State experts say Delaware still has too many deer.
Rob Hossler with the Division of Fish and Wildlife told hunters Sunday that there were an estimated 36,000 deer in Delaware after the recent hunting season. He says the goal is to reduce the population to 40 deer per square mile of deer habitat- or 29,000 statewide.
Hossler says the state could add several days to the hunting season and might allow hunters to bag more deer.
Source:
http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6005158&nav=MXEF
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
COLORADO NEWS: Deer Hunt in City of Alamosa
The city of Alamosa declared open season Tuesday on town deer, a population that officials say has become both too abundant and aggressive.
The town's first deer hunt - up to 30 licenses, five at a time, to be issued on antlerless animals - will run through February on the front nine of the golf course and on a 1,300-acre ranch held by the town as a wildlife preserve, City Manager Nathan Cherpeski said.
The hunt allows for archery and shotguns, but no rifles (errant bullets would travel too far). The town is handing out maps for hunters and any members of the general public who might want to avoid those areas. And hunters who receive licenses must go to a local instructor to qualify as an accurate archer or shooter.
"Our deer population is causing car accidents and property damage," Cherpeski said. "Two pets have been killed, small dogs - killed in their own yards. The deer stand 20 feet away (from people) and are not afraid. ... Twenty or 30 mill around the high school campus."
The Colorado Division of Wildlife consulted on the managed hunt, which has been under consideration for a few years, but the division is letting the town run it.
"It is within their jurisdiction," DOW spokesman Joe Lewandowski said. "The division will be keeping an eye on it. That number (of licenses) will not significantly check this deer population."
Cherpeski said that if 30 mule deer does are taken, it will only slow the population growth, not stop it. Officials have been unable to do a hard count of the deer because the population is scattered and mobile, but they estimate 500 to 1,000 are in town or on the outskirts.
Source:
http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_5121868
The town's first deer hunt - up to 30 licenses, five at a time, to be issued on antlerless animals - will run through February on the front nine of the golf course and on a 1,300-acre ranch held by the town as a wildlife preserve, City Manager Nathan Cherpeski said.
The hunt allows for archery and shotguns, but no rifles (errant bullets would travel too far). The town is handing out maps for hunters and any members of the general public who might want to avoid those areas. And hunters who receive licenses must go to a local instructor to qualify as an accurate archer or shooter.
"Our deer population is causing car accidents and property damage," Cherpeski said. "Two pets have been killed, small dogs - killed in their own yards. The deer stand 20 feet away (from people) and are not afraid. ... Twenty or 30 mill around the high school campus."
The Colorado Division of Wildlife consulted on the managed hunt, which has been under consideration for a few years, but the division is letting the town run it.
"It is within their jurisdiction," DOW spokesman Joe Lewandowski said. "The division will be keeping an eye on it. That number (of licenses) will not significantly check this deer population."
Cherpeski said that if 30 mule deer does are taken, it will only slow the population growth, not stop it. Officials have been unable to do a hard count of the deer because the population is scattered and mobile, but they estimate 500 to 1,000 are in town or on the outskirts.
Source:
http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_5121868
MINNESOTA NEWS: 2006 Second Highest Harvest On Record
Minnesota hunters harvested nearly 270,000 deer during 2006, the second highest deer harvest ever recorded, according to a final numbers announced today by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
With nearly 500,000 deer hunters enjoying long seasons and liberal bag limits, DNR officials anticipated a strong 2006 deer harvest. In total, firearms hunters harvested 229,000 deer while archery and muzzleloader hunters harvested 25,000 and 13,500 deer, respectively.
Hunters who participated in the early antlerless season tagged 2,300 deer. Overall, the statewide firearm harvest was up 6 percent, archers enjoyed another record season and increased 8 percent, while muzzleloader harvest decreased 4 percent from their record 2005 harvest.
"Once again, Minnesota deer hunters enjoyed another great deer season,"
said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator.
Prior to 2003, Minnesota hunters had never killed 250,000 deer in any one season. Over the four years, total deer harvest exceeded 250,000 each year.
Source:
http://www.buckmasters.com/more_buckmasters/zones/features/070131Z6Minn.htm
With nearly 500,000 deer hunters enjoying long seasons and liberal bag limits, DNR officials anticipated a strong 2006 deer harvest. In total, firearms hunters harvested 229,000 deer while archery and muzzleloader hunters harvested 25,000 and 13,500 deer, respectively.
Hunters who participated in the early antlerless season tagged 2,300 deer. Overall, the statewide firearm harvest was up 6 percent, archers enjoyed another record season and increased 8 percent, while muzzleloader harvest decreased 4 percent from their record 2005 harvest.
"Once again, Minnesota deer hunters enjoyed another great deer season,"
said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator.
Prior to 2003, Minnesota hunters had never killed 250,000 deer in any one season. Over the four years, total deer harvest exceeded 250,000 each year.
Source:
http://www.buckmasters.com/more_buckmasters/zones/features/070131Z6Minn.htm
Friday, January 26, 2007
GERMANY NEWS: Wolf Resurgence Magically Turns Some Hunters into Crybabies
BAERWALDE, Germany - There's blood on the frost and blame in the air.
The wolves are back, hunting in the night, skulking through gardens, making the farm dogs restless. Sleek and mystical, they have roamed through folklore and fairy tale, a bit of enticing danger at the forest's edge.
But Joachim Bachmann, a hunter with a wall full of trophies, is not so lyrical when it comes to the wolf's reappearance amid the birch and pine of the eastern woods in Saxony.
In today's Germany, the wolf is a "protected species." Mention these two words and you had better duck, because Bachmann can't quite get his mind around how a sheep-eating machine should not be shot on sight. It bothers him even when he sits at the big table in his big house looking out the window to a damp land speckled with paw prints.
"What positive thing does a wolf bring to nature? Nothing," he says.
Something else out beyond the winter grass perturbs him too. Down the road, past a church and through a forest so dense it seems like walking through the bristles on a hairbrush, a woman Bachmann describes as a misguided Little Red Riding Hood charts the personalities and nocturnal habits of wolf packs.
Gesa Kluth's boots are muddy, and her maps are worn; to Bachmann, the biologist is an infuriatingly dedicated state-funded wolf lover.
She's not cooing about him either. Kluth points to a picture on her door of a sturdy white-haired man in a hunting hat peeking out from a stand of evergreens. It's Bachmann.
"He's our No. 1 enemy. We were thinking about getting darts to throw at it," she says.
Kluth spends her days and nights tracking wolves, where they sleep, play and hunt on a territory of about 115 square miles. She plans to trap a few, fix them with radio transmitters and follow their migrations, which appear to be drifting north and west. To her, the wolf is a stealthy, swift, misunderstood beauty.
"The problem is that hunters see themselves as the predators who control the animal population from overpopulating," she says. "But now the wolves have returned and they are the natural predators, which threatens the hunter's lifestyle."
Wolves were hunted to near extinction in Germany in the Middle Ages. They reappeared from time to time, between wars and other epochs that changed borders and rearranged forests.
Dozens were shot in East Germany during the Cold War. But the demise of the communist government and the rise, after German reunification, of environmentally conscious successors have given nature a foothold on land that had been lost to warehouses and iron mills that today languish like industrial ghosts.
Wolves reappeared in this part of Saxony in the mid-1990s, when a lone male crossed the Neisse River from Poland, which has about 500 wolves.
The first German pups were born in 2000; today at least 25 wolves wander the forests on army training sites and hunt along the brown coal of strip mines. A few others live to the north in Brandenburg, where their territory widened as 1.5 million people fled East Germany after the Berlin Wall fell. Last year, a wolf believed to have wandered up from Italy was hit by a car in southern Bavaria.
Like the beast he despises, Bachmann arrived in the east after what people here call "former times." He was born in a part of Silesia that reverted to Poland after World War II. He and his family were forced into East Germany. They escaped in 1953 and moved to the Ruhr region of West Germany, where he eventually ran a fleet of coal trucks. A few years before the wolves rediscovered Saxony, Bachmann built a wood house here, decorating it with an antler chandelier and mounted heads of wild boar, bison and rams.
He and his buddies track deer. So do the wolves. Bachmann is worried that the deer population will be thinned and the state will reduce quotas for hunters. Hunting is cheaper in eastern Germany than in the west, but if wolves upset the ecosystem, hunters would have less deer meat to sell and might stop paying to use privately owned game lands. This could suppress real estate values in a region with limited prosperity.
"The wolf population is doubling each year," Bachmann says. "Soon we'll have more than 120, and then the wild deer will be gone and the forests will be empty. I think many of these wolf lovers orchestrated the return of the wolf. They're getting paid to protect the wolf. They use the wolf as a magnet for donations. Look on the Internet -- you can become a 'wolf patron.'"
source:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/16551444.html
The wolves are back, hunting in the night, skulking through gardens, making the farm dogs restless. Sleek and mystical, they have roamed through folklore and fairy tale, a bit of enticing danger at the forest's edge.
But Joachim Bachmann, a hunter with a wall full of trophies, is not so lyrical when it comes to the wolf's reappearance amid the birch and pine of the eastern woods in Saxony.
