Oct. 17, 2017

Contact: Katie Keen, 989-385-0336

New Osceola County deer check station available in Reed City starting Nov. 1

Starting Nov. 1, an additional Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer check station will be available in Osceola County for hunters looking to age their deer and provide other biological data to receive a successful deer hunter and deer management cooperator patch. Hunters also can submit their deer head for disease monitoring.  

The new check station – located on U.S. 10 in Reed City, a half-mile west of the U.S. 131 interchange (look for posted signs) – will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. This location also will be open on the first weekend of firearm deer season, Nov. 18 and 19. It will be closed on state holidays, including Nov. 10, Nov. 23-24 and Dec. 25-26.

For more information, contact the DNR’s Cadillac Customer Service Center at 231-775-9727 or visit mi.gov/deer.

Disease monitoring has increased due to a cow in the area testing positive for bovine tuberculosis. Voluntarily bringing a deer or deer head to a check station for testing allows the DNR to track the prevalence of the disease in the population and informs hunters whether their deer has the disease.   

To learn more about TB and other wildlife heath issues, visit mi.gov/emergingdiseases.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.