Deer Management News This Week  Opening-day deer harvest down from 2012 December 5, 2013 Ohio, Logan Daily News ... So far this season, hunters have harvested 109,932 deer compared to 113,107 at the same point in the season last year, which represents a three-percent difference... Progress toward reducing locally abundant herds closer to target levels is expected .. Ohio hunters checked 218,910 deer during the 2012-2013 season... Tyler State Park, 124 hunters, no protesters at Tyler park deer hunt December 5, 2013 Pennsylvania, Bucks County Courier Times ... For the first time in recent memory, nobody showed up at the Swamp Road entrance to the 1,711-acre park to carry signs criticizing the hunt and to chant anti-hunt slogans... “It’s unfortunate these hunts are happening in state parks because there is an approved form of birth control that would be viable there,” ...Sarah Speed, Pennsylvania state director for the Humane Society of the United States ... More elk, fewer deer this season for Rocky Mountain Front hunters December 5, 2013 Montana, Independent Record ... Brent Lonner, a wildlife biologist for Montana ... "we have some pretty strong elk numbers ... Last spring, we were counting just under 3,000 head in the Sun River herd.” He attributes the drop in white-tailed harvest success, which was 20 percent below the 10-year average, to an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD... Iowa deer hunters face cold but promising opener December 5, 2013 Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier ... Like many other wildlife species, deer were pretty well wiped out by European settlement and overhunting by 1900... more than a decade of controversy before the first season was approved across 45 counties in 1953. With a herd estimated at 12,000-15,000 statewide ... about 140,000 shotgun deer season hunters head to the woods ... Pa. not seeing the light on deer-vehicle crashes December 5, 2013 Pennsylvania, Tribune-Review ... in Canada, where deer, moose and even Sasquatch can be found crossing the road, officials decided to try a motion-sensor device that picks up movement on the sides of the road and alerts drivers with flashing yellow lights. It's a promising idea and one that other states are considering or already using ... Regs for deer hunting change December 5, 2013 Georgia, Eatonton Messenger ... Why were the number of firearms either-sex days reduced? A few factors went into this decision, including the decline in the number of fawns that survive into fall and an increase in doe harvest rates... South Dakota in midst of exciting deer management experiment December 5, 2013 Rapid City Journal ... . Much of the state is entering a period of dramatically lower deer numbers associated with an unexpected combination of mortality factors: natural predation from re-emergent large predators such as lions and wolves, devastation by disease and the recent losses due to severe weather ... began to manage their own properties for quality deer production ... Ban on dog-deer hunting puts damper on family tradition December 4, 2013 Louisiana, The Daily Advertiser ... Kisatchie National Forest — the only public land in Louisiana that allowed dog-deer hunting ... dog-deer hunters will now face paying for a private hunting lease if they want to continue hunting with dogs... According to court records, ... “some still deer hunters complained that dog-deer hunting is unsportsmanlike.” ... West Virginia ag commissioner to propose deer farm legislation December 4, 2013 Cumberland Times-News ... Department of Agriculture Commissioner Walt Helmick.... said he plans to present a bill to legislators in January to move deer farming from the Division of Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture and at the same time make it legal to sell venison in West Virginia... “Deer that are farmed for meat are much larger than the wild deer we see in West Virginia. They are domesticated. Some are a strain of red deer and some are white tail,” ... Monroe County's deer harvest outpaces state's December 4, 2013 Wisconsin, La Crosse Tribune ... Farm areas didn’t experience the same sharp decline as wooded areas up north... “Probably the biggest factor was the weather. We had brutal cold this year with high winds (on opening weekend). We do a hunter survey, and hunters ranked it as the worst opener since we started doing the survey five years ago.” ... Deer kill numbers down in region, state December 4, 2013 Wisconsin, Eau Claire Leader-Telegram ... Wisconsin’s gun deer hunters registered 226,582 deer this year, down from 243,739 in 2012... the number of anterless deer killed was nearly the same as last year. The preliminary tally showed hunters killed 97,765 bucks and 128,817 antlerless deer compared with last year’s totals of 114,822 bucks and 128,917 antlerless animals... Deer harvest slightly higher than last year in Northwest Montana as season ends December 4, 2013 Montana, valleyjournal.net ... As of Sunday, Dec. 1, a total of 18,262 hunters checked 1,112 white-tailed deer of which 985 were bucks, 134 mule deer, and 56 elk for a 7.1 percent rate of hunters with game... higher than the 6.5 percent of hunters with game last year... about the same number of mule deer, but fewer elk as compared to last year... Numbers appear slightly down from last year for harvested deer December 4, 2013 Michigan, Cadillac News ... initial reports from across the state are suggesting that the harvest was lower this year compared to last year... About 325,000 hunters were expected to take to the woods for bow season, compared to the 575,000 hunters who were expected to hunt during firearm season... Iowa Deer Hunt December 4, 2013 Globe Gazette ... they are reporting seeing many fewer deer. The number of licenses sold and the number of deer taken are similar to last year, but lower than its peak in 2006... Vos says nine-day deer hunt has $1.3 billion impact December 4, 2013 Wisconsin, PolitiFact ... Vos repeated Walker’s assertion that "The nine-day deer hunt contributes more than $1.3 billion in revenue to the state of Wisconsin." The figure is from the most-recent estimate of deer hunting’s economic impact. Vos misfires a bit because the figure actually applies to all deer hunting, not just the gun season... Cochran’s take in on deer kill rollercoaster December 4, 2013 Virginia, Roanoke Times ... ·Knox said before the season started that the deer population is down. If it weren’t for the mast failure, he said, the kill would probably be down. The mast failure, however, could inflate the kill numbers by making deer more visible and vulnerable.... Biologist says “Bah Humbug” to big deer kill December 3, 2013 Virginia, Roanoke.com ... the Department of Game and Inland fisheries deer project leader, Knox may be the only guy involved in Virginia deer hunting who said "Bah Humbug" to Monday's report that the deer kill count suddenly had taken a leap from a negative to a positive... you apply statistics to each county to see if they meet management objectives to increase, decrease or stabilize the herd, and do that over a minimum of several years... Hunters concerned about high mountain deer December 3, 2013 West Virginia, Metro News “The deer herds here have crashed by half or more from a year ago ...