In today's Germany, the wolf is a "protected species." Mention these two words and you had better duck, because Bachmann can't quite get his mind around how a sheep-eating machine should not be shot on sight. It bothers him even when he sits at the big table in his big house looking out the window to a damp land speckled with paw prints.
"What positive thing does a wolf bring to nature? Nothing," he says.
Something else out beyond the winter grass perturbs him too. Down the road, past a church and through a forest so dense it seems like walking through the bristles on a hairbrush, a woman Bachmann describes as a misguided Little Red Riding Hood charts the personalities and nocturnal habits of wolf packs.
Gesa Kluth's boots are muddy, and her maps are worn; to Bachmann, the biologist is an infuriatingly dedicated state-funded wolf lover.
She's not cooing about him either. Kluth points to a picture on her door of a sturdy white-haired man in a hunting hat peeking out from a stand of evergreens. It's Bachmann.
"He's our No. 1 enemy. We were thinking about getting darts to throw at it," she says.
Kluth spends her days and nights tracking wolves, where they sleep, play and hunt on a territory of about 115 square miles. She plans to trap a few, fix them with radio transmitters and follow their migrations, which appear to be drifting north and west. To her, the wolf is a stealthy, swift, misunderstood beauty.
"The problem is that hunters see themselves as the predators who control the animal population from overpopulating," she says. "But now the wolves have returned and they are the natural predators, which threatens the hunter's lifestyle."
Wolves were hunted to near extinction in Germany in the Middle Ages. They reappeared from time to time, between wars and other epochs that changed borders and rearranged forests.
Dozens were shot in East Germany during the Cold War. But the demise of the communist government and the rise, after German reunification, of environmentally conscious successors have given nature a foothold on land that had been lost to warehouses and iron mills that today languish like industrial ghosts.
Wolves reappeared in this part of Saxony in the mid-1990s, when a lone male crossed the Neisse River from Poland, which has about 500 wolves.
The first German pups were born in 2000; today at least 25 wolves wander the forests on army training sites and hunt along the brown coal of strip mines. A few others live to the north in Brandenburg, where their territory widened as 1.5 million people fled East Germany after the Berlin Wall fell. Last year, a wolf believed to have wandered up from Italy was hit by a car in southern Bavaria.
Like the beast he despises, Bachmann arrived in the east after what people here call "former times." He was born in a part of Silesia that reverted to Poland after World War II. He and his family were forced into East Germany. They escaped in 1953 and moved to the Ruhr region of West Germany, where he eventually ran a fleet of coal trucks. A few years before the wolves rediscovered Saxony, Bachmann built a wood house here, decorating it with an antler chandelier and mounted heads of wild boar, bison and rams.
He and his buddies track deer. So do the wolves. Bachmann is worried that the deer population will be thinned and the state will reduce quotas for hunters. Hunting is cheaper in eastern Germany than in the west, but if wolves upset the ecosystem, hunters would have less deer meat to sell and might stop paying to use privately owned game lands. This could suppress real estate values in a region with limited prosperity.
"The wolf population is doubling each year," Bachmann says. "Soon we'll have more than 120, and then the wild deer will be gone and the forests will be empty. I think many of these wolf lovers orchestrated the return of the wolf. They're getting paid to protect the wolf. They use the wolf as a magnet for donations. Look on the Internet -- you can become a 'wolf patron.'"
source:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/16551444.html
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: No Hunt in Norristown Farm Park
COURTHOUSE - The Montgomery County commissioners have ruled out a public deer hunt this year in the Norristown Farm Park.
County Solicitor Michael D. Marino said on Thursday the county and park officials are investigating whether some type of contraception, such as darting, would work instead.
"We are just taking a step back to look at things," said Commissioners Chairman Thomas J. Ellis.
"But we are not going to wait too long because the destruction of assets is just awesome," said Commissioner James R. Matthews, citing the damage to park vegetation when there is an over-abundance of deer.
Last year's three-day shotgun hunt - the first ever in the 700-acre urban park that straddles Norristown, East Norriton and West Norriton - resulted in the slaying of 139 deer including 21 bucks and 118 does.
Animal rights activists strongly opposed the hunt.
However, county officials at that time maintained that the hunt was necessary to decrease the size of the park's growing deer population.
The state game commission had estimated that there was over 400 deer in the park in 2004. County officials added another 100 to that estimate following the 2005 spring fawning season.
County officials have estimated that the park can only sustain a herd of seven to 20 deer. This is based on a game-commission recommendation that a healthy deer population is about 10 deer per square mile.
The county last October held its sixth annual bow-and-arrow deer hunt in the county's Lorimer Park in Abington.
Some 47 hunters participated, bagging a total of 11 deer, including 10 does and one
buck.
Source:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17747114&BRD=1679&PAG=461&dept_id=86218&rfi=6
County Solicitor Michael D. Marino said on Thursday the county and park officials are investigating whether some type of contraception, such as darting, would work instead.
"We are just taking a step back to look at things," said Commissioners Chairman Thomas J. Ellis.
"But we are not going to wait too long because the destruction of assets is just awesome," said Commissioner James R. Matthews, citing the damage to park vegetation when there is an over-abundance of deer.
Last year's three-day shotgun hunt - the first ever in the 700-acre urban park that straddles Norristown, East Norriton and West Norriton - resulted in the slaying of 139 deer including 21 bucks and 118 does.
Animal rights activists strongly opposed the hunt.
However, county officials at that time maintained that the hunt was necessary to decrease the size of the park's growing deer population.
The state game commission had estimated that there was over 400 deer in the park in 2004. County officials added another 100 to that estimate following the 2005 spring fawning season.
County officials have estimated that the park can only sustain a herd of seven to 20 deer. This is based on a game-commission recommendation that a healthy deer population is about 10 deer per square mile.
The county last October held its sixth annual bow-and-arrow deer hunt in the county's Lorimer Park in Abington.
Some 47 hunters participated, bagging a total of 11 deer, including 10 does and one
buck.
Source:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17747114&BRD=1679&PAG=461&dept_id=86218&rfi=6
MAINE NEWS: Proposal To Cull Deer on Marsh Island (Orono)
How to deal with deer overpopulation on Marsh Island has been a controversial issue for more than 10 years in area towns, but now the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has come up with a suggestion.
In a recent letter to Town Manager Cathy Conlow, DIF&W regional wildlife biologist Marc Caron proposes to pursue new rules to open Marsh Island to archery-only deer hunting and add the island to the existing archery area, which includes portions of both Old Town and Orono.
"The solution [Caron] offers is a pretty good one," Conlow said.
DIF&W classifies the island as a wildlife management area where hunting is prohibited, but the department’s commissioner has the authority to change that rule.
The intent of the expanded archery area is to allow hunting in areas that are not open to firearms hunting because of municipal firearms discharge ordinances. All of the areas are near homes and are interspersed with small woodlots, according to the DIF&W Web site.
Before any final decisions are made, she said, the Orono council will hold a public hearing on the issue at its Feb. 12 meeting.
There has been question over the last couple of years whether it would be possible to control the deer herd in some way if the University of Maine, the largest landowner on Marsh Island, decided not to participate.
UM has decided not to jump on board with the plan, and Caron has considered that in his proposal.
"Our decision at this point is that we would not open university land to a hunt, selectively managed or controlled hunt," UM Public Safety Director Noel March said Wednesday.
March headed the UM committee that explored the deer population and control issue.
"As much as there does appear to be certainly a legitimate need to address the deer herd population on Marsh Island, we have concerns to safety of those who use university forests and land, hiking trails, and open fields," March said. "But we will agree to cooperate with abutting landowners in the event that a deer hunt on their property requires them to come onto university land to retrieve a deer or otherwise."
UM’s decision not to participate makes it difficult to hunt on the Orono side, but Conlow said Caron’s proposal still offers some solution to the problem.
"It’s hard to hunt Orono lands, but it will still enable Old Town to deal with the problem over there," Conlow said.
Old Town councilors previously voted to move forward with a controlled hunt as long as safety precautions are taken.
"As long as none of the provisions change, I don’t see any reason to not move forward with the proposal of inland fisheries," Old Town City Manager Peggy Daigle said Thursday.
Old Town councilors also have received a copy of the letter to review.
Caron is seeking a response from Orono officials next month in order to begin steps toward the rule-making process.
Source:
http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=145613&zoneid=500
In a recent letter to Town Manager Cathy Conlow, DIF&W regional wildlife biologist Marc Caron proposes to pursue new rules to open Marsh Island to archery-only deer hunting and add the island to the existing archery area, which includes portions of both Old Town and Orono.
"The solution [Caron] offers is a pretty good one," Conlow said.
DIF&W classifies the island as a wildlife management area where hunting is prohibited, but the department’s commissioner has the authority to change that rule.
The intent of the expanded archery area is to allow hunting in areas that are not open to firearms hunting because of municipal firearms discharge ordinances. All of the areas are near homes and are interspersed with small woodlots, according to the DIF&W Web site.
Before any final decisions are made, she said, the Orono council will hold a public hearing on the issue at its Feb. 12 meeting.
