There’s a grass-roots effort underway across a 12-county northern Michigan region, and it’s targeting some big bucks – not business profits, but older, larger deer.

The Northwest Michigan Quality Deer Management Association (NWMI QDMA) is proposing a geographical expansion of current Leelanau County regulations that require bucks to have at least three antler points on each side of its head before it can be harvested.

Five years ago, 64 percent of Leelanau County hunters supported the rule to encourage the growth of bigger, healthier bucks with larger racks. A second vote resulted in a 72-percent hunter-approval rate.

The result: 68 percent of the bucks killed in Leelanau County are 2.5 years old or older – a size potential that draws significant numbers of hunters (and their tourism dollars).

“This is not a DNR effort but is a grass-roots initiative started by passionate hunters,” explains Kevin Gillespie, an avid hunter and the group’s vice president. “We’ve seen the success of the Leelanau program and know many hunters want this kind of hunting.”

These rules not only provide more mature bucks for hunters but also help achieve a more balanced buck-to-doe herd ratio, according to Gillespie.

The proposal would put the antler-point regulation in place in Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Missaukee, Osceola and Wexford counties.

A public meeting to explain the proposed regulations will be held at 4 p.m. this Saturday, July 28, at the Petoskey High School.

The regulations will be considered for implementation starting with the 2013 deer season. Antlerless deer regulations within the proposed areas would continue to be determined by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

In August a survey will be randomly mailed to hunters who indicated through DNR papers that they have hunted in any of the 12 counties. If more than 66 percent of the hunters approve the new rules, the rules would be implemented for the 2013 hunting season. After five years, a follow-up survey will be completed to determine if the regulations will stay in effect.

“The Northwest Michigan chapter of the QDMA proposal is our first since the moratorium has been lifted,” says DNR deer biologist Ashley Hippler. “We are looking forward to seeing how the majority of northwestern Michigan deer hunters feel about antler point restrictions.”

Gillespie says the new rules will have an economic impact, luring hunters to the region in search of the bigger bucks. It could make the 12-county region the Mecca for deer hunter, many of whom have been hunting in southern Michigan counties and even other Midwestern states like Iowa and Illinois, according to Gillespie.

It’s simple math, he says, that hunters in Leelanau County have better opportunities and better hunting.

“We retain our hunters and are attracting new ones. Keep in mind that deer hunting within the state is a $900-million-per-year business. We have 750,000 registered hunters who spend an average of $1,200 per year. So [by not drawing hunters to bigger deer] each county and business owner [without the antler-point regulation] is losing business.”

To learn more, visit www.bettermibucks.org.