Hunters: limit licenses
Mar 19, 2006 — Last year around this time, some local hunters were calling for the state to issue fewer antlerless deer licenses.
With the Pennsylvania Game Commission announcing that the deer harvest estimate for the 2005 hunting season continued to tumble, that position hasn't changed.
And while the decline in kills was expected, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's deer management policies remain controversial for many.
Thursday, Game Commission officials announced that the total deer harvest estimate for 2005-06 seasons was 354,390 - a 13.5 percent drop-off from last season.
Douglas Senft of Seven Valleys bagged a buck in archery season and a doe in rifle season but had no trouble believing the deer population continues to decline.
"I haven't seen many at all," Senft said. "But I'll go back out there this year, struggle at it and see if I can find a deer or two."
The decline is even more dramatic - 31.5 percent - if you go back three years. The 2002-03 harvest, at 517,529, was the all-time record.
Delving a bit more deeply into the numbers of the most recent harvest:
· The antlerless harvest dropped from 284,910 last season to 233,890 this season.
This follows changes in the Game Commission's antlerless license allocations, which were decreased by 15 percent last year in response to declining deer population trends in most Wildlife Management Units.
"I think the cut in antlerless licenses helped a little," Senft said. "At least it's a step in the right direction."
But Senft added, speaking for his 13-year-old son, Blake, "it's not much fun to sit in the woods for two days and not see a deer."
The Game Commission says those allocations were intended to hold deer population trends steady until the agency's Deer Management Section develops a new way of measuring the impact of deer on themselves, the habitat and people.
Ken Worley, of New Salem, said he knows the solution to the decreasing number of deer taken over past years.
"We do not need a doe season every year," Worley said. "Every other year or every third year would be enough. I think everyone would like to see them decrease the number of (antlerless licenses)."
There was a 42 percent drop in the antlerless deer harvest in Wildlife Management Unit 2G, the once-prime hunting ground in northcentral Pennsylvania that includes Cameron and most of Clinton and Potter counties.
The Game Commission says that figure is directly attributable to the 44 percent reduction in that WMU's antlerless deer license allocation.
William J. Minehart Jr., of Dover, said that by harvesting does, "we've totally interrupted the reproduction cycle. "They need to go back to the antlerless and doe season the way it was, maybe three days" a season, he said.
Minehart said indiscriminate hunting of young deer during the antlerless system also has cut sharply into the population.
"There are way too many people shooting brown," he said. "They shoot it and then go see what it is. We need to give the antlerless deer a break. We need to drastically reduce the number of (antlerless) tags until the population recovers and then use some intelligent management, not the slaughter system we've been using."
· Meanwhile, the antlered deer harvest dropped only slightly - from 124,410 last season to 120,500.
Statistics on the antlered harvest varied greatly across the state, according to the Game Commission.
In WMU 4B, which consists of much of Juniata and Perry counties, the antlered deer harvest was down 27 percent. But in WMU 2B, which is primarily Allegheny County, the antlered deer harvest was up 24 percent.
Minehart said he stopped hunting the northern counties because of the lack of deer there.
· Bowhunters took 60,940 deer, almost the same number as last season, while muzzleloader hunters killed 25,240 deer, a drop-off of about 6,000 deer from last season.
Worley said by the time rifle season rolls around for him and other older hunters, deer have been "spooked" out of hunting areas by archers and muzzleloaders.
Calvin DuBrock, the Game Commission's Bureau of Wildlife Management director, said this year's deer harvest data demonstrates that the agency's efforts in recent years to reduce the deer herds in some WMUs are working.
"We are asking hunters to work with us and endure some short-term pain, in terms of lower deer densities than in the past, so that we can achieve long-term gain, in terms of better habitat that supports deer and other wildlife for all Pennsylvanians," DuBrock stated.
"In fact, many hunters, landowners and foresters have commented to us about the changes and regeneration they're seeing in the forests they hunt or manage," he said.
Other factors
License sales and weather also were cited by Game Commission officials as factors in this year's estimated deer harvest.
The weather especially played a role at the beginning of the rifle deer season.