There has been question over the last couple of years whether it would be possible to control the deer herd in some way if the University of Maine, the largest landowner on Marsh Island, decided not to participate.
UM has decided not to jump on board with the plan, and Caron has considered that in his proposal.
"Our decision at this point is that we would not open university land to a hunt, selectively managed or controlled hunt," UM Public Safety Director Noel March said Wednesday.
March headed the UM committee that explored the deer population and control issue.
"As much as there does appear to be certainly a legitimate need to address the deer herd population on Marsh Island, we have concerns to safety of those who use university forests and land, hiking trails, and open fields," March said. "But we will agree to cooperate with abutting landowners in the event that a deer hunt on their property requires them to come onto university land to retrieve a deer or otherwise."
UM’s decision not to participate makes it difficult to hunt on the Orono side, but Conlow said Caron’s proposal still offers some solution to the problem.
"It’s hard to hunt Orono lands, but it will still enable Old Town to deal with the problem over there," Conlow said.
Old Town councilors previously voted to move forward with a controlled hunt as long as safety precautions are taken.
"As long as none of the provisions change, I don’t see any reason to not move forward with the proposal of inland fisheries," Old Town City Manager Peggy Daigle said Thursday.
Old Town councilors also have received a copy of the letter to review.
Caron is seeking a response from Orono officials next month in order to begin steps toward the rule-making process.
Source:
http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=145613&zoneid=500
MONTANA NEWS: Deer Cull in Helena Moves Forward
Most of the people who spoke at the Urban Wildlife Task Force's first town hall meeting on Helena's growing deer herd favored reducing the population.
Those folks were evenly split between culling the herd and a combination of lethal and non-lethal options.
A few residents said they don't believe a problem exists. They said they've learned how to live with the animals and don't want to see them killed.
Several people said they favor trapping and transporting the deer to another location, but the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has a number of concerns about the option.
The task force, which began tackling the issue in May, is set to present its recommendations to the Helena City Commission in early March. The city then will decide whether the herd should be reduced and, if so, how to do the work and how to pay for it.
Any management plan must then be approved by the FWP Commission before it can be implemented. Helena officials said they hope the agency will partner with the city in funding any possible plan.
If the city decides to manage the herd, it will be an ongoing practice.
The population
Gene Hickman, a Helena wildlife consultant who was hired to estimate the herd's size, said the Queen City may have as many as 350 deer during late summer and autumn. He cautioned the estimate is no more than an "educated guess."
He hasn't finished working with the numbers, but said he believes the city had about 300 deer when he did his counts, beginning about a month ago. The census is a snapshot in time - no one knows the herd's size for certain. The highest numbers were found along the city's southern boundary.
One thing is certain: the deer are healthy, and the city's buck/doe ratio means the population will continue to grow, he said.
FWP wildlife biologist Gayle Joslin said population models show the herd will grow exponentially. It could double every three to five years, she said.
If the city decides to manage the population, it will need to set benchmarks, Hickman said.
"We need to find out what the socially acceptable number of deer is," he said.
The options
The task force is considering a number of non-lethal and lethal options. Among them:
- Status quo. Leaving the situation alone could result in additional costs down the road as the herd grows, and could increase the amount of property damage and the risk of accidents and injuries.
- Encouraging the use of unpalatable landscaping, repellants and barriers to keep deer out of yards.
- Fertility control or sterilization. Trained workers could inoculate deer with contraceptive or abortive drugs. The process is expensive, and no FDA-approved chemicals are yet available.
- Capture and transfer. Deer could be tranquilized or trapped, and then moved. It's a high-cost option, and one FWP has concerns about - transporting urban deer to a wild setting could result in high mortality and could possible spread illnesses such as chronic wasting disease.
- Capture and kill. This option may require property owners' permission, and tranquilized deer cannot be consumed.
- Professional wildlife removal. Sharpshooters could bait and cull the deer.
- Certified urban hunting. Community bowhunters could be selected and trained to target the herd.
Lists of options will be displayed at the Lewis and Clark Library and the City-County Building for public viewing.
The comments
One woman drew laughter from the crowd numbering more than 100 when she playfully suggested introducing wolves into the city to cut down the herd's numbers.
A man suggested allowing Helenans and their kids to drive the animals out of town using paintball guns.
A number of speakers said they're worried the deer could spread disease or become aggressive toward children. Folks also are concerned the herd draws predators into the city.
"(Deer) are unpredictable and they aren't safe, and my children aren't safe," a woman said. She said a deer charged a child in her neighborhood last year.
"We have a responsibility to have safe neighborhoods in our community," she added.
One woman said she's concerned about the danger of deer spreading diseases to humans. An FWP official said he's not worried about the possibility, which he said is highly unlikely.
"We're sick of them," one man said of the dozen or so deer he sees in his yard most days. He favored killing the deer.
One older man said he often hiked in the mountains south of the city in his youth. Seeing a deer was rare. Now he sees as many as 19 out his window.
He said he once saw a doe repeatedly pounce on a small dog, killing it.
"Something should be done to eliminate the deer," he said.
One man thought a certified urban hunt was the best option and said many people would volunteer to participate, making it a cheaper choice.
"I don't think this has to cost as much as it could," he said.
Some don't want the city to reduce the herd.
"I enjoy seeing the deer," a woman said. "We learn to adjust with them.
"If someone shoots a deer in my yard, I don't want to pay for it," she added.
A second meeting is planned for Feb. 14 at the Civic Center.
Source:
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/01/26/helena_top/a01012607_01.txt
Those folks were evenly split between culling the herd and a combination of lethal and non-lethal options.
A few residents said they don't believe a problem exists. They said they've learned how to live with the animals and don't want to see them killed.
Several people said they favor trapping and transporting the deer to another location, but the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has a number of concerns about the option.
The task force, which began tackling the issue in May, is set to present its recommendations to the Helena City Commission in early March. The city then will decide whether the herd should be reduced and, if so, how to do the work and how to pay for it.
Any management plan must then be approved by the FWP Commission before it can be implemented. Helena officials said they hope the agency will partner with the city in funding any possible plan.
If the city decides to manage the herd, it will be an ongoing practice.
The population
Gene Hickman, a Helena wildlife consultant who was hired to estimate the herd's size, said the Queen City may have as many as 350 deer during late summer and autumn. He cautioned the estimate is no more than an "educated guess."
He hasn't finished working with the numbers, but said he believes the city had about 300 deer when he did his counts, beginning about a month ago. The census is a snapshot in time - no one knows the herd's size for certain. The highest numbers were found along the city's southern boundary.
One thing is certain: the deer are healthy, and the city's buck/doe ratio means the population will continue to grow, he said.
FWP wildlife biologist Gayle Joslin said population models show the herd will grow exponentially. It could double every three to five years, she said.
If the city decides to manage the population, it will need to set benchmarks, Hickman said.
"We need to find out what the socially acceptable number of deer is," he said.
The options
The task force is considering a number of non-lethal and lethal options. Among them:
- Status quo. Leaving the situation alone could result in additional costs down the road as the herd grows, and could increase the amount of property damage and the risk of accidents and injuries.
- Encouraging the use of unpalatable landscaping, repellants and barriers to keep deer out of yards.
- Fertility control or sterilization. Trained workers could inoculate deer with contraceptive or abortive drugs. The process is expensive, and no FDA-approved chemicals are yet available.
- Capture and transfer. Deer could be tranquilized or trapped, and then moved. It's a high-cost option, and one FWP has concerns about - transporting urban deer to a wild setting could result in high mortality and could possible spread illnesses such as chronic wasting disease.
- Capture and kill. This option may require property owners' permission, and tranquilized deer cannot be consumed.
- Professional wildlife removal. Sharpshooters could bait and cull the deer.
- Certified urban hunting. Community bowhunters could be selected and trained to target the herd.
Lists of options will be displayed at the Lewis and Clark Library and the City-County Building for public viewing.
The comments
One woman drew laughter from the crowd numbering more than 100 when she playfully suggested introducing wolves into the city to cut down the herd's numbers.
A man suggested allowing Helenans and their kids to drive the animals out of town using paintball guns.
A number of speakers said they're worried the deer could spread disease or become aggressive toward children. Folks also are concerned the herd draws predators into the city.
"(Deer) are unpredictable and they aren't safe, and my children aren't safe," a woman said. She said a deer charged a child in her neighborhood last year.
"We have a responsibility to have safe neighborhoods in our community," she added.
One woman said she's concerned about the danger of deer spreading diseases to humans. An FWP official said he's not worried about the possibility, which he said is highly unlikely.
"We're sick of them," one man said of the dozen or so deer he sees in his yard most days. He favored killing the deer.
One older man said he often hiked in the mountains south of the city in his youth. Seeing a deer was rare. Now he sees as many as 19 out his window.
He said he once saw a doe repeatedly pounce on a small dog, killing it.
"Something should be done to eliminate the deer," he said.
One man thought a certified urban hunt was the best option and said many people would volunteer to participate, making it a cheaper choice.
"I don't think this has to cost as much as it could," he said.
