Big Game Briefs: July-Sept 2002
The Big Game Briefs are a compilation of recent events, program status and anecdotes pertaining to deer and bear management issues across the state. Submissions of local interest from each regional Deer Biologist, along with statewide perspectives from Central Office Big Game staff are consolidated to present a review of current deer and bear management program issues across the state.
REGION 1
DEER DAMAGE
A total of 130 Nuisance Deer Permits (NDPs) have been issued to date for 2002. Twenty-nine of the NDPs were for properties in the Village of North Haven and expired on March 31, 2002. The second portion of the North Haven NDP period began October 1 and twenty NDPs have been issued for properties within the village. Requests for new NDPs have declined over the last month, but activity on the permits has increased dramatically. The increase in shooting activity can be attributed to the greater impact deer are having on crops in recent weeks and the cooler weather being more comfortable for shooters. The DEC is also working with the Long Island Farm Bureau to increase hunter access on private lands to alleviate economic losses caused by deer damage among the agricultural community. A forum is planned for the end of October where landowners will have the ability to meet and interview sportsmen to determine which hunters, if any, they wish to allow access to their land to hunt.
DMAP
Enrollment in the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) in Region 1 is down from thirteen properties in 2001 to seven in 2002. No new applications for DMAP were received despite offering applications for the program to Nuisance Deer Permit holders. Based on harvest reports from last year's new DMAP properties, renewals were not requested because of either limited or no use of the DMAP tags provided. Landowners expressing concerns about deer management will continue to be provided with DMAP information.
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDY
Region 1 has met the minimum sample requirements for Nassau County and exceeded the minimum for Suffolk County. All tested samples to date have been negative for Chronic Wasting Disease. Deer have primarily been collected from roadkills and Nuisance Deer Permits. Nuisance Permit holders have been very cooperative in our efforts to provide deer heads for testing. Samples will continue to be sent in as the deer hunting season progresses and as deer heads become more readily available at Hunter Check Stations.
2002 HUNTING DEER SEASON
The special January shotgun season will be managed in a similar fashion to last season. Those who wish to hunt deer during the special January season on NYSDEC managed lands in Suffolk County must enter a drawing. To enter the drawing, the Department must have received an entry by December 2, consisting of a legal size envelope which must contain a self-addressed stamped return envelope. The return envelope must have the hunters back-tag number written across the front of the envelope. Within 10 days following the drawing date, hunters will receive a pamphlet that includes a drawing number and detailed instructions for the procedures for making a reservation. The drawing number will determine which date the hunter can show up at the Ridge Hunter Check Station to make a reservation. The hunter or their representative must be present at the check station on that day in order to make a reservation. Entries should be mailed to NYSDEC-Deer Drawing, Box 659, Ridge NY 11961-0659.
BONUS PERMITS/ DEER CHECK
Hunters wishing to obtain Bonus DMPs must comply with all of the following application requirements:
- The head or whole carcass of an antlerless deer taken on a WMU 1C DMP or Bonus DMP must be presented for checking at a NYSDEC check station.
- The head or whole carcass presented must be tagged with a completed carcass tag. Heads which have been frozen must be sufficiently thawed to allow the jaws to be opened. Hunters presenting frozen deer heads will not be issued Bonus DMPs.
- The hunter must complete a sworn statement (form provided at check station) stating where the deer was taken within WMU 1C.
Further information regarding the availability of Bonus Permits may be obtained by calling the Region 1 Wildlife Office at (631) 444-0305 or visiting the Bonus DMP webpage at: www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/wildlife/guide/bonusdmp.html.
REGION 3
DMAP
The Region issued 130 DMAP permits for the 2002 season, slightly lower than the total (134) for 2001. More than 2,000 tags were issued to DMAP participants for use during the 2002 deer season. The majority of permits were issued to landowners attempting to reduce agricultural damage.
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDY
More than 80 deer were collected for the state-wide Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD Surveillance Program. To date, approximately one-third of the samples have been analyzed; CWD has not been detected in any of the samples.
BONUS PERMITS
Once again during the 2002 Big Game Season, additional deer management permits will be available to hunters who take an anterless deer on their original DMPs for WMU 3S (Westchester County). Westchester County is limited to archery only hunting has had a bonus permit system since 1993. The bonus permits may be used only in WMU 3S and will be valid for a deer of either sex. WMUt 3S DMPs not issued during the September/October selections will be available as bonus permits. Each hunter can obtain two original WMU 3S DMP's and, if successful, may receive two replacement Bonus Permits that can be used to harvest a deer of either sex. The check station will be at Woodards Meadow Farm Fruit and Vegetable Stand at 329 Underhill Avenue in Yorktown Heights (1.8 miles east on the Taconic Parkway on Underhill Avenue). Call the Bureau of Wildlife general phone line (845-256-3098) for a list of dates and times of check station operation.
