Kansas bans trail cams on state grounds April 27, 2023 Beatrice Daily Sun

... On March 9, 2023, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KWDP) voted to prohibit use of both cellular and conventional trail cameras on all public lands in the state. This move aligns them with 14 other states banning trail camera use in some capacity ...

Kansas Game Warden saves buck after 2 become antler-locked in Franklin Co. February 6, 2023 MSN

... one had unfortunately died.  With a shotgun and a slug round, Twellmann said he was able to separate the pair and free the live buck ...

Seven Kansas Non-profits Awarded Big Game Permits for Fundraising January 27, 2023 Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

... The Commission Big Game Permit program – which the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks began in 2006 – allows Kansas chapters of eligible non-profit organizations to apply for one of seven big game permits, which can then be sold to raise funds for pre-approved conservation projects in the Sunflower State.  One elk, one antelope or up to seven deer permits are made available ...

Emporia, Officials investigate third deer poaching in just as many months near Emporia January 17, 2023 Kansas, wibw.com 

...  the latest incident happened on Jan. 9 near Roads M and 155 - just southeast of Emporia...

Authorities try to determine who shot seven deer found dead last week in Washington County January 9, 2023 Kansas, The Topeka Capital-Journal

... The deer were thought to have been killed late Jan. 2 or early Jan. 3, according to a Facebook site maintained by KDWP game wardens...

Stuck deer rescued from muddy pond in Kansas November 18, 2022  UPI News 

... Perez arrived to find the deer's legs were stuck in mud at the bottom of the pond, leaving its body half-submerged in the freezing water...

Out-of-state deer hunters are pursuing big bucks in Kansas. Should it let more of them in? October 27, 2022 Kansas, Yahoo! Sports

... "Each one of those deer hunters comes in, they spend time at the hotel, they purchase at least two meals a day," ... whitetail bucks with huge antlers had been shot in October 2021 in Kansas by a 10-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man...

Get ready for a Big Hunt on the Prairie October 4, 2022 Kiowa County Signal

... Mule deer stick to the western one-third of the state, mostly in the High Plains, Smoky Hills and Red Hills regions.  As you head east, you see more white-tailed deer...

Chronic wasting disease in Kansas deer September 22, 2022 Dodge City Daily Globe

... Kansas’s fish and game officials have been testing hunter-harvested Kansas deer since 1996, and during the 2005 firearms season, the first documented case was discovered in a whitetail doe taken near the Cheyenne Co. town of St. Francis, in the northwestern corner of the state ... during the 2021 – 2022 deer season, 190 new positive tests were confirmed, bring the total to 738 positive tests ...

Deer to blame for increase in animal collision claims September 13, 2022 KSNT

... Deer-vehicle crashes occur in all Kansas counties, but in most cases, counties with high human populations and high traffic volumes record the most crashes.”...

CWD, Incurable, deer-killing chronic wasting disease now spreading in eastern Kansas counties August 23, 2022 Kansas, YAHOO!News

... Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, showed a chart saying CWD is thought to afflict 24% to 45% of the deer population in northwest Kansas, 25% to 38% in north-central Kansas, 14% to 28% in southwest Kansas, 0.5% to 4% in south-central Kansas and 0.1% to 0.7% in eastern Kansas..,

Game wardens search for leads after two bucks found illegally shot July 26, 2022 Kansas,  WIBW

... Game wardens said the bucks are believed to have been shot between 8:45 a.m. on July 22 and July 23, on private property east of Oak Valley...

Kansas Game Wardens Successfully Close Large Mule Deer Poaching Case June 29, 2022 Sunflower Radio

... thanks to numerous public tips ... In all, 140 charges were filed for nine individuals for violations from 2015-2019. Of the nine individuals charged, three individuals received more than four charges...

Deer population in area higher than average  March 23, 2022 Kansas, Backroads News

... the spotlight survey done in early November for Deer Management Unit 8, which includes Washington County, was about 30 percent above the 5-year average for the unit... for DMU 8 showed 25 bucks per 100 does while the statewide average is 31.2 bucks per 100 does. DMU 8 is also below the state average for fawns per doe with only 22.6 fawns per 100 does versus the statewide number of 45.3 fawns per doe...

Commission Big Game Permits Awarded to Seven Kansas Non-profits February 21, 2022 Great Bend Tribune

...  Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commissioners drew the names of seven lucky conservation organizations ... Seven deer permits were awarded ...

Commission Big Game Permits Awarded to Seven Kansas Non-profits February 15, 2022 Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

... One elk, one antelope or up to seven deer permits are issued each year, depending on applicant preference... Once the permit is sold, 15 percent of the total sale price is kept by the organization...

Coyotes are thriving in Kansas despite competitive hunting events designed to reduce population September 23, 2022 Kansas, The Topeka Capital-Journal 

... State estimates show the number of coyotes in Kansas has nearly tripled since the 1980s...  coyotes will dine on just about anything, from deer, rodents and birds to insects ...

Population genomics of free‐ranging Great Plains white‐tailed and mule deer reflects a long history of inter‐specific hybridization 2021, Kansas. Evolutionary Applications

... Collectively, our results indicate a long history of gene flow between these species in the Great Plains, and hint at evolutionary processes that purge incompatible functional genomic elements as a result of hybridization. Surviving hybrids evidently may be reproductive, but with unknown consequences for the future integrity of these species, population trajectories, or relative susceptibility to emerging pathogens...