“We are aware of that and the primary issue there relates to habitat and habitat conditions,” said DNR Game Management Supervisor Gary Foster. “In a lot of the National Forest we’re not seeing the amount of forest management like timber sales and timber harvest we were seeing in the 70′s and early 80′s. We’ve lost a lot of that early successional and browse habitat.” ... Fewer deer for hunting season December 3, 2013 Michigan, Alpena News ... the number of deer coming into local check stations is down. In Alpena County, 810 were checked as of Monday, according to preliminary figures. Compare that to 936 from the same point in 2012, and an average of 887 from 2010-12... license sales were up about 1.8 percent from last year as of Monday ... nine deer potentially infected with bovine tuberculosis ... Preliminary deer kill tally down 7% from 2012 December 3, 2013 Wisconsin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ... Hunters registered 226,582 white-tailed deer during the 2013 Wisconsin gun deer season, according to a preliminary report ... The harvest figure represents a 7% drop from 2012. The 2013 preliminary tally included 97,765 bucks (15% less than 2012) and 128,817 antlerless deer (even with 2012)... Deer harvest numbers down across Ohio for first day of gun season December 3, 2013 News-Herald.com ... statewide deer harvest numbers for the opening day of gun season were down almost 23 percent in 2013 compared to 2012. Hunters brought in 22,620 deer on Monday, a decrease from 29,297 on opening day in 2012... While still popular in Ohio, hunting licenses have been on a downward trend nationally in recent years... Rifle deer season opens, schools and offices close December 3, 2013 Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Daily News ... The state legislature is dark. Schoolchildren from the Lehigh Valley to the Ohio border have the day off.... Welcome to the opening day of rifle deer season ... Pennsylvania is second only to Texas in the number of licensed hunters... Deer season opens in Bradford County December 3, 2013 Pennsylvania, Daily Review & Sunday Review ... we project a season that's similar to last year. We have about the same number of hunters, and deer populations are either stable or increasing in most of the state. The opening day seemed to have some fairly decent weather in most of the state too ... Travis Lau, press secretary with the Pennsylvania Game Commission ... GT County deer harvest down December 3, 2013 Michigan, Traverse City Record-Eagle ... the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says hunters in Grand Traverse County alone reported 42 percent fewer deer killed this year compared to last year. ... The DNR has seen a similar drop in deer kills voluntarily reported to state officials across all 13 counties where the antler point restriction is in place... Town & Country again plans to contract for sharpshooting of deer December 3, 2013 Missouri, Newsmagazinenetwork ... Former Alderman Al Gerber questioned the success of the culling effort... “We’re seeing the deer population go down, but the number of crashes has remained about constant,” ... “In 2010, we said we’d use deer-vehicle crashes as a barometer of the success of the deer management program,” ... Deer hunters pick up the pace December 3, 2013 Virginia, Roanoke.com ... Through Saturday, the final day of the general firearms deer season in most counties in Western Virginia, hunters had used the phone or Internet to check in 126,583 deer. That figure is 13 percent higher than the number of deer electronically checked through the end of the western general firearms season last fall ... It is likely that a higher percentage of successful hunters are using the electronic checking system ... In Late-Rut States, Bucks Are on the Move December 3, 2013 Georgia, Field and Stream (blog) ... less activity here in Georgia ... not case in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama, where whitetails are inching closer to the rut. Some reports of early chasing are coming in and pre-rut activities are cranking up... Deer gun season opens in Ohio December 3, 2013 WLWT 5 ... Ohio ranks fifth in the total number of resident hunters, totaling just over 515,000 ... Around 80,000-90,000 and deer are expected to be harvested in Ohio this week... Harvest down this deer season December 3, 2013 Michigan, Escanaba Daily Press ... "Based on our main stations, it looks like we are down in the neighborhood of 25 percent n the Upper Peninsula," said Dave Jentoft, DNR wildlife biologist ... A factor which affects hunting each season is the weather ... Alabama's Controversial New Law is Good News for Hunters December 3, 2013 DigitalJournal.com ... new law allows for supplemental deer feeding areas on private lands during season, “located beyond 100 yards from the hunter and not within the line of sight of the hunter.” The state previously allowed supplemental feeding areas on private lands during deer season, but did not allow these areas to be hunted ... For first time in 5 years, CWD found in deer on preserve December 2, 2013 Wisconsin, Milwaukee Journal Sentine ... A white-tailed deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease on a Marathon County shooting preserve ... The deer was one of about 370 deer housed in the 351-acre enclosed site... The hunting preserve will be allowed to continue to conduct hunts because properly handled dead animals don't pose a disease risk, the agency said... CWD detected at Marathon Co. deer farm December 2, 2013 Wisconsin, WAOW ... a five-year-old buck killed Nov. 4, was the first deer to test positive for the disease in Marathon County and the first on a Wisconsin deer farm since October 2008 ... 