Weather blamed for decline in Delaware deer harvest
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 3:43 pmWeather blamed for decline in Delaware deer harvest
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife
DOVER, DE – -(Ammoland.com)- Delaware hunters harvested 12,400 deer during the 2009-10 season, an 11 percent drop from the previous season that biologists attributed to poor hunting weather during the two segments of the state’s white-tail deer season that are traditionally the most productive and heavily hunted.
The total was 1,526 fewer deer than were taken in Delaware last year, with declining numbers readily apparent during the October muzzleloader and November shotgun seasons when two nor’easter storms struck the state, keeping hunters out of the woods and deer from moving around in them.
“I heard from many hunters who not only didn’t hunt during the actual storm events, but also couldn’t get into their hunting areas after the storms had passed because the areas were still flooded,” said Joe Rogerson, Deer and Furbearer Biologist with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.
“After the wet weather during the October muzzleloader season, I really thought the harvest would pick back up because more deer would be available to hunters during the later seasons,” Rogerson said. “Once the second storm hit during the November shotgun season, I knew the overall harvest would be down.”
The new all-electronic registration system for all deer taken in the state also could have had an impact on deer harvest numbers. Deer had to be registered via a toll-free telephone number or on the Internet. Previously, hunters could register their deer via these two methods but also had the more familiar option of taking them to check stations across the state.
“Along with the wet weather, the change to how deer are registered could have contributed to a decline in the statewide harvest,” said Rob Hossler, Game Species Program Manager with the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife.
However, Hossler said the electronic registration performed as intended and allowed the Division to tally the deer harvest much more quickly and efficiently, while having little to no impact on the declining harvest numbers. A closer look at the numbers supports this, Rogerson said.
“For comparison, I examined the number of deer donated by hunters to the Delaware Sportsmen Against Hunger Program and I found nearly the same decline, 11 percent decline in harvest and a 12.9 percent decline in donated deer. Since these two numbers nearly mirror each other, it indicates that hunters failing to register a deer may not have been a big problem,” Rogerson said.
“Additionally, the percentage of does, antlered bucks, and button bucks in the harvest is nearly identical to that of previous seasons. Their harvests only vary by one or two percent and fall well within annual variation,” he added.
The Division also would like to remind Delawareans that the comment period remains open regarding the Delaware Deer Management Plan, which has been in progress for the last two years. When complete, the plan will serve as the guiding document for how and why deer are managed in The First State over the next 10 years. To review the plan and submit comments, the public can visit the Fish & Wildlife web site or mail comments to Deer Management Plan Comments, Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife, 6180 Hay Point Landing Road, Smyrna, DE 19977, until April 1.
For more information about the Delaware deer harvest, the deer registration change, the new Deer Management Plan, or any other deer-related issue, please contact Joe Rogerson at 302-735-3600.
