Aug. 7, 2023

Contact: Adam Shook, 248-756-4357

DNR’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program offers an archery deer hunt workshop in Washtenaw County

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Becoming an Outdoors-Woman Program, in partnership with the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, is offering a Beyond BOW archery deer hunt workshop for women.

The program is for properly licensed women 16 and up with no previous hunting experience or who would like to expand on their hunting skills and abilities.

The event will be held Oct. 5-8 at Sharon Mills County Park in Manchester in Washtenaw County.

Enrollment is limited to eight participants. Deadline for registration is Sept. 1, 2023. The cost of this event is $50 per participant. Lunch will be provided Friday and Saturday, while additional meals will be the participants’ responsibility.

Campsites are reserved at Hayes State Park and will require the DNR State Parks recreation passport sticker for entry.

Class information and registration materials are available online at Michigan.gov/BOW. 

There will be a mandatory video orientation for registered participants prior to this event. This will be a rain or shine activity.

Participants will take part in educational sessions and hunting on Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission lands.

One of the properties, the Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve, was created through a unique partnership between the DNR and Washtenaw County.

The DNR owns 717 acres of land in Norvell Township in Jackson County, while Washtenaw County owns 405 acres in Manchester Township, primarily through the county Parks and Recreation Commission’s Natural Areas Preservation Program.

Normally, there is no public hunting permitted on Washtenaw County parks lands. However, unique programs such as this Beyond BOW hunting workshop will help with preservation of natural resources, given significant deer browse on county lands.

Compound archery or crossbow equipment are both acceptable. Much of the equipment for the hunt will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their personal archery equipment.

Proper safety and hunting techniques will be taught and followed.

On Thursday Oct. 5, participants will learn about deer biology and habitat, hunting as a management strategy, hunting ethics, laws, and safety, and hear from BOW mentors about what this program means to them.

On Friday Oct. 6, general archery safety, shooting, tree stand, hunting blind safety and set up and scouting methods will be taught. Participants will then be paired with mentors and prepare for hunting.

On Saturday Oct. 7, participants and mentors will hunt in the morning and evening and can hunt Sunday morning if they choose. Following any successful harvest, the participants will be able to personally field dress and properly register their harvest.

To attend this event, you must have a Michigan base license and a deer or universal antlerless deer hunting license, which are available as an apprentice option and purchased prior to attending the workshop. License purchase is available at any DNR license agent or online at the DNR’s licensing webpage.

For more information, contact Adam Shook, DNR Wildlife Technician, at 248-756-4357 or email at ShookA1@Michigan.gov. For more information on the DNR’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program, or to sign-up for BOW email updates, visit the program webpage at Michigan.gov/BOW.