97 deer on nine different deer farms and hunting preserves in Wisconsin have tested positive for CWD since 2002, including 82 deer on a Portage County farm ... Game wardens' investigations lead to big fines paid in poaching case December 2, 2013 Oklahoma, Pryor Daily Times ... completed in October 2013 - a total of 73 wildlife violation charges were filed against 13 individuals who pleaded guilty in both Oklahoma and Arkansas courts, mostly for crimes involving the illegal killing of deer and obtaining fraudulent hunting licenses. They paid a total of $22,356 ... Deer Processing Changes, CWD December 2, 2013 Pennsylvania, WTAJ ... One of the big concerns for this hunting season is the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease among the state's wild deer population. ... "All the deer that is coming in, we are putting the bone material in a certified landfill is where they go. They cannot go into any source of a plant that is manufacturing any kind of animal food or what ever so." ... Tough year in Delaware for deer hunters December 2, 2013 Delaware Wave ... Rogerson said epizootic disease impacted deer harvests in Sussex County this year. Hunters there harvested 8.4 percent fewer deer last hunting season, with the biggest impact in the Georgetown and Milton areas. Harvests there were down 22 and 26 percent ... Hunters bagged more than 13,000 deer during the 2012-2013 season ... Pennsylvania deer hunters hit the woods today December 2, 2013 Lancaster Online ... Pennsylvania has about 950,000 licensed resident and nonresident hunters. The state Game Commission expects about 750,000 to be in the woods today... Last year, hunters statewide tagged 90,400 antlered deer during the two-week firearms season, in addition to 134,820 antlerless deer... Daines ignores input from hunters and anglers, wildlife habitat December 2, 2013 Montana, The Missoulian ... the “Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act,” or H.R. 1526, replaces good elk habitat with a web of logging roads threatening the longest hunting season in the lower 48 states. The bill was born in a Washington, D.C., lobbyist’s office. It’s a top-down land grab that fails the made-in-Montana sniff test... Nebraska hunters shoot fewer deer December 2, 2013 Columbus Telegram ... According to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, a total of 36,882 deer were killed during the nine-day season — a 21 percent decline from 2012... The total harvest for 2013 is expected to reach about 50,000 deer... Shotgun deer season begins Saturday December 2, 2013 Iowa, Radio Iowa · ... . “In 2012 the shotgun hunters had 35-40-percent success and archery was right around 25, in that neighborhood ... Hunting Season Ends with Deer, Elk Totals on Par with Last Year in Western Montana December 2, 2013 MFWP ... deer harvests through the Anaconda, Bonner and Darby Check Stations nearly equaling those checked in 2011 and 2012, and elk harvests up slightly from last year. Numbers of elk and deer checked through the three check stations totaled 1,116 this season, 19 more than the total of 1,097 recorded in 2012. The white-tailed deer harvest was almost identical to last year’s, with 534 whitetails checked this year compared with 536 checked last year. Mule deer harvest was down slightly from 164 in 2012 to 151 this year. The elk harvest of 431 through the three check stations was up from the total of 397 last year, due to a bump in harvest checked at the hunter check station near Darby ... Montana big game hunting comes to a close December 2, 2013 KPAX-TV ... a big drop in the number of elk taken... dropped about 30% to 40% ... "We'll just chalk up this low harvest to the weather ... Game Commission studies deer herd December 2, 2013 Pennsylvania, Times Tribune ... When forests don't regrow, deer are the prime suspects ... researchers want to make sure that deer are, indeed, the cause of the damage... In three state forests they will count saplings by species type, look at other vegetation ... Hunters will get involved by registering when they hunt in the study areas - parts of the Bald Eagle, Rothrock and Susquehannock state forests... Deer Hunters, Be Sure Downed Animal was Healthy before Eating Venison December 2, 2013 Pennsylvania, Gant Daily ... because of the discovery of chronic wasting disease in wild Pennsylvania deer, they are cautioning hunters to be sure their animal appears healthy. Chronic wasting disease — often called CWD — is a chronic, degenerative neurological disease affecting the central nervous system of animals such as deer and elk. The disease has been moving east in recent decades... “While the risk of CWD is very low, hunters need to focus on the overall safety of the meat. ... Mackinac Bridge count down 34 percent from 2012 November 2, 2013 Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie Evening News ... The Mackinac Bridge Authority recorded 4,207 deer as of 11 p.m. Sunday for 2013. In 2012, hunters returned home across the 5-mile span with 6,420 deer in tow as of 11 p.m. on Dec. 1, according to official calculations, representing a 34 percent decrease from 2012 to 2013... the long-lasting winter had taken a toll on the 1 1/2-year-old animals which make up a substantial portion of the annual harvest... Smaller deer harvest should lead to higher population December 1, 2013 Minnesota, Duluth News Tribune ... The deer population was down, DNR biologists said, after a series of moderate to severe winters that probably resulted in adult deer dying and fewer fawns born last spring. The DNR reduced antlerless permits this fall in hopes of saving does and increasing the population in coming years... York’s the happiest of hunting grounds December 1, 2013 Maine, Press Herald ... While the deer harvested in the rest of the state dropped from 28,884 in 2007 to 21,412 last year (and as low as 18,092 in 2009), in York it increased from 136 in 2007 to 175 in 2012... In the whitetail country just north of Orono the woods are thicker and the density of hunters thinner ... Biologist says deer’s health is matter of public safety December 1, 2013 Ohio, Columbus Dispatch ... Although state wildlife officials no longer estimate the numbers of Ohio’s white-tailed deer herd, a few years ago it was estimated at more than 700,000... Throughout the year, random roadkill deer are tested for chronic wasting disease ... In 11 years of testing, no case has been found in Ohio... Fewer hunters taking their shots in Pennsylvania December 1, 2013 readingeagle.com ... More than 1.3 million hunters bought licenses in 1982, the most ever in Pennsylvania, but only 943,583 bought them in 2012, a 28 percent decline. License sales have been steadily dropping nationally, too, since the early 1980s. A Pennsylvania Game Commission survey shows that in Pennsylvania many hunters either grew too old for the sport, found other interests, no longer had time for hunting or no longer had access to good hunting spots... Lady hunters continue racking up East Texas whopper bucks December 1, 2013 Lufkin Daily News ... We’re just now reaching the midway point of the 2013-14 deer season, and already many experts are calling it the best ever for quality bucks in eastern Texas... Some say it has everything to do with the 13 inch antler restriction put in place several years ago to protect young bucks from harvest