To the Editor:

I write to you as President of Afton Deer Management, a growing group of concerned citizens in this area whose purpose is the cultivation and maintenance of a healthy and well managed deer herd. This year our group tilled approximately 60 acres of public lands for deer feed, plus private lands, and members prune trees on state land, and plant fruit trees for feed each year. Our group has established routes for regular surveillance of deer to aid the DNR in obtaining an accurate deer count and we are working on a winter feeding program.

Members regularly attend meetings of the Natural Resource Commission (NRC). A study of surveys and revenues for the DNR shows that there has been a decline for the last five years at the rate of about four percent per year. We are concerned that our area is losing considerable revenue over the years due to our decreasing deer population. Number of licenses issued is decreasing also. We have written to our senators and representatives requesting that they transfer control and give full charge of management of the deer herd to the NRC. Right now there is a separation, in that control over licensing and legal size of the deer taken is legislative. Currently, the NRC can only control the number of doe permits issued.

I would request that every interested person recognize the importance of this issue and write to your local representatives to request a bill that will give the NRC this power. It is a working tool they can't do without in their efforts to manage Michigan's deer herd.

John L. Ormsbee

Cheboygan