Deadly deer disease spreading quickly; What to know for hunting season December 5, 2021 Kansas, KSNT

... “CWD has the potential to ruin hunting as we know it over time,” Hesting said. “This is going to take a long time…decades... to date, the state’s sampled about 30,000 deer, with about 548 that have been positive. However, that number is increasing rapidly...

Crowd chases down deer in west Wichita, finally rips plastic container off its head November 24, 2021 Kansas, Wichita Eagle

... about 10 people showed up. They spotted the deer, but the first attempts of the night were unsuccessful... “I was able to grab the jug and held on for dear life, no pun intended,” ...

Don't Let the Rut be a Punch to the Gut November 2, 2021 Kansas, KRSL.com

... In 2020, Kansas experienced 9,670 deer-related accidents with an average insurance claim of nearly $5,500...

MU project studies increasing prevalence of chronic wasting disease  September 13, 2021 Kansas, EurekAlert!

... “In 2009, there were only six Kansas counties with confirmed positive cases of chronic wasting disease, and by 2020, there were 32 Kansas counties with confirmed positive cases,” ..,

Kansas deer season dates approved for 2021-22  April 21, 2021  The Topeka Capital-Journal 

... KDWPT wildlife research biologist, indicated a 20% reduction in firearm and muzzleloader permit quotas will be recommended for this fall..,

Kansas data:  A state estimate of about 700,000 deer in 2020, stable to slightly increasing, which is consistent wth hunting data, for an estimate of about 707,000 in 2021.   Reduced permits recommended for 2021-22.   The state commented in 2022 that :"Mule deer populations continue to decline along the eastern tier of counties where mule deer occur in Kansas... resulting in a pre-firearm season total population estimate  of 41,700 mule deer...The low reproduction rate of mule deer in Kansas is a concerning trend."  A slightly increasing whitetail population of 665,000 in 2021 based on comments from the state and reported hunting data.

 An estimate of more than 620,000 whitetail deer in 2019 and 53,600 mule deer for a total of about 674,000 in 2019.  An increase in applications for nonresident deer permits in 2019.  Summer rains in 2016 improved fawn survival, increasing the deer population to a state estimate of about 636,000 pre-hunt.  About the same in 2018 and  2017.  Mule deer population estimates from 51,000 in 2015 to 53,400 in 2021.

A 2018 study to look at the westward shift and possible decline of mule deer populations.  Some foot-rot disease in 2017.  Fire killed about 5 percent of deer in Unit 16 in 2016.  In 2014 and 2015, the state reduced antlerless tags and the number of days in the hunting season to increase the population and bringing the 2015 whitetail population to around 630,000 - 650,000 pre-hunt, a slow increase.   The population was below carrying capacity in 2015.  About 600,000 whitetail deer estimated pre-hunt in 2014 and 2013.   The population was trending down after three years of drought and reduced habitat resulting from less land in the Conservation Reserve Program. 

 In 2015 an estimated mule deer population of 51,000.  The decline continued into 2016, although there were good rainfall and food sources that year, with a rough estimate of 50,000.  To support populations, significant reductions in mule deer permits for 2015 in eastern zones, some reductions in the west.  Further reductions in 2016.  Densest deer populations in the southeast of the state. 

The population estimates in the graph below are based on information from the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks. The 2000 to 2004 total and whitetail populations and 2000 to 2005 mule deer populations are estimated using hunting data.

Over this period the mule deer population has averaged about 7% or the total.  The graph below shows just the mule deer population to provide more clarity about how their population has changed.

Hunting data was used to make some of the population estimates.  The graph below illustrates the historic deer harvest data taken from Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism (KDWPT), 1965 to 2020.

Total population after hunting estimated at 511,000 in 2012 after hunting, 550,000 in 2010. A significant outbreak of EHD in 2012, bringing average trend over the past several years down, particularly in southwest Kansas. Drought 2010 to 2012.  Hunter success around 58% in 2014.  Increasing geographic fragmentation of deer populations and increasing predatory pressure from coyotes.  Mule deer are mostly in west Kansas with whitetails more in the east.

Although mule deer were common in western Kansas by the late 1980s they are rare in many of those areas.  In general, the Kansas deer population is below carrying capacity.  Western Kansas has more CRP land and better habitat.  The rut peaks in Kansas around November 13.  The record harvest in 2001 is attributed to an significant increase in doe permits after speeds were increased on Kansas highway, resulting in more deer vehicle collisions, and an effort to reduce the deer population.

Data Issues:  The deer harvest has fallen since the 642,000 population estimate from the state for 2016 with a smaller decrease in the number of permits issued.  A 2010 estimate based on an interview with the Kansas program manager of 350,000

Chronic Wasting Disease    The first case of CWD was found in a captive bull elk in Harper County in 2001.  First deer detected with CWD was in northwestern Kansas in 2005.  At the end of the 2018-19 deer season, 216 deer had test positive.   As of Dec. 3, 2018, 184 positive cases.   As of November, 2016, 136 had tested positive, 80 percent in Rawlins and Sheridan counties.  

By 2020, 32 counties were infected.  Spreading to the south and east, a wildlife biologists forecasts that deer populations could be drastically reduced in coming decades.  By the end of 2021, 30,000 deer had been tested with about 548 that have been positive.  At the end of the 2021-22 hunting season 738 deer had tested positive.