"Most deer are harvested during the first two days of the rifle season," DuBrock stated. "This year, hunters in some areas experienced heavy fog on ridge tops during the opening day, while heavy rain impacted the second day in many areas.
"As a result, harvests during the first two days were down from 2004-05, but increased on the first and second Saturdays."
Game Commission Executive Director Carl Roe said the 5 percent drop in general hunting license sales this past year also kept the harvest down.
Why an estimated harvest?
DuBrock said deer harvest estimates are necessary because not all hunters send in their harvest report cards, as required by law.
The agency began using reporting rates to estimate deer harvests in the 1980s, when reporting rates began to drop. This year, fewer than 40 percent of hunters who harvested a deer sent in their harvest report card, the Game Commission said.
"Many Pennsylvania hunters are following through with their responsibility to report deer they harvest, and they obviously do believe reporting is important," DuBrock stated. "But the loss of information created by so many other hunters not reporting their deer harvests isn't helping the Game Commission in its efforts to manage deer to the best of its ability for all Pennsylvanians."
With the estimated deer harvest compiled, the Deer Management Section can begin to assess the impact of last year's harvest and prepare antlerless license allocation recommendations for Roe and the Board of Game Commissioners to review.
Possible changes in season lengths for 2006-07 will be discussed when the Board of Commissioners meet April 17-18 at the agency's Harrisburg headquarters.
Daily Record/Sunday News staff writers Rick Lee and Chris Otto contributed to this article.
Your thoughts?
What are your thoughts on the estimated deer harvest for 2005-06 and the current state of deer management in Pennsylvania?
Send us your thoughts: Write to Sports Editor Chris Otto via
e-mail (cotto@ydr.com), mail
(122 S. George St., P.O. Box 15122, York 17405-7122) or fax (771-2009). Include your full name, address and a telephone number for verification.
Post your thoughts online: Go to our message board, The Exchange, at exchange.ydr.com and sound off about the deer harvest in "The Great Outdoors" forum.
More on deer harvests
For a more in-depth look at Pennsylvania's 2005-06 estimated deer harvest and past deer harvests, go to http://www.yorkblog.com and scroll down to the entry titled "State deer harvest."
Mar 19, 2006 — Last year around this time, some local hunters were calling for the state to issue fewer antlerless deer licenses.
With the Pennsylvania Game Commission announcing that the deer harvest estimate for the 2005 hunting season continued to tumble, that position hasn't changed.
And while the decline in kills was expected, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's deer management policies remain controversial for many.
Thursday, Game Commission officials announced that the total deer harvest estimate for 2005-06 seasons was 354,390 - a 13.5 percent drop-off from last season.
Douglas Senft of Seven Valleys bagged a buck in archery season and a doe in rifle season but had no trouble believing the deer population continues to decline.
"I haven't seen many at all," Senft said. "But I'll go back out there this year, struggle at it and see if I can find a deer or two."
The decline is even more dramatic - 31.5 percent - if you go back three years. The 2002-03 harvest, at 517,529, was the all-time record.
Delving a bit more deeply into the numbers of the most recent harvest:
· The antlerless harvest dropped from 284,910 last season to 233,890 this season.
This follows changes in the Game Commission's antlerless license allocations, which were decreased by 15 percent last year in response to declining deer population trends in most Wildlife Management Units.
"I think the cut in antlerless licenses helped a little," Senft said. "At least it's a step in the right direction."
But Senft added, speaking for his 13-year-old son, Blake, "it's not much fun to sit in the woods for two days and not see a deer."
The Game Commission says those allocations were intended to hold deer population trends steady until the agency's Deer Management Section develops a new way of measuring the impact of deer on themselves, the habitat and people.
Ken Worley, of New Salem, said he knows the solution to the decreasing number of deer taken over past years.
"We do not need a doe season every year," Worley said. "Every other year or every third year would be enough. I think everyone would like to see them decrease the number of (antlerless licenses)."
There was a 42 percent drop in the antlerless deer harvest in Wildlife Management Unit 2G, the once-prime hunting ground in northcentral Pennsylvania that includes Cameron and most of Clinton and Potter counties.
The Game Commission says that figure is directly attributable to the 44 percent reduction in that WMU's antlerless deer license allocation.