long enough to reach maturity. Others believe the banner year is tied to good carryover spurred by bumper acorn crops and tough hunting conditions the last couple of years... Deer disease may impact economy, CWD December 1, 2013 Pennsylvania,. AltoonaMirror.com ... with the discovery this year of the state's first wild cases of chronic wasting disease ... the possibility of a thinning herd and new restrictions in the central Pennsylvania mountains could compound a gradual decline in license purchases, particularly among the out-of-state hunters who spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the state annually... Researchers believe the disease is caused by a prion, a misfolded protein ... Locked and loaded for deer season December 1, 2013 Massachusetts, Lowell Sun ... Massachusetts is home to approximately 100,000 whitetail deer and there may be an equal number of deer hunters who will be out there Monday ... For the next two weeks, deer hunters armed with shotguns will invade the woodlands ... Getting venison is No. 1 reason deer hunters go hunting in poll December 1, 2013 Pennsylvania, Shamokin News-Item Online ... according to a survey done this year by Responsive Management ... 35 percent selected "for the meat" as the most important reason for them hunting deer... the No. 2 reason in the survey for deer hunting with 31 percent was sport and recreation ... No. 3 in the survey as the reason for deer hunting with 21 percent was being with family and friends ... Severe winter could take drastic toll on white-tailed deer November 30, 2013 West Virginia, Charleston Gazette ... Food for deer has been scarce for two years in a row. Acorns, a whitetail staple, were scarce during the fall of 2012 and are almost nonexistent this year. The lack of acorns will probably send hundreds of thousands of whitetails into the winter months in poorer-than-usual nutritional condition... Buck-only days return in Georgia this weekend November 30, 2013 Georgia Mobile Augusta ... The change was adopted long before our season began, due to an increasing number of studies that indicate fawn recruitment continues to decline, while our annual doe harvest continues to increase. The folks at the Wildlife Resources Department simply want to ensure a herd that is sustainable from year to year ... Another firearms deer season approaches November 30, 2013 Kansas, Wichita Eagle ... deer numbers are still down in some parts of Kansas. Out west it's because several years of drought hurt fawn production. In eastern Kansas it could be because of two years of disease ... Some parts of eastern Kansas also had drought-related epizootic homorrhagic disease in 2011 and 2012, which lead to some localized die-offs... 2012 outbreak still hurting deer harvest November 30, 2013 Nebraska, Omaha World-Herald ... one of the worst outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease ever to hit the state... “It’s taken us back to when the deer war started in 1996-97,” ... Since 1996 and leading into the 2012 season, the commission tried its best to lower deer numbers.... Nothing seemed to work. Populations continued to climb, frustrating wildlife biologists... Deer Season: Game commission predicts healthy group of deer November 30, 2013 Pennsylvania, Cumberland County Sentinel ... The commission is tracking deer populations and say they have been stable or increasing in nearly all of the state’s 23 wildlife-management units... hunting license sales also are slightly ahead of their 2012 pace... End of the gun deer season allows tales to come to light November 30, 2013 Wisconsin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ... 615,872 deer hunting licenses sold as of opening day, 0.2% more than at the same time in 2012... The opening weekend deer kill of 110,797 was 18% lower than 2012, according to a preliminary harvest report ... State wildlife officials attributed the reduced kill to cold, windy weather that reduced hunter effort statewide as well as lower antlerless deer permit levels in northern management units... Sika deer hunting at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland November 30, 2013 examiner.com ... Originally native to Eastern Asia, the sika Deer was first introduced into the eastern United States as an ornamental animal meant to roam parklands, but has since thrived ... smaller and darker than the commonly seen whitetail deer reside in thick marshes ... Hunters rack up far fewer Neb. deer November 30, 2013 Nebraska, North Platte Telegraph ... “The EHD outbreak was so spotty across the state that it was hard to tell which areas were the hardest hit,” Geiser said. “Some areas, even in the southwest, were hit a little harder than others. Part of those numbers are a lack of antlerless tags.” ... “Barring any diseases, I would assume [harvest numbers will go back up in 2014] ... Pa. hunters could get help from dogs to find wounded or dead deer November 30, 2013 Pennsylvania, Evening Sun ... 27 other states already can do: Use dogs to help find and recover white-tailed deer. House Bill 451 would amend the Pennsylvania Game Code to allow hunters who have legally killed or wounded a white-tailed deer to use leashed blood-tracking dogs to track the deer and help hunters recover the animal. ... "I'm for anything that helps recover a dead or wounded animal," Krewson said. "I only ever lost one deer, and it was the worst feeling you can possibly have as an ethical hunter." ... Hunt for elk proves more challenging November 30, 2013 Idaho, The Spokesman Review ... Eighty-thousand hunters try to bag an elk in Idaho each year, spending more than $70 million on the pursuit. Few are happy to have wolves as competition... Shortly after wolves were introduced to central Idaho in the mid-1990s, Idaho’s elk population peaked at 125,000. Today, the state’s elk population is stable at about 107,000 animals ... The state spent $80,000 on marketing efforts last year ... DEC could limit hunting young bucks in North Country November 30, 2013 New York, northcountrynow.com ... according to DEC Region 6 spokesman Stephen Litwhiler. “There are strong advocates for antler restriction in some parts of the state, but no definite moves are in the works,” ... Will this happen anytime soon in northern New York? Probably not, but it is being talked about in some parts of the state... the population of potential predators is increasing, but predation is just not a significant factor in deer population control anyway, Litwhiler said... CWD confirmed in one region of state November 30, 2013 Pennsylvania, HeraldStandard.com ... The discovery of CWD in free-ranging deer followed by mere months the confirmation of a captive CWD-positive whitetail on a deer farm near Gettysburg in Adams County... The disease was first discovered