Some don't want the city to reduce the herd.
"I enjoy seeing the deer," a woman said. "We learn to adjust with them.
"If someone shoots a deer in my yard, I don't want to pay for it," she added.
A second meeting is planned for Feb. 14 at the Civic Center.
Source:
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/01/26/helena_top/a01012607_01.txt
WISCONSIN NEWS: CWD Moves East
Professional sharpshooters are being used in the Kettle Moraine State Forest for the first time because chronic wasting disease is discovered in deer there.
As many as nine cases of CWD have been found on the border of Waukesha County.
Sharpshooters are also being used for the first time in Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo. About 50 deer have been killed in that effort that began this month.
The Department of Natural Resources are using sharpshooters instead of relying on hunters to reduce the herd because tests show CWD has grown in the parks.
Source:
http://wfrv.com/local/local_story_026073430.html
As many as nine cases of CWD have been found on the border of Waukesha County.
Sharpshooters are also being used for the first time in Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo. About 50 deer have been killed in that effort that began this month.
The Department of Natural Resources are using sharpshooters instead of relying on hunters to reduce the herd because tests show CWD has grown in the parks.
Source:
http://wfrv.com/local/local_story_026073430.html
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
When Deer Misbehave
All of these happened within the last 24 hours:
AURORA COLORADO – A family awoke Tuesday morning to the sounds of a 250 pound deer hopelessly trapped in their basement window well. Thanks to a combined effort from Aurora Animal Control, Police and Fire Departments and the Colorado division of Wildlife, the deer was saved.
Authorities first tranquilized the deer and then members of the Fire Department’s technical rescue team assisted in lifting the deer free from the window well. The deer was taken to Cherry Creek State Park where it was released.
CANBY, OREGON - A large deer with an impressive display of antlers got into some trouble in Canby on Tuesday. Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Miller and an Oregon State Police officer responded to a report of a deer entangled in a rope in south Clackamas County. A resident of South Pellican Road said the deer was in distress.
Deputy Jeff Miller reported the deer was unable to free itself from the grip of the entangled rope suspended from a tree. The rope was snarled in the deer's antlers.
It occurred to the law enforcement officials that a stun gun might do the job by momentarily incapacitating the animal. It would be just long enough to untie the bonds of rope from the deer antlers and set it free. The plan worked. Miller said he did not have to resort to destroying the animal, which ran off free to roam the forest again.
JACKSON, michigan - An unexpected patient causes a commotion at Foote Hospital in Jackson. Around 7 a.m. Wednesday, a doe smashed through the window of the hospital's administration building, ran through a room, down a hallway and into the physicians lounge. The deer was severely injured, so Jackson Police put her down.
About five people were in the office at the time of the incident, they were not hurt, just shook-up. Records were not destroyed.
AURORA COLORADO – A family awoke Tuesday morning to the sounds of a 250 pound deer hopelessly trapped in their basement window well. Thanks to a combined effort from Aurora Animal Control, Police and Fire Departments and the Colorado division of Wildlife, the deer was saved.
Authorities first tranquilized the deer and then members of the Fire Department’s technical rescue team assisted in lifting the deer free from the window well. The deer was taken to Cherry Creek State Park where it was released.
CANBY, OREGON - A large deer with an impressive display of antlers got into some trouble in Canby on Tuesday. Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Miller and an Oregon State Police officer responded to a report of a deer entangled in a rope in south Clackamas County. A resident of South Pellican Road said the deer was in distress.
Deputy Jeff Miller reported the deer was unable to free itself from the grip of the entangled rope suspended from a tree. The rope was snarled in the deer's antlers.
It occurred to the law enforcement officials that a stun gun might do the job by momentarily incapacitating the animal. It would be just long enough to untie the bonds of rope from the deer antlers and set it free. The plan worked. Miller said he did not have to resort to destroying the animal, which ran off free to roam the forest again.
JACKSON, michigan - An unexpected patient causes a commotion at Foote Hospital in Jackson. Around 7 a.m. Wednesday, a doe smashed through the window of the hospital's administration building, ran through a room, down a hallway and into the physicians lounge. The deer was severely injured, so Jackson Police put her down.
About five people were in the office at the time of the incident, they were not hurt, just shook-up. Records were not destroyed.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
TENNESSEE NEWS: Record Deer Harvest
Tennessee Deer Hunters Break All-Time Record
Excellent year breaks previous harvest record by slim margin
by Richard Simms
posted January 16, 2007
Tennessee deer hunters have broken an all-time record... barely.
As of Tuesday morning TWRA's Deer Harvest database shows that 179,819 deer have been harvested and checked in by hunters. The previous record set during the 2004-2005 season was 179,542. Chances are a few more deer harvest records will filter in but it is clear that it has been an outstanding year for Tennessee deer hunters.
State deer biologist Daryl Ratajczak said, "the weather was very cooperative for deer hunters, especially on key opening weekends when the most hunters take to the woods. Hunting was a little easier this year because we had less of a mast crop and hunters were able to pattern deer a little more."
Records show that 44 percent of all Tennessee deer hunters killed at least one deer this season, he said.
"We’d like to increase that number. We’d love to see more hunters successful," he added. "But we think the opportunity is out there. It’s really based more on the limitations of the hunter. I don’t know how much we can do about that."
Many hunters in Tennessee killed more than one deer this year. More than 400 have registered more than 10 deer each.
Chattanooga-area deer hunters have done well. In Hamilton County, hunters have taken 1,563 deer, higher than any other metro county.
Deer herds have clearly become too large in a large portion of Middle Tennessee, according to TWRA, which has established a special Unit L hunting area with especially liberal bag limits.
Partially due to a growing deer herd and better opportunities, there is a growing movement among hunters to be more selective, passing up smaller bucks so they can grow larger. This year more than 50 percent of the bucks killed have been at least 2 1 /2 years old, with seven- or eight-point antlers.
"That’s great to see those older deer increasing," Ratajczak said. "Keep in mind those older, smarter deer are harder to harvest. We don’t have a specific goal for harvest of our older age bucks, but we’re very happy with what we’re seeing now. We want to maintain where we’re at."
Excellent year breaks previous harvest record by slim margin
by Richard Simms
posted January 16, 2007
Tennessee deer hunters have broken an all-time record... barely.
As of Tuesday morning TWRA's Deer Harvest database shows that 179,819 deer have been harvested and checked in by hunters. The previous record set during the 2004-2005 season was 179,542. Chances are a few more deer harvest records will filter in but it is clear that it has been an outstanding year for Tennessee deer hunters.
State deer biologist Daryl Ratajczak said, "the weather was very cooperative for deer hunters, especially on key opening weekends when the most hunters take to the woods. Hunting was a little easier this year because we had less of a mast crop and hunters were able to pattern deer a little more."
Records show that 44 percent of all Tennessee deer hunters killed at least one deer this season, he said.
"We’d like to increase that number. We’d love to see more hunters successful," he added. "But we think the opportunity is out there. It’s really based more on the limitations of the hunter. I don’t know how much we can do about that."
Many hunters in Tennessee killed more than one deer this year. More than 400 have registered more than 10 deer each.
Chattanooga-area deer hunters have done well. In Hamilton County, hunters have taken 1,563 deer, higher than any other metro county.
Deer herds have clearly become too large in a large portion of Middle Tennessee, according to TWRA, which has established a special Unit L hunting area with especially liberal bag limits.
Partially due to a growing deer herd and better opportunities, there is a growing movement among hunters to be more selective, passing up smaller bucks so they can grow larger. This year more than 50 percent of the bucks killed have been at least 2 1 /2 years old, with seven- or eight-point antlers.
"That’s great to see those older deer increasing," Ratajczak said. "Keep in mind those older, smarter deer are harder to harvest. We don’t have a specific goal for harvest of our older age bucks, but we’re very happy with what we’re seeing now. We want to maintain where we’re at."
Monday, January 08, 2007
MARYLAND NEWS: Deer Problems at Catoctin National Park
THURMONT — At Catoctin Mountain Park, officials are thinking about taking aim at the park’s deer population.
About two dozen people attended a public meeting Saturday to comment on a proposed plan to reduce the park’s deer population from a high in 2004 of 193 per square mile down to about 15 to 20 per square mile.
A deer survey from fall 2006 estimated the current deer population was about 88 deer per square mile.
The drop has been attributed to hunting pressure outside the park, said Scott Bates, a National Park Service regional wildlife biologist. Bates also said the state’s implementation of liberal bag limits of up to 36 deer for bow, muzzleloader and firearms seasons played a role.
“That and it was pretty close to 200 deer per square mile. There wasn’t much left for the deer to feed on,” he said.
The park service announced last month that using sharpshooters was the preferred alternative to reduce the herd.
Sharpshooting would not occur within 100 feet of a building or within 400 feet of the park boundary, according to the White-tailed Deer Management Plan. In those areas, capture and euthanization would be used.
The park service also is considering the use of current monitoring programs, birth control and fencing as other alternatives.
Reducing the deer population will help restore balance to the park’s ecosystem. Fewer deer will allow the native plant species they eat to grow back.
