 Deer Management News This Week The Elephant in the room: What can we learn from California regarding the use of sport hunting of pumas (Puma concolor) as a management tool? John W. Laundré, Christopher Papouchis February, 2020 PlosOne ... Our results indicated, respectively, that relative to the 10 states where puma are hunted, California had 1) similar puma densities, 2) the 3rd lowest per capita problematic puma-human encounters, 3) similar per capita loss of cattle (P = 0.13) and a significantly lower (t = 5.7, P < 0.001) per capita loss of sheep, and 4) similar average deer densities while changes in annual deer populations correlated with changes in other states (F = 95.4, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.68). In sum, our analysis of the records obtained from state and federal wildlife agencies found no evidence that sport hunting of pumas has produced the management outcomes sought by wildlife managers aside from providing a sport hunting opportunity... Deer limit reduction in Delaware County raises eyebrows February 23, 2020 Ohio, Columbus Dispatch ... the division proposed reducing the 2020-21 season deer limit in Delaware County from four to three... . “The growth is mostly in the southern one-third of the county, and the reality is that in the northern two-thirds of the county hunters have done a pretty good job reducing the deer herd.” .., New fees for managed lands deer permit system (MLDP) February 22, 2020 Texas, Austin American-Statesman ... The MLDP system grew out of complains lodged with TPWD at least as far back as the early 1980s, during discussions and plans to pass the Wildlife Conservation Act in Texas. That landmark piece of legislation allowed TPWD to set seasons and bag limits throughout the state and ended the outdated system whereby county commissioners courts could set seasons for the hunters in their county... Minnesota paying out 135K annually due to wolf kills February 22, 2020 MPR News ... Every year, gray wolves kill dozens, if not hundreds, of farm animals in Minnesota. ... in the last decade, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has paid out an average of $135,000 on about 110 wolf depredation claims each year ... there do seem to be more wolf kills when the whitetail deer population ... goes down quickly ... Wyoming Game And Fish Unveils New Wildlife Crossing Initiative February 21, 2020 Wyoming Public Media ... There are an estimated 6,000 big game animals killed by vehicle collisions each year in the state... Wildlife Crossings: Keeping Wildlife and Drivers on the Go... legislators two years ago that allow you to purchase a license plate where the majority of the funds go to this initiative and go to future projects that will benefit wildlife and roadways... Senate bill would drop deer-baiting fine to $1 February 21, 2020 Michigan, Michigan Radio ... A new bill would allow the baiting ban to remain in place during deer hunting season. But it would reduce the penalty for violations to one dollar. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission enacted the ban in 2018. Its purpose is to combat the spread of disease ... Iowa DNR Proposes Adjusting Deer Harvest Quotas In More Than 20 Counties February 21, 2020, Iowa Public Radio ... State biologists are considering increasing the number of antlerless deer that hunters can harvest in 11 counties next hunting season, while at the same time, decreasing the harvest quota in as many others... CPW looks for ways to help declining elk population February 21, 2020 Colorado, KUSA ... elk herds in southwest Colorado ... The number of elk in that area dropped from 19,500 in 2015 to 16,889 in 2019, according to CPW... a troubling decline in calves surviving to maturity ... Missing deer meat leads DNR to warm freezer full of rotting carcasses February 21, 2020 Michigan, MLive ... they found that the business was in the process of closing permanently and that power had been lost in the building. Furthermore, the COs located the rotting deer carcasses in the freezer, all of which were still being processed and packaged... Cutting-Edge Test is Able to Detect Chronic Wasting Disease in Live Deer February 21, 2020 Minnesota, MSN ... Deer urine, saliva, and excrement are some of the elements that can be tested for the misfolded proteins (or prions) that cause this fatal ailment. Most importantly, the test can be conducted on live deer, other testing methods can only be run on dead deer... “I think each state needs to support this kind of funding,” ... Novel Strain of the Chronic Wasting Disease Agent Isolated From Experimentally Inoculated Elk With LL132 Prion Protein February 21, 2020 Nature ... results suggest that the CWD prion isolated from LL132 elk is a novel CWD strain and that M132 PrPC is able to propagate some biophysical properties of the L132 PrPSc conformation... The Buck Stops Here: Don't Feed Deer Deadly Corn February 20, 2020 Rhode Island, ecoRI news ... a natural-resource scientist at the University of Rhode Island... His inspection revealed that this wasn ’t a hunting fatality or natural death; the deer’s stomach looked as if it had exploded. The animal’s stomach was enlarged and bursting open with partially digested corn grains... California has fewer hunters than ever. Would waiving state fees revive the practice? February 20, 2020 Sacramento Bee ... Gallagher is trying to reverse a downward trend in hunting in the Golden State. In 1979, the state issued more than 530,000 