among captive mule deer in Colorado in the 1960s and has since spread to wild or captive deer in 20 states and two Canadian provinces ... Elko County advisory board to discuss proposed elk hunt changes November 29, 2013 Nevada, Elko Daily Free Press ... “The big driving force is because the elk numbers in the northern part of the county have gotten out of control,” said Tom Barnes, ECWAB chairman... “It’s always good to hear public input,” .. Frustrated hunters want answers on deer herd November 29, 2013 Wisconsin, Green Bay Press-Gazette ... Even in the all-time record state buck harvest seasons, only about one in four gun hunters tagged a buck ... On a statewide basis, the antlerless drop was expected: the DNR cut antlerless tags about 27 percent, mostly in the north. It was the fewest doe tags given out since the 1990s... Excessive hunter harvest in the past decade in some areas has been exacerbated by predation ... archers have been on a roll.... including last year’s record of 45,988 ... Weather affects outdoor activities, Tennessee Harvest Update November 29, 2013 Clarksville Leaf Chronicle ... Harvest reports released by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency indicate that 15,653 deer were checked in over the opening weekend, including 9,656 antlered deer, 671 button bucks, 672 antlerless bucks and 4,654 does. The opening weekend harvest was 2,801 less than last year and the third lowest in the past five years... NGPC to conduct informational meeting in Fremont, Impact of EHD November 29, 2013 Nebraska, Fremont Tribune ... several serious observers in Dodge and Saunders counties believe at least half of the local deer herd died during the summer of 2012, and that perhaps 75 percent of the bucks were killed due to their being at greater risk of infection with blood-engorged antlers in velvet being an easy target for the midges which carried the disease... I feel the NGPC should anticipate future outbreaks and have a plan of action ... Maryland two-week firearm deer season begins with excellent hunting weather November 29, 2013 Herald-Mail Media ... The 2012-13 deer harvest from the archery, muzzleloader and firearm seasons was down by about 11 percent from 2011-12, falling from 98,029 to 87,541, according to the Maryland Annual Deer report.... The report predicted “the harvest will remain lower for the foreseeable future,” due, in part, to the high numbers harvested in recent years... Deer season presents challenges November 29, 2013 Pennsylvania, Chambersburg Public Opinion ... Hunters killed 343,110 deer in Pennsylvania last year to continue a five-year trend of increasing harvests ... Ten years ago, prior to major changes in management of the state deer herd, the statewide haul was 464,890 buck and doe... Just one of every eight hunters will be fortunate enough to bag a buck, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission data... Md.'s Firearm Deer Season Opens November 29, 2013 Maryland, NBC Washington ... Maryland's total deer harvest last year dropped below 90,000 for the first time in a decade... Wild food availability likely to weigh heavily on Pennsylvania deer hunter success November 29, 2013 PennLive.com (blog) ... A frost in late spring whacked much of this year's crop from white oaks and chestnuts oaks, while a cold, wet spring last year is being felt this fall in the red oak acorn crop, which produces on a two-year cycle...commission deer biologists have described their annual recommendations for deer harvest goals as maintaining the deer population within most wildlife management units at their current level or even allowing them to increase... Harvest numbers down as deer gun season comes to a close November 29, 2013 Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio ... Statewide, the deer harvest is down 7 percent this year ... hunters registered 143,000 deer during the regular firearms season. They expect hunters to take an additional 4,500 deer by the end of the late firearms season ... especially down in northeast Minnesota this year. Twenty-five percent fewer does were killed ... Elk on way to thriving again in Missouri November 29, 2013 Missouri, WRAL.com ... The last wild elk was shot in Missouri's Bootheel region in the late 1890s, extinguishing a species that had roamed the forests and glades of Missouri for thousands of years. But in May 2011, Missouri conservation officials brought a herd of 35 wild elk from Kentucky ... "We've got 107 elk on the property right now, and that first year's group produced six or seven calves," Hasenbeck said. "We've now got Missouri-born elk on the ground." ... Move to paperless registration of deer leads to concern November 29, 2013 Wisconsin, Leader-Telegram ... by 2015 all deer registrations are scheduled to be done by phone or computer... saves the DNR time and money... A citizen’s science and action research team ... strongly recommended that the DNR keep the current in-person registration requirement... leaves a paper trail, allowing for a more accurate deer kill count... Big deer, lots of sightings for hunters November 29, 2013 Maine, Bangor Daily News ... Southern Lakes Region: all our registration stations are up in numbers ... Western Mountains: Up in Region D, while there may not be the number of deer that are south of there ... Oh, deer: season upon us, CWD November 29, 2013 Pennsylvania, Altoona Mirror ... The disclosure last March that the first cases of chronic wasting disease had been confirmed in this region's deer population has made some hunters apprehensive ... special restrictions and regulations that the Pennsylvania Game Commission has put in place for much of a CWD four-county Disease Management Area that includes Blair... A mixed case for seasonal gratitude November 28, 2013 Florida, tbo.com ... By the late 1930s, only 20,000 deer remained in Florida, state wildlife officials estimate... By one estimate, hunters as a group spend $1,500 for each deer harvested... The importance of deer to the early Native Americans is told in the fossil records. Where deer were plentiful, the human population was most dense... Deer check stations November 28, 2013 Michigan, burtonview.mihomepaper.com ... In 1972, the DNR decided to provide patches to deer hunters as an incentive to bring their deer in to DNR offices and roadside check stations... provides the much-needed data that helps DNR biologists manage huntable species in Michigan... Firearm deer harvest down 21 percent November 27, 2013 Nebraska, Columbus Telegram ... According to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, a total of 36,882 deer were killed during the nine-day season — a 21 percent decline from 2012.... Helena police continue culling urban deer November 27, 2013 Montana, krtv.com ... Once deer are