This year celebrates 50 years of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ deer management cooperation patch.
The patch was first produced in 1972. Brian Shaw from Spring Arbor designed the winning 2022 deer patch design.
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The annual deer patch design contest is open to everyone and takes place in the spring. Artists are asked to submit their original work showing deer or deer hunting in Michigan.
Read: View the 2022 Michigan hunting digest to learn about small game, waterfowl, deer and turkey hunting
Hunters who want a patch can purchase one online at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses, or from the DNR Hunt Fish mobile app. The patch costs $8 and is only available while supplies last.
In the past, hunters who brought their harvested deer into a DNR check station received a patch for allowing the DNR to collect data from the deer. The data included sex, age, location, date of harvest and even biological samples for disease testing.
Disease sample submission stations will still be open in areas where disease monitoring is taking place. Hunters harvesting deer in those areas will be notified after reporting their deer harvest online.
Deer hunters are now required to report a successful harvest within 72 hours or before transferring possession of the deer.
Hunters will still have to attach a paper kill tag to a harvested deer. The kill tag should remain with the head if the head and body are separated.
Read: More Michigan hunting coverage