(Photo courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

By JIM ANDERSON

Iron Mountain Daily News

IRON MOUNTAIN — A baiting ban that was in effect for four years is due to be lifted for an upcoming archery deer hunt within city limits, leaving Iron Mountain officials optimistic harvest numbers will rise.

“There are a lot (of deer), there’s no doubt about it,” City Manager Jordan Stanchina said.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced in June it will remove baiting restrictions in the Upper Peninsula Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Zone beginning with this year’s hunting seasons.

The Upper Peninsula’s first and only known case of chronic wasting disease was confirmed Oct. 18, 2018, in Waucedah Township. Later that year a roughly 10-mile-radius core surveillance area was created as the DNR tried to determine if CWD existed in areas around where the doe that tested positive was found. State officials have since tested nearly 2,100 deer and found no new infections.

Iron Mountain has conducted a managed archery hunt in cooperation with the DNR since 2012 to keep city deer numbers down. The biggest harvest was 73 deer in 2015.

In 2019, when a baiting ban was introduced to avoid the spread of CWD, the Iron Mountain harvest fell to 17. Numbers in successive years were 34 in 2020, 33 in 2021 and 57 last year.

The city council on Monday authorized a resolution and guidelines to again conduct the program, which coincides with the state’s archery deer season Oct. 1 through Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 through Jan. 1. “It’s low cost,” Stanchina said, noting the city contributes just $10 per antlerless harvest permit.

The city typically makes three public areas available to registered hunters, offering 13 total spots. Hunting on private parcels of 5 acres or more is allowed with permission from the owner.

Kingsford also has an archery hunt but reported its lowest-ever harvest in 2022 at just 12 deer.

Iron Mountain’s harvest last year included two bucks taken on private tags, which was allowed as an incentive for antlerless success.

In other action Monday, the council:

¯ Heard Stanchina report it appears contractor GFL will be able to operate on a four-day schedule for automated trash pickups, helping to keep costs from rising. Before automation, which began Aug. 14, the schedule was five days a week. The transition is “a work in progress,” but “the actual collections went well,” Stanchina said. Most problems so far have been related to cart deliveries.

¯ Approved a special use permit to allow James Weber to do small welding jobs in his garage at 504 Norway St. Iron Mountain Planning Commission conducted a hearing on the request Aug. 14 and recommended approval, restricting projects to the interior of the garage from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

¯ Appointed Jason Kreski of Quinnesec to fill a partial term on the Iron Mountain-Kingsford Joint Sewage Board expiring Feb. 3, 2026. Kreski is an employee of Nalco Water at the Billerud mill and has extensive experience in water treatment. He succeeds Jim Petroff, who had a similar background and is stepping down after 25 years of service.

¯ Granted an easement to We Energies to allow a trench estimated at 6 feet in length to extend power to the new Kwik Trip under construction at 1010 N. Stephenson Ave.