“Every park in the region — in the East — is experiencing deer problems,” said Diane Pavek, a botanist for the NPS National Capital Region.
She said Catoctin’s White-tailed Deer Management Plan will become a model for other parks in the region.
Open space in urban areas is contributing to the problem, Pavek said. Deer feed on woodland edges and in open areas and return to the mountain at night, she said.
About two dozen people attended a public meeting Saturday to comment on a proposed plan to reduce the park’s deer population from a high in 2004 of 193 per square mile down to about 15 to 20 per square mile.
A deer survey from fall 2006 estimated the current deer population was about 88 deer per square mile.
The drop has been attributed to hunting pressure outside the park, said Scott Bates, a National Park Service regional wildlife biologist. Bates also said the state’s implementation of liberal bag limits of up to 36 deer for bow, muzzleloader and firearms seasons played a role.
“That and it was pretty close to 200 deer per square mile. There wasn’t much left for the deer to feed on,” he said.
The park service announced last month that using sharpshooters was the preferred alternative to reduce the herd.
Sharpshooting would not occur within 100 feet of a building or within 400 feet of the park boundary, according to the White-tailed Deer Management Plan. In those areas, capture and euthanization would be used.
The park service also is considering the use of current monitoring programs, birth control and fencing as other alternatives.
Reducing the deer population will help restore balance to the park’s ecosystem. Fewer deer will allow the native plant species they eat to grow back.
“Every park in the region — in the East — is experiencing deer problems,” said Diane Pavek, a botanist for the NPS National Capital Region.
She said Catoctin’s White-tailed Deer Management Plan will become a model for other parks in the region.
Open space in urban areas is contributing to the problem, Pavek said. Deer feed on woodland edges and in open areas and return to the mountain at night, she said.
Friday, January 05, 2007
SPAIN NEWS: Cull at Sierra de Baza -- Nescessary or Overkill?
Based on Jose Gomez's work, I know that deer are damaging the Sierra de Baza National Park, but without any additional information this strikes me as overkill. -TR
REGIONAL government officials have announced a deer cull that will lead to the animals’ extinction in the Sierra de Baza, environmental groups claim.
The cull, which has been named the Sierra de Baza Deer Management Plan by the Junta de Andalucía, aims to cut the numbers of deer in the natural park from 1,800 to just 33 over the next four years.
Not only are stags targeted but does and their fawn in a move that has angered local environmental groups. “The Junta is going to wipe out the entire population of deer from the natural park under this scheme,” said the President of the Asociación Proyecto Sierra de Baza, José Ángel Rodríguez Sánchez.
The regional government is concerned over the numbers of the animal. Officials claim the density in some parts of the natural park is six animals per square kilometre. According to Junta estimates, a further 900 deer are born each year. Gerardo Sánchez of the environment department defended the cull. “We are trying to keep numbers of deer at a constant and stop them increasing year by year,” he said.
However, Señor Rodríguez Sánchez fears illegal hunting could decimate the animals’ numbers.
“Instead of trying to find a balanced solution, the regional government has opted for the most condemnable: the unsustainable hunting of deer. “On top of the Junta’s cull, you have to add the deer that are killed each year by poachers,” Señor Rodríguez Sánchez said.
Numbers of the animal in the natural park have fallen in recent years. From 9,000 deer in 2003, the Junta de Andalucía says there are now only 1,800 in the area. However, locals believe the true number is far less than the official figures.
The cull began in at the start of the deer hunting season in October 2006. By the time the season ends on January 31, 382 deer will have been culled (133 males, 220 females and 29 fawns).
The figures increase over the following seasons. In 2007/2008, 418 deer will be killed (146, 240 and 32). In 2008/2009 the figure will rise to 460 (161, 264 and 35) while in final season of the cull 507 deer will be killed (178, 290 and 39).
REGIONAL government officials have announced a deer cull that will lead to the animals’ extinction in the Sierra de Baza, environmental groups claim.
The cull, which has been named the Sierra de Baza Deer Management Plan by the Junta de Andalucía, aims to cut the numbers of deer in the natural park from 1,800 to just 33 over the next four years.
Not only are stags targeted but does and their fawn in a move that has angered local environmental groups. “The Junta is going to wipe out the entire population of deer from the natural park under this scheme,” said the President of the Asociación Proyecto Sierra de Baza, José Ángel Rodríguez Sánchez.
The regional government is concerned over the numbers of the animal. Officials claim the density in some parts of the natural park is six animals per square kilometre. According to Junta estimates, a further 900 deer are born each year. Gerardo Sánchez of the environment department defended the cull. “We are trying to keep numbers of deer at a constant and stop them increasing year by year,” he said.
However, Señor Rodríguez Sánchez fears illegal hunting could decimate the animals’ numbers.
“Instead of trying to find a balanced solution, the regional government has opted for the most condemnable: the unsustainable hunting of deer. “On top of the Junta’s cull, you have to add the deer that are killed each year by poachers,” Señor Rodríguez Sánchez said.
Numbers of the animal in the natural park have fallen in recent years. From 9,000 deer in 2003, the Junta de Andalucía says there are now only 1,800 in the area. However, locals believe the true number is far less than the official figures.
The cull began in at the start of the deer hunting season in October 2006. By the time the season ends on January 31, 382 deer will have been culled (133 males, 220 females and 29 fawns).
The figures increase over the following seasons. In 2007/2008, 418 deer will be killed (146, 240 and 32). In 2008/2009 the figure will rise to 460 (161, 264 and 35) while in final season of the cull 507 deer will be killed (178, 290 and 39).
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
ALBERTA NEWS: New CWD Cases
Theresa Seraphim
Vermilion Standard
Tuesday December 19, 2006
The discovery of two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Alberta underlines the importance of hunters submitting deer heads for testing, says an official with Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
“One of them is in the area we were working last year,” which is north of Medicine Hat, noted information officer Lyle Fullerton. The other case was found in an area north and west of Edgerton. “That’s a new case,” Fullerton stated, adding it marks the first time the disease has been discovered in a northern region.
“In all likelihood it’s an animal that got through the surveillance (of earlier years) and was shot by a hunter,” he stated.
While submission of deer heads is mandatory in some hunting areas and voluntary in others, it’s important that all hunters bring in the heads of deer they kill so they can be tested, said Fullerton.
“We’re certainly pleased with the support of hunters but we encourage them to get their heads in.”
So far, about 2,000 heads have been submitted.
“We’re about halfway through the testing,” said Fullerton. He said no positive results have ever been found in the Vermilion area.
Symptoms of CWD include excess saliva, weight loss and lack of co-ordination, but the disease is too far gone by the time the animal displays these signs, Fullerton noted.
He said the potential exists for more positive results.
Hunters can take the heads to any Fish and Wildlife office or to a 24-hour freezer, said Fullerton.
Vermilion Standard
Tuesday December 19, 2006
The discovery of two cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Alberta underlines the importance of hunters submitting deer heads for testing, says an official with Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
“One of them is in the area we were working last year,” which is north of Medicine Hat, noted information officer Lyle Fullerton. The other case was found in an area north and west of Edgerton. “That’s a new case,” Fullerton stated, adding it marks the first time the disease has been discovered in a northern region.
“In all likelihood it’s an animal that got through the surveillance (of earlier years) and was shot by a hunter,” he stated.
While submission of deer heads is mandatory in some hunting areas and voluntary in others, it’s important that all hunters bring in the heads of deer they kill so they can be tested, said Fullerton.
“We’re certainly pleased with the support of hunters but we encourage them to get their heads in.”
So far, about 2,000 heads have been submitted.
“We’re about halfway through the testing,” said Fullerton. He said no positive results have ever been found in the Vermilion area.
Symptoms of CWD include excess saliva, weight loss and lack of co-ordination, but the disease is too far gone by the time the animal displays these signs, Fullerton noted.
He said the potential exists for more positive results.
Hunters can take the heads to any Fish and Wildlife office or to a 24-hour freezer, said Fullerton.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
OHIO NEWS: Farmers Call for 50% Reduction in Deer Population
Dave Golowenski FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Even after hunters killed about 112,000 deer during a full week of gun season, it’s not enough for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
The group that represents Ohio farm interests plans to push state officials to cut the current deer herd of about 500,000 in half, the level of about two decades ago.
Because deer damage crops and cause hundreds of crashes on the state’s roadways, the farm bureau wants the herd to number no more than 250,000, said Keith Stimpert, the bureau’s senior vice president of public policy.
"It’s what we will work toward in the coming year by working with the (Ohio) Division of Wildlife, legislators and others," Stimpert said.
The proposal came during the bureau’s recent annual meeting in Columbus and signals an increasing frustration among its 225,000 members, 55,000 of whom are farmers. "I have met with farmers, and they sometimes have severe damage," said Dave Risley, the wildlife division’s executive administrator of wildlife management and research.
A Cornell University report says deer damage to crops and motor vehicles annually exceeds $2 billion, including $1.1 billion in damage to crops, timber and landscape plantings. In 2005, crashes involving deer killed nine people and injured 941 others on state roads, the State Highway Patrol reported this year.
