Michigan Archery Season Opens Amid CWD, EHD and TB Concerns

October 1 brings Michigan's archery opener and, with it, concern about a deer-disease alphabet soup nobody ordered: Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), chronic wasting disease (CWD), and bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB).

EHD in Michigan

As of September 23, 2026, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lists EHD in Branch, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lapeer, Lenawee, Oakland, and Washtenaw counties. Biting midges spread EHD, and infected, feverish deer often head for water. It can wallop a local herd, but healthy deer taken nearby remain safe to eat. Bluetongue looks similar, so leave the diagnosis to a lab.

CWD Found In Michigan's Wild and Farmed Deer

brown antelope

CWD, a fatal brain disease, has previously been detected in wild deer in Allegan, Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, Ogemaw, and Washtenaw counties.

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Farmed deer are a separate story: confirmed counties with facilities are Calhoun, Kent, Lake, Mackinac, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo, and Osceola.

Where Bovine TB Has Been Found in Michigan

A deer running through a wooded area in the woods

Michigan's 2025 wild-deer TB positives came from Alcona, Alpena, Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Presque Isle counties. The DNR also wants TB samples this season from Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Iosco, Ogemaw, Otsego, and Roscommon counties.

Spot a sick or dead deer? Tell the DNR. Tag one? Report the harvest within 72 hours, before transferring it or requesting testing. Free CWD testing is available for harvests in Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, and Newaygo; elsewhere, ask about free kits.

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Hunting in Montcalm County or parts of Kent and Ionia counties? Check the carcass transport rules, wear gloves, skip sick deer, don't eat CWD-positive deer, and remember that baiting is still banned in the Lower Peninsula. Your corn pile could spread disease.