hydrology.
2. Control invasive organisms.
3. Increase breeding and migratory habitat for waterbirds and other wetland-associated birds.
4. Enhance suitability for threatened and endangered herpetofauna.
5. Repair failing infrastructure. 

All projects had beneficial outcomes for ecosystem goods and services, including fish and wildlife, that outweighed negative impacts to wetlands, lakes, and streams. 

In 2022, The Pheasant Release Program created released pheasant hunting opportunities to over 11,500 license holders. Over 2,000 male pheasants were released on nine different State Games Areas throughout southern Michigan during the regular October 20 – November 14th season.

A total of 10,795 birds were banded in 2022:

• Canada geese — 4,164
• Mallards — 3,377
  • Fourth most ever banded in Michigan
• Wood ducks — 2,728
  • Most ever banded in Michigan
  • Second highest number banded in North America in 2022
• Woodcock — 423

The Wildlife Division confirmed eleven cougar sightings in the Upper Peninsula in 2022. There have been 89 confirmed cougar sightings in Michigan since 2008, when the cougar team was formed.

In fiscal year 2022, our team responded to over 32,768 phone calls and over 7,000 emails from the DNR-Wildlife@michigan.gov mailbox.

• Emails sent: 173
• Total recipients: 25,401,701
• Unique email link clicks: 372,720
• Click rate: 1.5%

• Most-visited Wildlife Division web pages
  • Hunting-related — deer hunting — 897,766 views
  • Non-hunting-related — Michigan's non-venomous snakes — 28,561 views

• 30,049 downloads

Top three episodes

• Wildlife Division Twitter account
  • 5,020 followers
  • 24,600 Tweet Impressions
• Wildlife Instagram content
  • 61,900 followers
  • 20 posts
  • 30,724 likes
• Wildlife Facebook content
  • 259,099 followers
  • 97 posts
  • 53,241 reactions (likes, etc.)
  • 99,819 engagements
  • 8,167,799 impressions

• Goal 1: Manage for healthy and sustainable wildlife populations.
  • $11,505,993
• Goal 2: Protect, manage and enhance lands for sustainable wildlife populations and wildlife-compatible recreation.
  • $12,099,741
• Goal 3: Connect people to wildlife, wildlife-compatible recreation, and public lands.
  • $4,157,389
• Goal 4: Provide, manage and align a diverse set of resources to support division priorities.
  • $11,544,637
• Commitments to change (C2Cs)
  • $245,681
• 2022 total expenditures
  • $39,553,442

• General fund
  • $5,746,914
• Federal (annual)
  • $15,373,541
• Federal (competitive)
  • $1,363,138
• Game and Fish
  • $13,496,685
• DRIP
  • $1,171,005
• Turkey
  • $832,011
• Nongame
  • $373,655
• Other State funds
  • $1,196,494
• 2022 total expenditures
  • $39,553,442

Federal apportioned funds

These funds are automatically apportioned to states, provided they meet certain eligibility requirements. Although transferred to the states in the form of grants, the states do not have to compete for these funds. These funds are particularly important because states can count on the monies being available and can plan for funding staff and long-term projects, as the level of funding is relatively predictable.

• Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act Grants (PR)
• State Wildlife Grants (SWG)
• Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund
• Traditional Conservation Grants

Federal competitive funds

These are funds that certain federal agencies make available through a competitive application process. The types of funds and the funding programs available can vary from year to year. These opportunities pose planning and budgeting challenges because of the uncertainty in the Wildlife Division’s abilities to secure them; however, some have become very important to the division’s ability to accomplish certain aspects of its mission. Once successful in competing for these funds, most are available to be expended over multiple years so long-term projects can be supported. These funds, however, are difficult to use to assist in planning and supporting permanent staff positions and add additional administrative and reporting responsibilities.

• Competitive State Wildlife Grants (cSWG)
• Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, Nontraditional Grants Program
• National Coastal Wetlands Conservation (NCWC) Program
• Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act (GLFWRA)
• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP)
• USDA Wetlands Mitigation Program

Game and Fish Protection Fund - This legislatively established fund is principally derived from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses; the cost of licenses is set legislatively.

Game and Fish Protection Fund – Deer Range Improvement Program - DRIP - This legislatively established fund comes from $1.50 of each deer license sold.

Game and Fish Protection Fund – Turkey - This legislatively established fund comes from a portion of each wild turkey license and application sold ($9.50 resident/nonresident, $1 senior resident and $3 application).

Game and Fish Protection Fund – Waterfowl - Historically known as duck stamp revenue, this legislatively established fund comes from the $12 for each waterfowl license sold.

Nongame Fish and Wildlife Fund/Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund - This legislatively established fund comes through Michigan’s Conserve Wildlife Habitat license plate, the sale of certain merchandise by the Wildlife Division and donations.

General Fund-General Purpose (GF/GP) - General Fund-General Purpose revenues, collected in the main state operating fund, are not dedicated to a specific purpose by statute. The Wildlife Division’s GF/GP is used primarily for wildlife disease monitoring and privately owned cervidae facility oversight.

This report is dedicated to the memory of  David Luukkonen  and  Victor Weigold , DNR Wildlife Division employees, fathers, husbands, colleagues and friends.