The state has maintained a pre-hunting-season herd of about 600,000 for the past several years. A significant reduction in the herd won’t sit well with some wildlife enthusiasts, especially some hunters.
"We would not support" the farm bureau proposal, said Larry Mitchell Sr., a deer hunter and president of the League of Ohio Sportsmen, an umbrella organization for scores of hunting, fishing and conservation groups.
Not only would reducing the herd by such proportions be difficult, it also isn’t likely to solve many farmers’ troubles, which are local, Risley said.
"One of the problems is, (the farm bureau) gets too hung up on statewide population numbers," Risley said. "We don’t really have a statewide population policy. We adjust by county."
Deer-hunting regulations divide the state into zones. As many as three deer may be taken each season in deer-heavy counties, and additional deer may be taken in certain urban areas, including Franklin and southern Delaware counties.
Maryland has tried to deal with an increasing deer population by increasing the bag limit. Hunters there are allowed to kill more of the animals than ever before — up to three dozen apiece.
Ohio regulations encourage the killing of does, a strategy to keep the deer population in check. Further, the wildlife division issues special permits that allow landowners to eradicate nuisance deer outside the hunting season.
As the deer population in Ohio has grown from a relative handful of animals 60 years ago, bag limits have been liberalized and seasons extended to allow more hunting, but nothing like in Maryland.
Farm bureau members aren’t satisfied.
"We’re not sure we have it under control," Stimpert said. "What is the right number of deer needs to be determined." Yet the state’s sportsmen seem unlikely to agree that 250,000 is the right number.
About 500,000 hunters, an increasing number of whom come from other states, are expected to take about 210,000 deer this year. The state extended shotgun hunting by two days this year — this Saturday and Sunday. The statewide muzzleloader season will be Dec. 27-30, and archery season remains open until Feb. 4.
Cutting the herd in half likely would discourage hunters or send them elsewhere as they vie for fewer deer. In recent years, one deer has been harvested for about every 2 1 /2 permits sold, a ratio that has been improving steadily for hunters since the lean times of 1965, when one in 31 hunters was successful.
The wildlife division estimates that deer hunting generates $266 million annually. Stimpert said he is aware that deer attract hunters and their dollars.
"The question is, what is the population level that can still attract hunters?" he said. "How can we grow that side of it and yet have some control of the population? "
Risley said the division looks for ways to minimize damage by wildlife, particularly by deer, because they are large, hungry and numerous in some areas. But changing land use in the state since World War II has helped create prime deer habitat.
The proliferation of small parcels developed for housing and off limits to both hunting and agriculture create deer nurseries. About 250,000 Ohioans live on or own 10 acres or less within the state’s forested deer country, Risley said. Farmers with deer problems could be helped significantly if such land, often posted with no-hunting or notrespassing signs, could be made accessible to hunters with guns or bows.
Mike Budzik, a former wildlife chief who lobbies for sportsmen’s issues, said it’s unclear whether a solution will be found, but he noted that the farm bureau and the wildlife division have worked out compromises before. It appears that the bureau is sending a "friendly shot across the bow," he said, indicating it might be time to revisit the deer issue. And the bureau is too influential to ignore, he said.
"They are the E.F. Hutton of lobby groups in Ohio," he said. "When the farm bureau speaks, legislators listen."
Even after hunters killed about 112,000 deer during a full week of gun season, it’s not enough for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
The group that represents Ohio farm interests plans to push state officials to cut the current deer herd of about 500,000 in half, the level of about two decades ago.
Because deer damage crops and cause hundreds of crashes on the state’s roadways, the farm bureau wants the herd to number no more than 250,000, said Keith Stimpert, the bureau’s senior vice president of public policy.
"It’s what we will work toward in the coming year by working with the (Ohio) Division of Wildlife, legislators and others," Stimpert said.
The proposal came during the bureau’s recent annual meeting in Columbus and signals an increasing frustration among its 225,000 members, 55,000 of whom are farmers. "I have met with farmers, and they sometimes have severe damage," said Dave Risley, the wildlife division’s executive administrator of wildlife management and research.
A Cornell University report says deer damage to crops and motor vehicles annually exceeds $2 billion, including $1.1 billion in damage to crops, timber and landscape plantings. In 2005, crashes involving deer killed nine people and injured 941 others on state roads, the State Highway Patrol reported this year.
The state has maintained a pre-hunting-season herd of about 600,000 for the past several years. A significant reduction in the herd won’t sit well with some wildlife enthusiasts, especially some hunters.
"We would not support" the farm bureau proposal, said Larry Mitchell Sr., a deer hunter and president of the League of Ohio Sportsmen, an umbrella organization for scores of hunting, fishing and conservation groups.
Not only would reducing the herd by such proportions be difficult, it also isn’t likely to solve many farmers’ troubles, which are local, Risley said.
"One of the problems is, (the farm bureau) gets too hung up on statewide population numbers," Risley said. "We don’t really have a statewide population policy. We adjust by county."
Deer-hunting regulations divide the state into zones. As many as three deer may be taken each season in deer-heavy counties, and additional deer may be taken in certain urban areas, including Franklin and southern Delaware counties.
Maryland has tried to deal with an increasing deer population by increasing the bag limit. Hunters there are allowed to kill more of the animals than ever before — up to three dozen apiece.
Ohio regulations encourage the killing of does, a strategy to keep the deer population in check. Further, the wildlife division issues special permits that allow landowners to eradicate nuisance deer outside the hunting season.
As the deer population in Ohio has grown from a relative handful of animals 60 years ago, bag limits have been liberalized and seasons extended to allow more hunting, but nothing like in Maryland.
Farm bureau members aren’t satisfied.
"We’re not sure we have it under control," Stimpert said. "What is the right number of deer needs to be determined." Yet the state’s sportsmen seem unlikely to agree that 250,000 is the right number.
About 500,000 hunters, an increasing number of whom come from other states, are expected to take about 210,000 deer this year. The state extended shotgun hunting by two days this year — this Saturday and Sunday. The statewide muzzleloader season will be Dec. 27-30, and archery season remains open until Feb. 4.
Cutting the herd in half likely would discourage hunters or send them elsewhere as they vie for fewer deer. In recent years, one deer has been harvested for about every 2 1 /2 permits sold, a ratio that has been improving steadily for hunters since the lean times of 1965, when one in 31 hunters was successful.
The wildlife division estimates that deer hunting generates $266 million annually. Stimpert said he is aware that deer attract hunters and their dollars.
"The question is, what is the population level that can still attract hunters?" he said. "How can we grow that side of it and yet have some control of the population? "
Risley said the division looks for ways to minimize damage by wildlife, particularly by deer, because they are large, hungry and numerous in some areas. But changing land use in the state since World War II has helped create prime deer habitat.
The proliferation of small parcels developed for housing and off limits to both hunting and agriculture create deer nurseries. About 250,000 Ohioans live on or own 10 acres or less within the state’s forested deer country, Risley said. Farmers with deer problems could be helped significantly if such land, often posted with no-hunting or notrespassing signs, could be made accessible to hunters with guns or bows.
Mike Budzik, a former wildlife chief who lobbies for sportsmen’s issues, said it’s unclear whether a solution will be found, but he noted that the farm bureau and the wildlife division have worked out compromises before. It appears that the bureau is sending a "friendly shot across the bow," he said, indicating it might be time to revisit the deer issue. And the bureau is too influential to ignore, he said.
"They are the E.F. Hutton of lobby groups in Ohio," he said. "When the farm bureau speaks, legislators listen."
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
INDIANA NEWS: Successful Cull at Indiana Dunes State Park
Rooney's note: Indiana Dunes SP is 3.4 square miles, so the cull translates to 24 deer per square mile removed. Wow! Also note at the end of the article that the park manager states he was impressed with hunters' knowledge of overgrazing problems. This is progress
Hunters remove 84 from herd at Dunes State Park.
BY LAURI HARVEY KEAGLE
Hunters at Indiana Dunes State Park took nearly twice as many deer this year than they did last year.
"It shows us the population has rebounded," said Brandt Baughman, property manager for the park.
Hunters removed a total of 84 deer from the herd during hunts on Nov. 12 and 13 and Monday and Tuesday.
Of the 84 deer taken during this year's hunt, 31 were removed Monday and Tuesday.
"That's a pretty significant number, considering we had 48 over the four days back in 2005," Baughman said.
Hunting is banned in state parks except for when studies show it is necessary because of overgrazing of plants. Hunters must apply to participate and be approved by the state. Baughman said 100 were approved for Indiana Dunes State Park hunts this year.
Baughman said 58 hunters participated in the hunt on Monday and 30 on Tuesday.
"That's not too bad, especially considering many of these hunters were drawn for both hunts," he said. "The first two days were rainy and the second were cold and terribly windy. The real challenge for the hunters was how wet everything is from the extremely wet fall. If it wasn't wet, it was ice."
Baughman said he was impressed with hunters' knowledge of overgrazing problems at the park and their respect for their role in thinning the herd.
"We have these orientations where the hunters come in and they are definitely concerned and want to help," he said. "That's exactly what I saw when they came to the park for the hunts and we really appreciate that."