REGION 4
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDY
Region 4 has obtained the minimum sample sizes for all counties. Many samples were taken from road-killed deer and deer taken on Nuisance Deer Permits. Regional staff also collected some samples as opportunities arose. Fish and Wildlife Technician Gary Golja of the Stamford office did an outstanding job in coordinating the collection of samples from the western part of the region in Schoharie, Delaware, and Otsego counties. He enlisted the aid of the regional highway departments in locating some of the deer. Many samples from Columbia, Greene, Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Montgomery counties were collected by the Wildlife Pathology Unit in Delmar.
DEER DAMAGE
Nuisance Deer Damage Permits (NDPs) in Region 4 are down from last year levels. Through August, there were 97 permits issued for damage to various crops, including forage, truck crops, Christmas trees, orchards and nursery stock. There were 127 permits issued last year through the same time period. It was thought that severe drought conditions in many areas, and diminished natural food sources would result in increased damage to crops. It is believed that a number of damage permittees are simply taking advantage of the DMAP program and not applying for nuisance permits anymore, knowing they can harvest additional deer during the regular hunting seasons.
DMAP
The DMAP program continues to grow in Region 4. DMAP has proven to be popular with landowners, including many farmers, who are experiencing problems with deer damaging their crops. Last year, there were 189 properties in the program, and this year there is a grand total 216, representing about a 14% increase. With time, the DMAP program will help resolve the problem with overabundant deer, especially at the local level, and should help bring crop damage down to a more tolerable level.
BONUS PERMITS
Bonus DMPs are once again available for Wildlife Management Unit 4J. A check station for issuing Bonus permits will be open at the Region 4 office in Rotterdam on Wednesdays starting October 16th from 3 P.M. to 5 P.M. There will also be a check station in Delmar at the Five Rivers Environmental Center on Saturdays from 10 A.M. to 1 P.M. However, once the regular season opens, deer will be checked by appointment only at the Region 4 office in Schnectady. As long as one continues to harvest antlerless deer, additional bonus permits can be obtained. Taking a buck on a Bonus Permit makes the hunter ineligible for additional Bonus DMPs.
VENISON DONATION
The Venison Donation Program is now operational in the region. Hunters will be able to take a deer to an approved meat processor and have the Program pay for the cost of processing the meat. Many hunters will have multiple tags and may only want to keep one or maybe two deer for themselves. Those who fill one of the other tags and give the meat to those in need. A list of processors is available at : www.Venison Donation.com.
REGION 5
DMAP
Region 5 received 115 DMAP applications this year, compared to 93 in 2001. Eighty-six of the applications were renewals, and 29 were new participants. Most of the new applications are from the northern part of the region where the deer herd continues to grow and Deer Management Permits are not available. Several applications were received from large timber companies in the northern forest concerned with forest regeneration. Review and issuance of permits and tags will be complete before the opening of the Southern Zone archery season on October 15.
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDY
As of September 30 five of the eight counties in the region had reached at least the minimum sample size. Deer have been the most difficult to find in the central Adirondacks, hence Hamilton, Essex, and Warren counties have not reached the minimum numbers. Two more deer are needed in Hamilton County, and one each in Essex and Warren Counties. Meat processors are being contacted to obtain samples from archery killed deer from these counties.
DEER FEEDING REGULATIONS
The emergency CWD regulation banning the feeding of deer has spawned a number of telephone calls. Some callers had already purchased deer food for the winter and were upset that they had wasted their money, while others simply planned to ignore the regulation and continue to feed. On the positive side, many callers agreed with the ban, especially when they heard the reasons behind it. One common theme of the calls was the fact that retail stores continue to sell deer food and mineral block attractants in spite of the ban.
REGION 6
DMAP
The Region has received 376 applications for the DMAP Program in 2002. Of these, 367 have been issued, four are pending and five were not approved. The program continues to grow in Region 6 with total applications up about 50 from 2001.
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDY
Surveillance sampling for Chronic Wasting Disease was completed by late September with minimum required samples exceeded for each county. Regionally, 70 samples were processed. Results are still pending for most submissions, and expected within the next few weeks.
2002 DEER HUNTING SEASON
The early Northern Zone archery season began on September 27 and is now into the 2002-03 license year. Although early in the season, several successful archers have commented on the abundance of deer this fall. Overall, we expect this to be the case throughout much of the Region. The new opportunities provided by changes in the hunting license structure, should further ensure that hunters have good access to this resource...if only the weather cooperates!
REGION 7
DMAP
After having application numbers double each of the first three years of the program, the pace slowed in 2002. Applications only increased about 25% from 212 in 2001 to about 260. While a few are still being reviewed, it looks like about 255 permits will be issued with about 2600 tags.
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDY
The CWD Surveillance program demanded a great deal of time in August and September. While we had hoped road kills would provide the needed samples, they were very slow in coming. As a result, we had to begin collecting animals ourselves from nuisance sites and other cooperating landowner's lands. Thanks to the efforts of many staff, including volunteers from the Bureau of Fisheries and Habitat, needed samples were obtained from each county.
