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Delta County, Michigan: deer harvest and public hunting land

Delta County covers 1,184 square miles around Escanaba. Hunters reported 3,565 deer here in the 2025 license year, 2,113 of them antlered, through the DNR's harvest reporting. That is down 5% from 2024. 42% of Delta County is public land open to the public, the largest share national forest (244,341 acres), by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's state forest records.

Data updated October 2026. Harvest: the DNR's reported deer totals, 2022 to 2025. Land: PAD-US 4.1, the DNR's land ownership records and its wildlife, parks, Commercial Forest and HAP layers.

Map of Michigan's Delta County: public land by manager, the counties around it, highways US 2, M 35 and US 41; towns: Escanaba, Gladstone, Garden, Powers and Manistique

State game and wildlife areasState forest and other DNR landNational forestNational wildlife refugesState parks and recreation areasCounty, city and regional landLand trusts and other open landCommercial Forest (private, open to hunting by law)Delta CountyNeighboring countiesLakeHighway

Delta County at a glance
Size757,794 acres (1,184 square miles)
Deer reported, 20253,565 (2,113 antlered, 1,452 antlerless)
Regular firearm season, 20252,036 deer
Public land42% (318,424 acres)
Wildlife areas and parks5 (6,634 acres inside Delta County)
Hunting Access Program landNone mapped this year
Towns in and near itEscanaba, Gladstone, Garden, Powers, Manistique and Carney

How many deer are harvested in Delta County?

Hunters reported 3,565 deer in Delta County in 2025: 2,113 antlered and 1,452 antlerless. By season: 2,036 in the regular firearm season, 751 by archers (early and late segments) and 377 in the muzzleloader season.

License yearDeer reportedAntleredAntlerlessRegular firearmArchery, earlyArchery, lateMuzzleloader
20253,5652,1131,4522,03665596377
20243,7432,4481,2952,29870078335
20232,9292,0808492,01357986198
20223,6832,3751,3082,499740130231

Source: Michigan DNR reported deer harvest (license years 2022 to 2025), Delta County. These are deer hunters reported; seasons not shown (youth, Liberty, antlerless and others) are in the total. The DNR's survey estimates, which count deer that were not reported, are higher.

How much public land is in Delta County?

318,424 of Delta County's 757,794 acres are public land open to the public (42%). The biggest share is national forest: 244,341 acres.

ManagerAcresShare of Delta County
National forest244,34132.2%
State forest and other DNR land69,4789.2%
Land trusts and other open land1,5700.2%
National wildlife refuges1,3120.2%
State parks and recreation areas8380.1%
County, city and regional land8130.1%
State game and wildlife areas72under 0.1%
All public land open to the public318,42442%
Commercial Forest (private, open to hunting by law)52,9557%

52,955 acres of Delta County (7%) are Commercial Forest land: privately owned, but under state law (MCL 324.51113) the owner may not deny the public hunting and fishing unless the DNR or the legislature closes it.

Measured by FilledTag inside the county line from USGS PAD-US 4.1 (fee land open to the public) and the DNR's land ownership records (state forest). Hunting rules differ by manager: state game areas and state forest land are open to hunting in season unless posted; national forests are open; refuges follow U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules; state parks and recreation areas are open, open with restrictions or closed by the DNR's map; national park land is closed to most hunting; city and county land sets its own rules.

DNR wildlife areas and parks open to hunting in Delta County

DNR wildlife areas and parks open to hunting in Delta County, largest first, with the acres of each inside it:

Other large public areas here, by PAD-US: Hiawatha National Forest (244,360 acres), Shingleton State Forest Area (22,034 acres), Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge (1,312 acres), Michigan State University Board of Trustees (443 acres), Michigan State University (403 acres) and Natural Area Point Detour (289 acres).

How do you get to Delta County?

Highways through it: US 2 (about 65 miles inside), M 35 (about 58 miles inside), US 41 (about 56 miles inside), M 183 (about 16 miles inside) and M 69 (about 5 miles inside). Towns inside: Escanaba, Gladstone, Garden, Rapid River and Rock. Nearby: Powers (10 miles), Manistique (11 miles), Carney (11 miles) and Chatham (13 miles).

Which counties border Delta County?

Delta County touches 4 other counties. Their latest DNR harvest and public land, for comparison:

CountyDeer harvestedYearPublic landHunting Access Program land sites
Alger County521202543.8%
Marquette County1,502202524.7%
Menominee County5,455202515.2%
Schoolcraft County790202566%

Questions hunters ask

How many deer were harvested in Delta County in 2025?

Hunters reported 3,565 deer: 2,113 antlered and 1,452 antlerless (DNR reported deer totals). In 2024: 3,743.

Is there public hunting land in Delta County?

Yes. 318,424 acres, 42% of the county, are public land open to the public by USGS PAD-US 4.1 and the DNR's state forest records, the largest share national forest (244,341 acres). The DNR's maps show 5 wildlife areas and parks open to hunting here.

Does Delta County have Hunting Access Program land?

Not on the DNR's 2026 layer of active HAP properties.

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Where these numbers come from

FilledTag is not part of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from the DNR and the federal sources above, or measured from their maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.

Michigan hunting Alger County Marquette County Menominee County Schoolcraft County