Hunters remove 84 from herd at Dunes State Park.
BY LAURI HARVEY KEAGLE
Hunters at Indiana Dunes State Park took nearly twice as many deer this year than they did last year.
"It shows us the population has rebounded," said Brandt Baughman, property manager for the park.
Hunters removed a total of 84 deer from the herd during hunts on Nov. 12 and 13 and Monday and Tuesday.
Of the 84 deer taken during this year's hunt, 31 were removed Monday and Tuesday.
"That's a pretty significant number, considering we had 48 over the four days back in 2005," Baughman said.
Hunting is banned in state parks except for when studies show it is necessary because of overgrazing of plants. Hunters must apply to participate and be approved by the state. Baughman said 100 were approved for Indiana Dunes State Park hunts this year.
Baughman said 58 hunters participated in the hunt on Monday and 30 on Tuesday.
"That's not too bad, especially considering many of these hunters were drawn for both hunts," he said. "The first two days were rainy and the second were cold and terribly windy. The real challenge for the hunters was how wet everything is from the extremely wet fall. If it wasn't wet, it was ice."
Baughman said he was impressed with hunters' knowledge of overgrazing problems at the park and their respect for their role in thinning the herd.
"We have these orientations where the hunters come in and they are definitely concerned and want to help," he said. "That's exactly what I saw when they came to the park for the hunts and we really appreciate that."
CALIFORNIA NEWS: Culling Exotic Deer at Point Reyes
The days of non-native deer populations in the Point Reyes National Seashore are officially numbered.
A National Park Service plan to kill off fallow and axis deer by a combination of contraception and shooting has been approved and entered into the Federal Register. The deer - which biologists say have run roughshod over the park's ecosystem - will be eliminated by 2021 under the plan.
"We will now get a group of people together to begin to talk about how to implement the program," said John Dell'Osso, Point Reyes National Seashore spokesman. "Nothing will start until next year."
The plan to shoot the deer has been controversial, and groups such as the Marin Humane Society vow to keep fighting the plan.
"The decision may be in the books, but our work will continue to save the animals," said Diane Allevato, executive director of the humane society. "There is strong community opposition to this decision and a lot can happen in the 15 years the park service is saying it will take to remove the deer. It's not over for us."
Some female deer will be rounded up with use of a helicopter, then injected with a drug that will keep them from becoming pregnant. The park service will hire a company to shoot the rest of the deer.
The park service has a $750,000 budget for the project. A timeline has not been set.
The park service will donate the venison and hides to nonprofit or charity organizations. A California condor recovery program and food banks have expressed interest in the meat, and American Indian groups are interested in the pelts.
John Jarvis, director of the National Park Service's Pacific West region, gave the plan his approval in October and it was published in the Federal Register last week.
The issue has sparked years of debate. More than 2,000 written and oral comments were presented during recent testimony on the issue as the plan was reviewed.
Two types of non-native deer - which live up to 20 years - roam the 100-square-mile Point Reyes National Seashore: fallow deer, native to Europe and the Mediterranean; and axis deer, native to India and southern Asia.
In the 1940s, the species were purchased by a West Marin land owner from the San Francisco Zoo, which had an excess of the animals. The land owner then released the animals on his property for hunting. When his land later became part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, which was established in 1962, hunting ceased. Those that survived began to re-populate in the area.
Today, there are 300 axis deer and about 1,000 fallow deer. The latter's population has doubled since 2003.
Fallow deer were once concentrated in the central part of the seashore but are now found throughout the park. Their range has been documented eastward, beyond the park's borders. They have been seen on nearby private property and state parklands. If the migration continues, management of the species could become difficult, park officials say.
Park biologists are concerned the non-natives might out-muscle native black-tail deer and tule elk for food, water and cover. The non-natives also can carry disease.
The animals eat 5 to 10 percent of their body weight a day, taking in a ton of forage daily, food that otherwise would be available to native deer. Rabbits, rodents and other animals are affected, too, and officials see ridding the area of deer as the best way to balance nature.
Until 1994, the deer populations were kept in check by shooting by park officials. The deer meat was given to charitable organizations. But that practice stopped when the park service said it wanted to study the situation.
Since then, the non-native deer populations have gone uncontrolled.
A National Park Service plan to kill off fallow and axis deer by a combination of contraception and shooting has been approved and entered into the Federal Register. The deer - which biologists say have run roughshod over the park's ecosystem - will be eliminated by 2021 under the plan.
"We will now get a group of people together to begin to talk about how to implement the program," said John Dell'Osso, Point Reyes National Seashore spokesman. "Nothing will start until next year."
The plan to shoot the deer has been controversial, and groups such as the Marin Humane Society vow to keep fighting the plan.
"The decision may be in the books, but our work will continue to save the animals," said Diane Allevato, executive director of the humane society. "There is strong community opposition to this decision and a lot can happen in the 15 years the park service is saying it will take to remove the deer. It's not over for us."
Some female deer will be rounded up with use of a helicopter, then injected with a drug that will keep them from becoming pregnant. The park service will hire a company to shoot the rest of the deer.
The park service has a $750,000 budget for the project. A timeline has not been set.
The park service will donate the venison and hides to nonprofit or charity organizations. A California condor recovery program and food banks have expressed interest in the meat, and American Indian groups are interested in the pelts.
John Jarvis, director of the National Park Service's Pacific West region, gave the plan his approval in October and it was published in the Federal Register last week.
The issue has sparked years of debate. More than 2,000 written and oral comments were presented during recent testimony on the issue as the plan was reviewed.
Two types of non-native deer - which live up to 20 years - roam the 100-square-mile Point Reyes National Seashore: fallow deer, native to Europe and the Mediterranean; and axis deer, native to India and southern Asia.
In the 1940s, the species were purchased by a West Marin land owner from the San Francisco Zoo, which had an excess of the animals. The land owner then released the animals on his property for hunting. When his land later became part of the Point Reyes National Seashore, which was established in 1962, hunting ceased. Those that survived began to re-populate in the area.
Today, there are 300 axis deer and about 1,000 fallow deer. The latter's population has doubled since 2003.
Fallow deer were once concentrated in the central part of the seashore but are now found throughout the park. Their range has been documented eastward, beyond the park's borders. They have been seen on nearby private property and state parklands. If the migration continues, management of the species could become difficult, park officials say.
Park biologists are concerned the non-natives might out-muscle native black-tail deer and tule elk for food, water and cover. The non-natives also can carry disease.
The animals eat 5 to 10 percent of their body weight a day, taking in a ton of forage daily, food that otherwise would be available to native deer. Rabbits, rodents and other animals are affected, too, and officials see ridding the area of deer as the best way to balance nature.
Until 1994, the deer populations were kept in check by shooting by park officials. The deer meat was given to charitable organizations. But that practice stopped when the park service said it wanted to study the situation.
Since then, the non-native deer populations have gone uncontrolled.
MINNESOTA NEWS: Three Deer With One Bullet
By Sam Cook, Duluth News Tribune
DULUTH, Minn. - Minnesota's firearms deer season was almost over, and Chris Olsen of Two Harbors needed to get his venison. One shot changed his season in a big way.
Olsen killed three deer with the same bullet from his 8-millimeter Mauser.
Olsen, 50, was hunting on his property about 15 miles north of Two Harbors late in the afternoon Nov. 17. Two deer that Olsen described as yearlings (1 1/2-year-olds) walked in to check out a scent cloth he had put out. He was going to shoot one of the yearlings, when a doe appeared. It approached the yearlings at the scent cloth, which was about 60 yards from Olsen's stand.
"I thought, `I'm going to have to shoot her. It's desperate times,' " Olsen said.
He was shooting the 8-millimeter Mauser he had bought from a friend about a year ago, he said. It's a German military rifle, he said.
Olsen shot the doe with a single shot, and all three deer bounded away. Olsen thought he might have missed.
Later, his brother Lee Olsen of Two Harbors joined him. They found the doe a short distance away and field-dressed her.
"By George, we got done with her, and there was another one," Olsen said. "I thought, `Wow, two deer with one shot.' "
The two men field-dressed the yearling and retired to their deer shack for the night. The next morning, Chris Olsen got to thinking, and he went back to where he had found the doe and the yearling.
"We retraced our steps, and my gosh, there's a drop of blood," he said.
Olsen found the third deer - the second yearling - not far away. All three deer had fallen within 50 yards of each other, Olsen said. The bullet had passed completely through the first two deer and a piece of it had lodged in the third deer.
"I couldn't believe it. It's absolutely unbelievable," Olsen said.
Olsen had tags to legally take all three deer. He was checked later in the hunt by Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Kipp Duncan of Two Harbors. Duncan wasn't surprised when Olsen told him he had taken three deer. But he was surprised when Olsen told him he had taken all three with a single shot.
Olsen is happy.
"We got venison," he said.
DULUTH, Minn. - Minnesota's firearms deer season was almost over, and Chris Olsen of Two Harbors needed to get his venison. One shot changed his season in a big way.
Olsen killed three deer with the same bullet from his 8-millimeter Mauser.