William J. Minehart Jr., of Dover, said that by harvesting does, "we've totally interrupted the reproduction cycle. "They need to go back to the antlerless and doe season the way it was, maybe three days" a season, he said.
Minehart said indiscriminate hunting of young deer during the antlerless system also has cut sharply into the population.
"There are way too many people shooting brown," he said. "They shoot it and then go see what it is. We need to give the antlerless deer a break. We need to drastically reduce the number of (antlerless) tags until the population recovers and then use some intelligent management, not the slaughter system we've been using."
· Meanwhile, the antlered deer harvest dropped only slightly - from 124,410 last season to 120,500.
Statistics on the antlered harvest varied greatly across the state, according to the Game Commission.
In WMU 4B, which consists of much of Juniata and Perry counties, the antlered deer harvest was down 27 percent. But in WMU 2B, which is primarily Allegheny County, the antlered deer harvest was up 24 percent.
Minehart said he stopped hunting the northern counties because of the lack of deer there.
· Bowhunters took 60,940 deer, almost the same number as last season, while muzzleloader hunters killed 25,240 deer, a drop-off of about 6,000 deer from last season.
Worley said by the time rifle season rolls around for him and other older hunters, deer have been "spooked" out of hunting areas by archers and muzzleloaders.
Calvin DuBrock, the Game Commission's Bureau of Wildlife Management director, said this year's deer harvest data demonstrates that the agency's efforts in recent years to reduce the deer herds in some WMUs are working.
"We are asking hunters to work with us and endure some short-term pain, in terms of lower deer densities than in the past, so that we can achieve long-term gain, in terms of better habitat that supports deer and other wildlife for all Pennsylvanians," DuBrock stated.
"In fact, many hunters, landowners and foresters have commented to us about the changes and regeneration they're seeing in the forests they hunt or manage," he said.
Other factors
License sales and weather also were cited by Game Commission officials as factors in this year's estimated deer harvest.
The weather especially played a role at the beginning of the rifle deer season.
"Most deer are harvested during the first two days of the rifle season," DuBrock stated. "This year, hunters in some areas experienced heavy fog on ridge tops during the opening day, while heavy rain impacted the second day in many areas.
"As a result, harvests during the first two days were down from 2004-05, but increased on the first and second Saturdays."
Game Commission Executive Director Carl Roe said the 5 percent drop in general hunting license sales this past year also kept the harvest down.
Why an estimated harvest?
DuBrock said deer harvest estimates are necessary because not all hunters send in their harvest report cards, as required by law.
The agency began using reporting rates to estimate deer harvests in the 1980s, when reporting rates began to drop. This year, fewer than 40 percent of hunters who harvested a deer sent in their harvest report card, the Game Commission said.
"Many Pennsylvania hunters are following through with their responsibility to report deer they harvest, and they obviously do believe reporting is important," DuBrock stated. "But the loss of information created by so many other hunters not reporting their deer harvests isn't helping the Game Commission in its efforts to manage deer to the best of its ability for all Pennsylvanians."
With the estimated deer harvest compiled, the Deer Management Section can begin to assess the impact of last year's harvest and prepare antlerless license allocation recommendations for Roe and the Board of Game Commissioners to review.
Possible changes in season lengths for 2006-07 will be discussed when the Board of Commissioners meet April 17-18 at the agency's Harrisburg headquarters.
Daily Record/Sunday News staff writers Rick Lee and Chris Otto contributed to this article.
Your thoughts?
What are your thoughts on the estimated deer harvest for 2005-06 and the current state of deer management in Pennsylvania?
Send us your thoughts: Write to Sports Editor Chris Otto via
e-mail (cotto@ydr.com), mail
(122 S. George St., P.O. Box 15122, York 17405-7122) or fax (771-2009). Include your full name, address and a telephone number for verification.
Post your thoughts online: Go to our message board, The Exchange, at exchange.ydr.com and sound off about the deer harvest in "The Great Outdoors" forum.
More on deer harvests
For a more in-depth look at Pennsylvania's 2005-06 estimated deer harvest and past deer harvests, go to http://www.yorkblog.com and scroll down to the entry titled "State deer harvest."