hunting licenses; that number gradually declined over the decades, and in 2019, the state issued just over 244,000 licenses... As hunter numbers plummet across the U.S., Idaho sets records — for now February 20, 2020 Idaho Statesman ... Idaho hit a record-high number of paid hunting license holders in 2019: 295,281... Idaho slid to 20 hunters per 100 people in 2000. And last year, there were 16 hunters per 100 ... The Quiet Extinction February 19, 2020 Montana, Montana Kaimin ... Caribou herds once abundantly thrived from the western coast of Alaska to the eastern fronts of Canada, but that is no longer the case... Caribou migrate longer distances than any other mammal on Earth ... The final herd of the Lower 48, the South Selkirk herd, officially became extinct ... [at the end of 2019] ... Native Wildlife Habitat Could Be Destroyed If Mining Company's Expansion Is Approved, Study Finds February 19, 2020 Colorado, Aspen Public Radio ... A study released this week by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program finds native plants and wildlife could be negatively affected if mining company Rocky Mountain Resources’ expansion proposal is approved... UT's newest research initiative focuses on how humans and animals interact with environment February 19, 2020 Tennessee, Knoxville News Sentinel ... An immediate focus for One Health will be researching Chronic Wasting Disease, a fatal neurological disease that affects deer in Tennessee ... “Our vision is for the UT One Health Initiative to be a clearinghouse for transformational discoveries to improve animal, human, plant and environmental health,” ... Chronic Wasting Disease prevention and preparation underway in Idaho and Jefferson County February 19, 2020 Idaho, Post Register ... the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) reached out to Jefferson County Solid Waste officials with concerns regarding disposal of deer infected with Chronic Wasting Disease ... the county would need to designate specific equipment to the disposal of bodies to avoid transferring the disease ... Bill would make extreme poaching a felony in Minnesota February 19, 2020 KSTP ... Fischer wants to make it a felony to have game valued at more than $2,000 in your possession. "To reach this level of restitution somebody would need to illegally take 400 crappies, 66 walleyes, 40 ducks, five bears, five wild turkeys or four deer or two trophy deer over the limit," ... WDFW uses drone to study predators and prey in wild lands of Stevens and Pend Oreille counties February 19, 2020 Washington, The Independent ... WDFW and University of Washington biologists will use the drone to film landscapes and work sites associated with the Predator-Prey Project, a five-year research effort that began in the winter of 2016-17. Researchers working with the project are studying the impact to ungulates (mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk) from wolves and other carnivores such as cougars, bobcats, and coyotes... Deer culling discussion migrates into Mayfield Village February 19, 2020 Ohio, Cleveland.com ... “We don’t really have that big of a problem, not the same problem Highland Heights has,” Bodnar said. “And the areas that seem to be experiencing the problem are not appropriate for sharpshooting.” The Highland Heights culling program, which is to be carried out by USDA sharpshooters, will only take place on public property... Missoula to count urban deer February 18, 2020 Montana, KPAX ... There is no program being launched. There's not a 'turkey shoot' that's happening up against some hillside,” von Lossberg said. We're trying to get a handle on population and a review of what is out there from a management strategy standpoint."...These are the first order responsible things to do ... Keeping track of Vermont's deer population February 17, 2020 MSN ... Vermont Fish and Wildlife estimates there are 140,000 deer in the state based on hunter survey numbers and other research.., Five Iowa City parks will close early as sharpshooters start next phase of deer cull February 17, 2020 Iowa, Little Village ... sharpshooters will kill deer in the designated area, as part of the deer management program unanimously approved by the Iowa City Council ... A study by White Buffalo estimated the density of Iowa City’s deer population at 57.5 deer per mile. The goal for the management program is to reduce that to 25 deer per mile... U of M research team achieves CWD testing milestone February 17, 2020 Minnesota, UMN News ... University of Minnesota researchers ... With this technology, the team analyzed tissue samples from CWD-positive white-tailed deer and obtained confirmation of protein-misfolding within nine hours... The U of M team is funded by approximately $2 million, awarded through the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Rapid Agricultural Response Fund ... Governor's Trailblazing Migration Order to Hinge on Local Control February 17, 2020 Wyoming, Public News Service ... Gov. Mark Gordon signed an executive order last week ... establishes how corridors are managed, starting with key routes in southwestern Wyoming, and how other routes should be designated in the future... Winona County board approves culling of deer to control disease February 16, 2020 Minnesota, Post-Bulletin ... Family groups, especially doe, will be targeted most during the culling. Froberg said the goal would be 20 to 25% of the population of deer in the area... Minnesota state