Environment DEC
From the April 2009 issue
Deer Harvest for 2008 Season Climbs Slightly
Harvest numbers were up slightly in every category, despite bad weather for the start of the Southern Zone season.
Hunters harvested approximately 223,000 deer in the 2008 season, a two percent increase over the previous season. The annual deer harvest report also showed that more than 15,000 14- and 15-year-olds signed up for the new "Junior Big-Game License," and researchers did not detect any cases of chronic wasting disease.
Poor Weather Limited Take
Harvest numbers increased slightly in every category: bucks, antlerless deer, muzzleloading and bowhunting. However, the increases were smaller than the 5-10 percent increase DEC projected, largely due to weather.
"Rough weather during the first week of the Southern Zone regular season seems to have kept overall take below expectations," DEC Commissioner Grannis said, explaining that steady growth of the deer population in the Southern Zone fueled predictions of a larger harvest.
Junior Big-Game Program a Success
An important milestone of 2008 was the success of the new "Junior Big-Game" hunting license authorized by Governor David A. Paterson, which allowed 14- and 15-year-olds to hunt big game for the first time. Records indicate that 15,651 junior hunters participated, harvesting about 3,900 deer.
"The first year of the junior big-game hunting license has been a success-one of the biggest developments on the state hunting scene in recent memory," Commissioner Grannis said.
Harvest Details
The 2008 deer take included 105,747 bucks and 117,232 antlerless deer (adult females and fawns). Buck take grew by one percent over 2007 (104,451) and 10 percent over 2006 (96,569). Antlerless deer take grew by two percent over 2007 (114,690) and 26 percent over 2006 (92,539). A table showing totals for all categories can be found in the complete press release from which this story was excerpted.
Western New York had the highest numbers of total deer and bucks taken per square mile.
Western New York continues to lead the state in total deer taken per square mile. The top five counties for 2008 were Yates (12.7 total deer per square mile), Steuben (9.5), Genesee (9.4), Livingston (9.1), and Allegany (9.0). Total harvest is strongly affected by the number of deer management permits (DMPs) available in an area, which directly affects the harvest of antlerless deer. A more accurate picture of deer population density is revealed by the number of bucks harvested per square mile. The top counties for buck harvest density were: Yates (4.6 bucks per square mile), Allegany (4.2), Orange (3.8), Wyoming (3.7), and Steuben (3.7).
Chronic Wasting Disease Update
Surveillance efforts to look for chronic wasting disease (CWD) continued. Hunter killed deer were sampled statewide and mandatory deer checks were conducted in the Oneida-Madison County CWD Containment Area. Despite testing approximately 2,940 deer, including more than 1,100 from the CWD Containment Area, no cases were detected. Since 2002, about 29,300 samples have been collected throughout the state, including about 6,500 from the Oneida-Madison County CWD Containment Area, and no additional cases have been detected.