trapped, they're shot on site ... Police have removed a total of 670 deer since they began culling in 2008... Deer season's start is quieter November 27, 2013 Tennessee, Nashville Tennessean ... In the past, when the state’s deer population was not as large as it is today, the hunting season was far more conservative. As the herd has grown, the number of hunting days has steadily increased, and that has taken away the urgency to be in the field at the first opportunity... There are now 102 days to hunt deer in Tennessee... Hunters Harvest 55,708 Deer During Illinois Firearm First Season November 27, 2013 IDNR News Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 55,708 deer during the opening weekend of the 2013 Illinois Firearm Deer Season on Nov. 22-24, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) announced today. The second portion of the firearm season will be Dec. 5-8. The preliminary harvest total of 55,708 for the first three days of the 2013 firearm season compares with the first weekend harvest of 72,111 deer during the 2012 deer season. For the entire seven-day firearm season in 2012, hunters harvested 99,546 deer in Illinois. Diverse Factors Reduce November Deer Harvest November 27, 2013 Missouri, Wayne County Journal Banner ... Hunters shot 157,273 deer during the November Portion of Missouri’s Firearms Deer Season... 23 percent fewer than in 2012 ... Deer numbers are down throughout Missouri because of last year’s unusually severe outbreak of hemorrhagic diseases... a decade-long downward trend in deer numbers continues in northwestern and north-central Missouri. It began with increased availability of antlerless deer permits ... Hunters enjoying successful deer season, with registrations up around the state November 27, 2013 Bangor Daily News ... Downeast ... District 27 along the coast, the number of deer taken is a recent high ... as you head into the Down East interior, success rates start to drop ... Good things are happening up in the Moosehead region, where all the area tagging stations are showing an increase in numbers ... The rut is in full swing ... a large yearling Starr checked, that was five points ... Eau Claire County fares better in Wisconsin deer hunt November 27, 2013 Pioneer Press ... In the 19-county west-central region that encompasses Eau Claire County, preliminary deer kills during this year's opening weekend totaled 44,945, down from last year's 51,924, a drop of 13 percent. Statewide, registrations were down about 18 percent compared with last year... Hunting Isn’t the Answer to Animal “Pests” November 27, 2013 Time ... Efforts to reduce Lyme disease with deer hunting are ineffective because the ticks feed on a wide variety of host species ... The only places where hunting is effective are in isolated areas—islands and peninsulas–where the ticks have few alternate hosts. To reduce the incidence of Lyme disease in humans on the mainland, the number of ticks needs to be reduced, not the number of deer. A 2011 study published in Public Health Reports found that a tick-killing device led to a reduction in the incidence of Lyme disease in humans in the area, while deer hunting “did not show a clear decreasing trend.” ... Pennsylvania State Forest Districts Opening Additional Roads to Hunters November 27, 2013 Pennsylvania, Sacramento Bee ... "Selective, temporary opening of state forest roads enables our forestry experts to channel deer hunting pressure where they think it is needed to benefit forest regeneration," said Ferretti.. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Acting Secretary Ellen ... A hunter's perspective on killing wolf November 26, 2013 Minnesota, The Caledonia Argus ... I used to be a member of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA) ... I have always had great pride in the Minnesota’s grey wolf population; wolves make the wilderness alive and healthy... For those of you that feel comfortable because the DNR is managing it, take a look at the moose, it’s facing extinction in Minnesota... New Hope For An Endangered Deer November 26, 2013 Washington, earthfix.opb.org ... Washington’s Columbian white-tailed deer have struggled to survive ... once thought to be extinct... development claimed much of the Columbian white-tailed deer’s historical habitat.... “Finally after 40 years, with this particular population segment in the Columbia River, we really are on the right track. ... Rebecca Toland, a wildlife biologist ... Why deer can be attracted to gas drilling sites November 26, 2013 Pennsylvania, NPR News ... deer love salt ... The brine water that comes back up after hydraulic fracturing (known as flowback) can be as much as 10 times saltier than seawater. It can also contain heavy metals and radioactive materials... the deer were attracted to it. It brings the deer in from a great distance around, and it concentrates them... U.S. Forest Service soil scientist, Mary Beth Adams Deer registration numbers drop with temperatures November 26, 2013 Wisconsin, La Crosse Tribune ... opening weekend of Wisconsin’s 162nd annual nine-day gun-deer season ... 17.8 percent fewer deer registered than during the same period the previous year.... The biggest drop came in the number of bucks harvested, a 25 percent dip compared with 2012 ... It was cold... Deer season opens on high note ... November 26, 2013 Oklahoma, Woodward News ... Only three days into the 16 day gun season for deer in Oklahoma, nearly 52,000 deer have been checked in ... According to Lt. Mark Reichenberger, game ranger for Woodward County, the season might be slow this year for buck that are two and a half years old since the 2011 drought saw a dismal number of fawns that survived ... Deer hunters brave the cold in search of prey November 26, 2013 West Virginia, Parkersburg News ... The local deer habitat has changed over the years, becoming a lot more mature. Some areas need clear cuttings to get locations back to the brush stage that deer like, McCrady said... In 2012, hunters in West Virginia harvested 56,276 bucks during the two-week firearms season, which is six percent less than the 2011 harvest of 60,157 and is six percent below the previous five-year average of 60,236. DNR officials are forecasting the buck firearms season harvest should be similar to the 2012 harvest ... Mo. opening weekend deer harvest down November 26, 2013 Missouri, farmtalknewspaper.com ... Hunters checked 61,446 deer during the opening weekend of Missouri’s November portion of firearms deer season ... down 12 percent compared to 2012 ... Last year’s opening-weekend harvest of 69,614 was the smallest opening-weekend harvest in more than 20 years ... Gun deer hunt opens with a chill November 26, 2013 Wisconsin, Portage Daily Register ... Last spring the DNR analyzed 45 samples from deer in Sauk County. Four of them tested positive for CWD ... The Wisconsin Division of Public Health recommends that venison from deer harvested within a CWD zone not be consumed or distributed until it has tested negative for the disease. The DNR encourages hunters to report deer that appear to be sick... Montana allows legal possession of roadkill November 26, 2013 The Register-Guard ... The online permitting system to legally take possession of roadkilled big game goes operational today. The state law allowing people to salvage deer, elk, antelope and moose ... In 2012, Montana motorists hit 4,754 whitetail deer, 1,977 mule deer, 220 elk, 72 antelope and 28 moos ... Deer kill down 18% on opening weekend November 25, 2013 Wisconsin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ... Hunters registered 110,797 white-tailed deer over the opening weekend of the 2013 Wisconsin gun deer hunting season, an 18% drop from 2012, according to a preliminary harvest report ... 