Olsen, 50, was hunting on his property about 15 miles north of Two Harbors late in the afternoon Nov. 17. Two deer that Olsen described as yearlings (1 1/2-year-olds) walked in to check out a scent cloth he had put out. He was going to shoot one of the yearlings, when a doe appeared. It approached the yearlings at the scent cloth, which was about 60 yards from Olsen's stand.
"I thought, `I'm going to have to shoot her. It's desperate times,' " Olsen said.
He was shooting the 8-millimeter Mauser he had bought from a friend about a year ago, he said. It's a German military rifle, he said.
Olsen shot the doe with a single shot, and all three deer bounded away. Olsen thought he might have missed.
Later, his brother Lee Olsen of Two Harbors joined him. They found the doe a short distance away and field-dressed her.
"By George, we got done with her, and there was another one," Olsen said. "I thought, `Wow, two deer with one shot.' "
The two men field-dressed the yearling and retired to their deer shack for the night. The next morning, Chris Olsen got to thinking, and he went back to where he had found the doe and the yearling.
"We retraced our steps, and my gosh, there's a drop of blood," he said.
Olsen found the third deer - the second yearling - not far away. All three deer had fallen within 50 yards of each other, Olsen said. The bullet had passed completely through the first two deer and a piece of it had lodged in the third deer.
"I couldn't believe it. It's absolutely unbelievable," Olsen said.
Olsen had tags to legally take all three deer. He was checked later in the hunt by Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Kipp Duncan of Two Harbors. Duncan wasn't surprised when Olsen told him he had taken three deer. But he was surprised when Olsen told him he had taken all three with a single shot.
Olsen is happy.
"We got venison," he said.
WISCONSIN NEWS: Audit of Deer Census Techniques Concluded
Rooney's note: Will this satisfy the subpopulation of hunters who think the DNR can't count deer? Probably not--look for another taxpayer-funded audit in 6-10 years.
A scientific panel says that when it comes to counting deer, the state DNR is doing a pretty accurate job.
The deer estimates the DNR issues are often greeted with skepticism by hunters who say the agency is over estimating.
But preliminary results from the study panel from elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada show the DNR’s estimate is the best available, given the current understanding of the species.
The DNR estimated there were about 1.7 million deer in the state herd going into this fall's hunt.
A scientific panel says that when it comes to counting deer, the state DNR is doing a pretty accurate job.
The deer estimates the DNR issues are often greeted with skepticism by hunters who say the agency is over estimating.
But preliminary results from the study panel from elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada show the DNR’s estimate is the best available, given the current understanding of the species.
The DNR estimated there were about 1.7 million deer in the state herd going into this fall's hunt.
Friday, December 01, 2006
OHIO NEWS: Deer-Vehicle Collisions Decline as Deer Population Declines
Friday, December 01, 2006, Matt Zapotosky, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Dale Stacker’s GMC Canyon smashed into the deer at 68 mph and became slightly airborne when the animal slid under the truck. This crash is one of 15,525 deer-vehicle crashes reported in Ohio this year. The number typically spikes from October through December, when deer are on the move in search of mates.
But the annual number has been decreasing since 2003 and is on pace to drop again this year. There were 24,153 deer-vehicle crashes at this time last year, compared with 26,229 for the comparable period in 2004, the Ohio Department of Public Safety said.
The drop might be because of increased driver awareness and a decrease in the fall deer population, down from an estimated 700,000 in 2004 to 600,000 this year, Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials said. They attribute that decrease to allowing some hunters to kill up to three deer, two of which must be females, each hunting season, said department spokeswoman Lindsay Deering.
The three-kill area started with 26 counties in southeastern Ohio in 2004 and now encompasses 38 counties. That includes Franklin, which ranked seventh in the state last year for deer-vehicle crashes, with 533.
The number of deer that hunters kill each season has been relatively stable in recent years, but because more than 50 percent of hunters’ kills are does, the population continues to decline, said Dan Huss, the District 1 manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.
Stacker, a 57-year-old deer hunter from Utica, said he has hit five deer in the past five years and has a hard time believing that deer herds are more controlled.
He said hunting is not a totally effective way to control the deer population because most hunters want the one buck they are allowed to kill each hunting season, not the doe that increases the deer population when she breeds.
The declining accident numbers might be misleading because many drivers do not report crashes with deer, said state wildlife biologist Mike Tonkovich.
Stacker’s crash Oct. 15 was the second one he reported. In three previous crashes, the damage was about $300 each time, and he fixed the vehicle himself. This time, facing a $6,000 bill to repair the wrecked driver’s side, Stacker decided he needed to go to his insurance company with proof of his accident.
Though the number of deer crashes in Ohio appears to be declining, the state ranks fourth in the nation in deercrash insurance claims filed with State Farm Insurance, said State Farm spokesman Brian Maze.
Dale Stacker’s GMC Canyon smashed into the deer at 68 mph and became slightly airborne when the animal slid under the truck. This crash is one of 15,525 deer-vehicle crashes reported in Ohio this year. The number typically spikes from October through December, when deer are on the move in search of mates.
But the annual number has been decreasing since 2003 and is on pace to drop again this year. There were 24,153 deer-vehicle crashes at this time last year, compared with 26,229 for the comparable period in 2004, the Ohio Department of Public Safety said.
The drop might be because of increased driver awareness and a decrease in the fall deer population, down from an estimated 700,000 in 2004 to 600,000 this year, Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials said. They attribute that decrease to allowing some hunters to kill up to three deer, two of which must be females, each hunting season, said department spokeswoman Lindsay Deering.
The three-kill area started with 26 counties in southeastern Ohio in 2004 and now encompasses 38 counties. That includes Franklin, which ranked seventh in the state last year for deer-vehicle crashes, with 533.
The number of deer that hunters kill each season has been relatively stable in recent years, but because more than 50 percent of hunters’ kills are does, the population continues to decline, said Dan Huss, the District 1 manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.
Stacker, a 57-year-old deer hunter from Utica, said he has hit five deer in the past five years and has a hard time believing that deer herds are more controlled.
He said hunting is not a totally effective way to control the deer population because most hunters want the one buck they are allowed to kill each hunting season, not the doe that increases the deer population when she breeds.
The declining accident numbers might be misleading because many drivers do not report crashes with deer, said state wildlife biologist Mike Tonkovich.
Stacker’s crash Oct. 15 was the second one he reported. In three previous crashes, the damage was about $300 each time, and he fixed the vehicle himself. This time, facing a $6,000 bill to repair the wrecked driver’s side, Stacker decided he needed to go to his insurance company with proof of his accident.
Though the number of deer crashes in Ohio appears to be declining, the state ranks fourth in the nation in deercrash insurance claims filed with State Farm Insurance, said State Farm spokesman Brian Maze.
Monday, November 27, 2006
MISSOURI NEWS: A Record Deer Harvest
Good weather and an abundance of deer enabled hunters to shoot a record number of deer during Missouri's regular firearms deer season Nov. 11 through 21.
The Missouri Department of Conservation recorded 235,054 deer taken during the November portion of the firearms deer season. That is up 29,594 (14.4 percent) from last year and 12,725 (5.7 percent) from the previous record, set in 2004.
The record harvest was something of a surprise, because this year's opening weekend harvest was down by 8,865 (6.7 percent) compared to 2004.
The record deer harvest is good news for several reasons, said Hansen. "We needed a strong harvest to maintain deer numbers at optimum levels, and we got it. A lot of deer hunters had the thrill of seeing deer and putting meat in the freezer. The strong harvest will help out Share the Harvest, too."
Approximately 475,000 people hunt deer with firearms in Missouri each year. Following are the annual November firearms deer harvest figures for the past 15 years.
2005 - 205,460
2004 - 222,329
2003 - 207,516
2002 - 217,435
2001 - 205,867
2000 - 201,165
1996 - 180,395
1997 - 186,562
1998 - 194,670
1999 - 175,925
1995 - 187,406
1994 - 163,468
1993 - 156,704
1992 - 150,873
1991 - 149,112
The Missouri Department of Conservation recorded 235,054 deer taken during the November portion of the firearms deer season. That is up 29,594 (14.4 percent) from last year and 12,725 (5.7 percent) from the previous record, set in 2004.
The record harvest was something of a surprise, because this year's opening weekend harvest was down by 8,865 (6.7 percent) compared to 2004.
The record deer harvest is good news for several reasons, said Hansen. "We needed a strong harvest to maintain deer numbers at optimum levels, and we got it. A lot of deer hunters had the thrill of seeing deer and putting meat in the freezer. The strong harvest will help out Share the Harvest, too."
Approximately 475,000 people hunt deer with firearms in Missouri each year. Following are the annual November firearms deer harvest figures for the past 15 years.
2005 - 205,460
2004 - 222,329
2003 - 207,516
2002 - 217,435
2001 - 205,867
2000 - 201,165
1996 - 180,395
1997 - 186,562
1998 - 194,670
1999 - 175,925
1995 - 187,406
1994 - 163,468
1993 - 156,704
1992 - 150,873
1991 - 149,112
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