officials on Friday confirmed a deer on a Pine County farm tested positive for CWD... New Maryland hunting regulations being formed February 16, 2020 Cumberland Times-News ... WHS wants to start a statewide primitive weapon deer hunting season. Hunters would be able to use long bows, recurve bows, flintlock pistols and rifles and sidelock pistols and rifles. Scopes or other modern optics would not be legal... The hunting of coyotes would become legal at any time of the day ... Statewide deer kill hits 37-year low, but bow and muzzleloader hunters prosper February 15, 2020, West Virginia, Charleston Gazette-Mail ... The buck kill fell 17 percent... the EHD outbreak did lead to localized deer-herd declines across a swath of the state that stretched between Summers County in the south to Harrison County in the north... hunters’ fears over disease concerns might have reached a peak .., Smuggled elk poses a mystery for Montana wildlife officials February 15, 2020 Times Union ...A Montana game warden learns of an unusual elk shot along the Rocky Mountain Front... Genetic testing reveals that the young bull is of an exotic sub-species, and that it came from a herd more than 600 miles from where it was shot... it had been castrated ... tested negative for hoof disease ... U.S. Forest Services approves Twelve Mile timber project in Pisgah National Forest February 15, 2020 North Carolina, MSN ... the project will help maintain a healthy and diverse forest that supports wildlife, including elk, deer, turkey and songbirds, provides a sustainable output of timber, improves water quality and aquatic habitat, and improves access to the forest, according to Jason Herron, project lead with the Forest Service... Woodside deer cull suspended amid safety concerns February 14, 2020, South Carolina, Aiken Standard ... The Friday meeting came about after Andrea Gregory, City Council member for District 5, visited Woodside residents Tuesday to address pools of blood left behind by deer dispatched by sharpshooters and subsequently requested a halt to the culling until an agreement between culling parties and the city could take place... CPW says someone feeding a doe corn caused her to die February 14, 2020 Colorado, KUSA ... doe died from having a full stomach of corn that led to acute rumen acidosis... a necropsy where it was discovered the animal's stomach was full of corn ... many animals die quickly from the acid's immediate effects, while others may live longer, but die from liver or brain damage... Biologist ponders: What happens when every deer has chronic wasting disease? February 13, 2020 Minnesota, StarTribune ... As the environmental reservoir of toxic prions continues to grow, deer can be infected irrespective of whether there are many or few deer in the immediate area. That is why culling works only in the very early stages of a CWD outbreak ... Deer with Gene A live for two years after infection; Gene B two to three years: Gene C up to four years... GE Sorensen, DW Kramer, JW Cain III, CA Taylor… - Wildlife Society Bulletin, 2020 Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) survival and population growth in north‐central New Mexico, USA, was previously reported to be limited by nutritional constraints due to poor forage conditions in degraded habitats... Deer selected areas closer to water and developed areas, northeast aspects, on gentle slopes, and at lower elevations. Creating a savanna‐like cover type may elicit a positive deer response as a result of their strong avoidance of dense, closed canopy pinyon–juniper woodlands... Woodside residents voice concerns over killing of deer in neighborhood February 13, 2020 South Carolina, Aiken Standard ... "The insanity of shooting high-powered rifles in a densely populated area, day or night, from stationary (locations) or vehicles, is wrong on so many levels," ... "We don't see many deer at all... 1,330 votes cast "for the approval to conduct a deer harvest" while 746 voted against ... Cougar harvest objectives increased to help deer populations February 13, 2020 Utah, Daily Herald ... “Cougar populations don’t immediately decline when deer populations do, and in some cases, cougar populations may be maintained by switching to different types of prey. Deer populations in some areas of Utah, however, have declined due to drought and heavy winter conditions over the past two years,” ... Number of deer with chronic wasting disease harvested in Pennsylvania hits all-time high February 13, 2020 Lancaster Online ... A total of 123 deer tested positive for the disease in the 2018-19 season. Last season’s number currently stands at 180... 5,000 of the 16,000 samples collected remain to be tested ... East Lansing officials narrowly authorize lethal option to manage growing deer population February 13, 2020 Michigan, Lansing State Journal ... voted 3 to 2 to authorize a cull as a possible option in the city's deer management program... partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services ... People who spoke against it ... described culls as inhumane, immoral and ineffective... DNR expects deer population to rebound after disease outbreak February 13, 2020 Iowa, Radio Iowa ... “We had a significant outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease across the state. And that could’ve resulted in lower numbers of deer out on the landscape — and ultimately resulting in lower harvest,” Harms says. “We do know after an outbreak that we had in 2012 and 2013 