53,865 bucks (down 25%) and 56,932 antlerless deer (down 9%)... Under the gun: whitetail deer struggle for survival November 25, 2013 Michigan, UpperMichiganSource.com ... Brain Roell said, “The extended winter into our typical spring was very difficult for the deer in the high snowfall regions. So we know we did loose deer to starvation and winter stress. But it also affected the adult does that actually did survive the winter which resulted in lower birth-weights of those fawns, which in turn goes right into the survival of those fawns... Deer hunters gear up for Monday's big event November 25, 2013 Pennsylvania, Daily Local News ... the traditional opening day of Pennsylvania’s general deer season always falls on the Monday following Thanksgiving ... approximately 750,000 hunters ... deer populations are estimated as stable or increasing in most of the state ... conditions have combined to limit acorn availability in many areas... 2013 Kentucky Deer Hunt By The Numbers November 25, 2013 The JGR Dispatch ... Kentucky hunters took over 98,000 deer during modern gun season, up nearly 3% over the previous year... a Kentucky deer hunter stands a little less than 50% chance of success ... CWD present, but all but forgotten in Wisconsin November 25, 2013 77Square.com ... While monitoring of the disease continues, attempting to control the geographic spread or reduce the prevalence havve been reduced to a passive approach, which some have dubbed as similar to watching a fire burn... The disease in one region in Wyoming Valley in Iowa County ... is up over 30 percent ... Modern gun deer season is winding down November 25, 2013 Kentucky, Murray Ledger & Times · ... we could be looking at a near record year for deer harvest ... “This year, we had a great fawn crop and once again farmers planted a lot of acres of corn and soybeans to take advantage of still-high prices. Our acorn crop was modest across the state which helps get the deer out into open areas ... Tina Brunjes, Deer Program Coordinator ... Why venison isn't found in more Michigan restaurants November 25, 2013 Michigan Business Review - MLive.com ... The in-state domestic meat supply has dwindled as the number of game ranches has declined over the past decade. After hitting a peak at more than 800 in 2003, the Department of National Resources now licenses only 394 such facilities in Michigan. The increasing price of grain, corn and other feed crops coupled with stricter regulations on fence height and fee increases in the early 2000s ... Tennessee opening weekend deer harvest on par with previous years November 25, 2013 nooga.com ... On the just-passed opening weekend of Tennessee's regular firearm deer season ... hunters took 15,076 deer across the state, according to the TWRA website... the weekend total is likely to be down from opening weekend 2012, when Tennessee hunters took 18,017 deer... Tennessee's largest overall deer harvest ever came during the 2004-05 season, when hunters took 179,542 deer... Slower deer season seen by DNR November 25, 2013 Michigan, Escanaba Daily Press ... "We had a high harvest last year and a rough winter. I'm not surprised the numbers are down," said Richardson... Antler growth has been healthy but smaller than the 2012 firearm season due in part to a lack of nutrition for deer last year ... Deer gun season starts Monday in West Virginia November 25, 2013 wtae.com ... The DNR estimates this year's buck kill should be similar to 2012, while the overall number of deer killed in 2013 should be higher than a year ago... Tennessee gun season opens for deer November 25, 2013 Cocke County Online ... One antlered deer, which is a buck with an antler at least three inches long, may be harvested per day until a hunter reaches a state-wide bag limit of three total... The bag limit for antlerless deer is different based on which region is being hunted... State in for long, hot burn on CWD November 24, 2013 Wisconsin, Baraboo News Republic ... Chronic Wasting Disease ... discovered in Wisconsin in 2002, when three deer killed during the 2001 gun deer season tested positive.,, the overall prevalence of the disease within the CWD-MZ has doubled across all sex and age classes since 2002. More than 178,000 deer samples have been tested for CWD prions since 2002 and more than 2,100 have been shown to be positive... Early deer registrations are down in Northwestern Wisconsin November 24, 2013 Wisconsin, Duluth News Tribune ... “We don’t know the exact percentage. We’ve only got 26 deer. I’m guessing we’re down 50 percent from last year.” ... the antlerless harvest is likely to be down because the DNR issued fewer permits for antlerless deer. The DNR did that, he said, due to the prolonged and late winter of 2012-13 in hopes that a more limited harvest will offer greater potential for improving the deer population... Daines bill would compromise wilderness land November 24, 2013 Montana, Billings Gazette ... a national bill currently in Congress ... . Rep. Steve Daines' H R 1526 ... is designed to prioritize logging over all other purposes — including hunting, fishing and wildlife protection habitat... Buckeye State’s deer harvest customarily yields big bucks November 24, 2013 Ohio, Toledo Blade ... a healthy whitetail population of about 750,000, and about 420,000 licensed firearms hunters... Nearly 219,000 deer overall were taken throughout the 2012-2013 deer hunting seasons, which includes the archery season, muzzleloader season, firearm season, and numerous special hunts throughout the state... Ohio’s first modern-day deer hunting season occurred over a 13-day period in December, 1943 ... reported legal deer harvest that year was 168 bucks ... Deer hunting: private vs. public lands November 24, 2013 Maryland, Frederick News-Post ... Frederick