The Natural Resources Commission will set antlerless deer license quotas for 85 of the state's 98 Deer Management Units at its July 10 meeting at the Munising American Legion, 610 W. Munising Avenue in Munising.

State wildlife officials have recommended a total of 66,375 antlerless licenses for public land and 573,200 licenses for private land for the fall deer season, a slight increase from 2007. The recommended quotas are based on an estimated fall deer population of 1,840,000, which is nearly identical to the 2007 population.

In the Upper Peninsula (UP), the recommendation is for 8,000 licenses for public land and 31,000 for private land, down from 10,200 and 35,500 respectively in 2007.

"This is a result of severe winter weather," said Rod Clute, DNR big-game specialist. "We project the UP deer population will be around 320,000 on Oct. 1, down from an estimated 360,000 last year."

In the northern Lower Peninsula (LP), the recommendation is for 22,000 public-land and 135,900 private-land licenses, up from 11,800 and 110,000 respectively in 2007.

"We project the deer population will have increased by 32,000 deer to 610,000 in the northern LP this fall," Clute said.

Recommended quotas for southern Michigan have been increased slightly from last year. The recommendation is for 35,900 public-land and 406,800 private-land licenses, up from 34,900 and 401,800 respectively in 2007.

"The recommended small increase in antlerless licenses reflects a small increase in the projected deer population for 2008 in southern Michigan, to 904,000 from 882,000 in 2007," Clute said. "Southern Michigan DMUs are continually undersubscribed so it is expected that antlerless licenses will be available throughout the season for hunters interested in antlerless hunting in this region."

The NRC also will consider early Canada goose season regulations at the July meeting.