we had similar trends .., Western Wildlife Conservancy Director Says Predator Bill Is Terrible February 12, 2020 Utah, KPCW ... House Bill 125, sponsored by Republican Carl Albrecht from Richfield, would mandate Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Managers immediately issue hunting tags on bear, cougar and coyote when herd numbers drop too low... Don't be fooled about wolves February 12, 2020 Colorado, Loveland Reporter-Herald "... the wolf does not belong in settled landscapes... wolves degrade via hybridization with domestic dogs and coyotes into worthless hybrids ... when wolves are introduced into Colorado and are free to multiply, your moose will be exterminated, and your deer and elk will be exterminated ..." [Dr. Geist is a behavioral ecologist and professor ... one of the world’s most respected authorities on the behavior, ecology and conservation] Talking wolves' diets with U of M February 12, 2020 Minnesota, UMN News ... In the winter time, wolves in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem ... mainly hunt and kill deer, though wolves do kill the occasional snowshoe hare and, rarely, a moose... During the summer, wolves in our area mainly eat beavers, deer fawns and blueberries ... 'Many, many' public comments sink proposal to expand deer hunting season February 12, 2020 Oklahoma, Tulsa World ... Some deer hunters expressed concern about added pressure on bucks and increased kills. Bird hunters and others complained about an added week of potential conflict afield. Landowners and others generally were opposed to “another week of putting up with the headache,” ... Highland Heights City Council approves deer culling program February 12, 2020, Ohio, Cleveland.com ... A survey taken of residents in December and January revealed that 80 percent of respondents believed some action had to be taken to reduce the city’s deer population. An infrared deer count late last year, also conducted by the USDA, revealed that Highland Heights was home to 55 deer per square mile ... Resolving The Rash Of Elk Poaching In Pigeon River February 12, 2020 Michigan, Traverse City Ticker ... The eight dead elk may not set a poaching record, but ... one of the cases, the killing of three cow elk at the beginning of December, was a seemingly nonsensical massacre... a conviction can cost a person their hunting privileges and carry penalty of $5,000 or more... Hilton Head Island neighborhood votes against deer culling February 11, 2020 Georgia, Savannah WTOC-TV ... Residents of the Hilton Head community say that part of what they love so much about living here is that deer will actually come out of the woods and into their yards to look at and enjoy throughout the day... West Virginia hunters harvest more than 99,000 deer in fall 2019 and January 2020 February 11, 2020 West Virginia, 12WBOY ... estimated that hunters harvested 99,437 deer during the season. The season’s harvest was nine percent below the 2018 harvest of 108,856 deer, and 13 percent below the five-year average of 114,520... Iowa hunters harvest nearly 95,000 deer from the 2019-20 seasons February 11, 2020 DNR News Hunters reported harvesting nearly 94,000 deer during Iowa’s 2019-2020 hunting seasons, which is a decline from 2018-19, when hunters reported nearly 108,000 deer. Wildlife experts say while there are a number of factors that likely contributed to the decline, the most prominent is the outbreak of hemorrhagic disease that killed thousands of deer across the state... Judge overturns agency's OK for new copper mine in Arizona February 10, 2020 Washington Times ... Lawyers for the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity said federal agencies have failed to protect public land and resources in mountains that are home to endangered jaguars and cougars, black bears and deer... Vassar, Lawyer takes aim at Vassar College deer slaughter February 10, 2020 New York, Mid-Hudson News ... Vassar claims that it kills to preserve “biodiversity” at the Farm, due to “deer overpopulation”... The deer carcasses from Vassar’s own kills have shown that the local deer are perfectly healthy. As to “’biodiversity”, Vassar cannot identify even one species presently impacted by deer... Surveying deer population in Colorado Springs February 10, 2020 Colorado, FOX21News.com ... CPW staff teamed up with volunteers all day on Monday to survey neighborhoods west of I-25. An application on their mobile phones allows them to seamlessly log the location, approximate size, and sex of the deer that goes straight into an agency database. The survey takes place over several years to get a consistent estimate ... Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation scraps proposal to lengthen deer gun season February 9, 2020 The Oklahoman ... no long considering adding a week to the 16-day gun season as previously proposed. Instead, the agency is hoping hunters in the future will take more does through increased bag limits ... DNR seeks public comment on proposed primitive-weapon deer hunting season February 9, 2020 Maryland, Frederick News Post ... a three-day statewide primitive-weapon deer hunting season. Legal hunting devices for this proposed new season would include long bows, recurve bows, flintlock pistols and rifles, and percussion side-lock pistols and rifles... creation of an urban/suburban deer management zone that would include an unlimited antlerless archery bag limit... |
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