County leads all other Maryland counties in total number of harvested deer reported with 7,634 of the 87,541 deer harvested in Maryland during the combined deer hunting seasons for 2012-2013. Most of the deer taken in Frederick County each fall are harvested on private land... Private lands typically have less hunting pressure than public lands... Baiting deer is legal on private land ... Idaho Fish and Game pitches revenue plan November 24, 2013 The Spokesman Review ... proposing raising resident fees for all licenses, tags and permits by 20 percent... The agency hasn’t met revenue goals since 2008 ... Deer rifle season gets underway in Oklahoma November 24, 2013 Tulsa World ... When: Nov. 23-Dec. 8 Hunters: 155,246 in 2012 Harvest: Roughly 60 percent of the annual kill takes place in the 16-day rifle season Rifle season harvest 2012: 38,243 bucks, 24,792 does Wisconsin deer hunting opener: windy and cold November 23, 2013 Pioneer Press (blog) ... Wildlife biologists had expected the heavy snows late last winter and early spring across northern Great Lakes to have an impact on deer mortality and health. ... Total gun deer license sales for 2013 as of Nov. 23 were 615,872 up a little less than 1 percent from 2012... Deer hunt's opening day brings butterflies, even after 50 years November 23, 2013 Wisconsin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ... More than 10% of the Wisconsin population will take part... Deer hunting licenses and permits generated $22.7 million in revenue for the DNR in 2010, the most recent year for such data, representing about 75% of all hunting program revenue, said Bill Vander Zouwen, DNR section chief... East Marion, Town To Kick Off Sharp Shooting Program To Cull Deer Herds November 23, 2013 New York, Patch.com ... The Long Island Farm Bureau ... has secured $200,000 in grant funding to embark upon the United State Department of Agriculture's sharp shooter program as soon as January... The program would cost $500,000 to implement ... "The USDA sharp shooter program might not solve the problem ... New regulation could bolster deer harvest November 23, 2013 Gazette-Mail, West Virginia, ...As recently as 20 years ago, 70 percent of all bucks checked during the firearm season were just 1 1/2 years old and had tiny antlers ..."In 2012, more than half the bucks checked in - 58 percent, in fact - were 2 1/2 years old or greater," .. The trend began when DNR officials began allowing hunters to kill antlerless deer during the buck season ... Tough year in Delaware for deer hunters November 23, 2013 Delaware, Delaware Online ... deer mortality last year caused by epizootic hemorrhagic disease spread by biting flies ... there is less farmland for people to hunt and often people struggle to find an opening on public land... Delaware’s deer population has stabilized, but it is larger than state wildlife officials would like... State officials have a target of 40 deer per square mile of habitat statewide ... Indiana deer hunters set sights on firearms season November 23, 2013 Houston Chronicle ... In 2012, Hoosier hunters killed 136,248 deer with more than 50 percent of the total coming during firearms season ... The harvest isn't expected to be as high this year as deer populations have leveled and many whitetails in Indiana were hit hard by epizootic hemorrhagic disease, according to the state ... Deer and Bear Hunting Results as Seasons Close November 23, 2013 New Hampshire, londonderrynh.net ... Through November 17, 2013, hunters had taken an estimated 9,122 deer in New Hampshire. The 2013 statewide total through that date represents a 10% increase from the 8,313 registered at this point in the 2012 season.... Deer as prey - Scott Shalaway November 22, 2013 West Virginia, The Charleston Gazette ... Coyotes are the top deer predator in the East. Some studies have shown that coyotes are responsible for up to 80 percent of fawn mortality, and small packs of coyotes chase and kill adult deer. ... Area hunters afforded lower deer quotas heading into opening day November 22, 2013 Wisconsin, Ashland DAily Press ...“The late spring resulted in a delayed green-up and likely compounded the stress caused by late winter conditions. For this reason we ratcheted down the antlerless quota in many forested units ... Mike Zeckmeister, Wisconsin DNR Northern Region wildlife supervisor, whitetails were hit hard by the late spring this year... Area hunters gear up for dawn Saturday kickoff of deer season aiming to keep within new schedules, regulations November 22, 2013 Alabama, Montgomery Advertiser ... 535,000 or so licensed hunters in Alabama ... The Game Check program ... became voluntary after public outcry... “It gives us much-needed first-hand data on where deer and turkey were killed, and it really helps in developing an accurate count of how many bucks and does have been harvested,” ...Hunting over bait is still against the law. But supplemental feeding of grain-based products and other feed is allowed in areas where deer and hog hunting takes place... Puny acorn crop leads to more roadkill November 22, 2013 Virginia, Roanoke Times ... Matt Knox, a deer program manager for the DGIF, said the dearth of acorns this fall might have delayed the rut because bucks and does have been leaner than during a season of abundant acorns. He said deer will leave forested areas to browse vegetation because without acorns the woods provide little more than cover for the animals... “Deer are going to have to move more when there is an acorn failure,” .. Business as usual on Mo. deer opener November 22, 2013 Missouri, Kansas City Star ... "What we're trying to get across is that CWD isn't the end of the world right now," said Jason Sumners, deer biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "But it's something we're very concerned about over the long term." CWD was first discovered in northeast Linn County near the Macon County line in 2010 in a captive-deer operation. .. DNR officials offer final hunting outlook before deer season opening weekend November 22, 2013 Wisconsin, wsau.com ... southern two-thirds of the state will be seeing greater than average numbers this year, but that the northwoods still has lower numbers than they'd like. "We had a tough winter last year and we've been trying to grow deer populations up there for the last several years, and in some areas, frankly we're not making a whole lot of progress."... ... White-tailed deer make comeback in Ohio November 22, 2013 Lancaster Eagle Gazette.com ... When Ohio gained statehood in 1803, the white-tailed deer were plentiful ... Between uncontrolled hunting and clearing of the forests for farmland, the white-tailed deer was nearly wiped out by the early 1900s... |
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