KING FERRY QDM PROJECT
The second year of deer population monitoring has begun, with camera and spotlight survey work underway. A preseason meeting for hunters and landowners is planned for early October and the first survey of participants, by Cornell's Human Dimension Research Unit, will also be conducted in early October. This will be an important year for the project, which could test participants willingness to stay with the program. If hunters did as well passing up younger bucks as we believe they did last year, we're optimistic hunters will see more older bucks this year and this will reinforce their confidence with the program.
2002 DEER HUNTING SEASON
It should be a great season coming up, and if nature chips in with some colder weather and snow we're likely to have some harvest records fall. Hopefully this will translate into some management gains. The many changes this year, such as DECALS, DMP issuance at the point of sale and DMP consignment, should be positive from a hunters perspective and hopefully will provide a boost to management efforts where needed.
REGION 9
DMAP
The total number of DMAP applications that will be approved for the region will be approximately 335 permits. This will be approximately 10 percent more permits than last year. All permits should be processed and mailed by the end of the first week in October. One point of interest that was noted while reviewing the applications were the number of landowners that indicated that their deer damage was worse this year. Whether the damage was worse because of more deer or because of dry conditions focusing deer to feed on agricultural crops is unknown.
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDY
Obtaining deer for CWD samples for testing deer in the region has taken a great deal of time for wildlife staff. With one more deer from Niagara County, we will have reached our minimum sample for each of the six counties in the region (99 deer). A total of 120 deer were sampled at the time this was written. The number of samples collected from road kills was less than expected. Reports of road kills were low in numbers and in many cases, the deer turned out to be fawns, and no sample was taken in accordance with the protocol.
2002 DEER HUNTING SEASON
As we get closer to our deer hunting seasons, the number of calls from our hunters is increasing. The main questions are in regards to:
- Information on CWD. There are lots of rumors floating around town regarding positive cases of CWD and questions about whether it is safe to eat venison.
- Hunters looking for information regarding landowners needing additional hunters to harvest antlerless deer. There is a need to improve our communications between hunters and landowners regarding this matter. A list of landowners needing hunters will be mailed out in a couple of weeks.
CENTRAL OFFICE REPORTS
DEER
DECALS
The DEC Automated License System (DECALS) became available statewide on August 26th. A variety of technical difficulties arose during the early period of use. The volume of transactions during peak periods overloaded the system and was a widespread issue. Although not unexpected, some of the solutions took longer than anticipated to correct.
Initial problems centered on the system either not properly selecting Deer Management Permits (DMPs), not properly printing DMPs or both. Approximately 5,000 corrections were completed by the Wildlife Services Unit and the correct DMPs were mailed to hunters.
By late September, the DECALS system was operating considerably better. Record numbers of licenses had been sold, with the new Supersportsman license proving to be extremely popular.
While DECALS has initially proven to be awkward and sometimes troublesome, most have been able to look to the future and realize that when all things are considered, it will indeed offer many long needed improvements and other features which will benefit NY sportsmen and women.
CWD SURVEILLANCE STUDIES AND REGULATIONS
With the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Wisconsin this past spring, Fish and Wildlife agencies throughout the eastern United States have assumed a heightened awareness regarding the potential for a similar occurrence within their jurisdictions. CWD is a neurological disease of deer and elk that is contagious and always fatal to the infected animal.
The mode of transmission is not fully understood, however it is believed that direct contact of saliva, urine and feces is the most common method avenue for infection. While there is no current evidence of transmission to humans, CWD has the potential to devastate a deer population, especially at the densities that occur in the eastern US.
Emergency regulations were adopted by DEC in April and renewed in July which prohibits the import of live deer and elk into NY State and prohibits the feeding deer. Final, permanent regulations will be proposed and adopted later this fall which will better describe the feeding situations such as food plots and other forestry and wildlife management practices that will be allowed.
Surveillance for CWD within NYS began in August, with training session held at the Veterinary School at Cornell University. Approximately 100 staff members from BOW, Agriculture and Markets and DEC Division of Law Enforcement attended and received l CWD familiarization and training, along with hands-on laboratory experience in dissecting the tissues needed for a CWD sample.
A statewide sampling strategy was developed by Ed Kautz which included minimal samples sizes needed by county to result in a 99% probability of detection. To date, approximately 800 samples have been collected and submitted, with 270 results received, all of which have been negative. Plans are being made for continued sample collections in the future.
FALL DEER TEAM MEETING
The fall statewide Deer Biologists Team meeting was hosted by Region 7 at Turkey Trot Acres in Tioga County. Considerable discussion regarding the DECALS and the other new changes for this year occurred. All in all, people seem to generally be pleased with the changes that are occurring, albeit the minor distractions associated with DECALS.
CWD concerns also were a priority and team members put forth considerable effort into developing a number of recommendations that would hopefully result in thorough and comprehensive regulations. Plans were also completed for fall programs including deer checking needs. I and E materials and communication efforts.
NORTHEAST DEER TECHNICAL MTG
The annual Northeast Deer Technical Committee meeting was hosted by the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and was held in Stowe, Vermont on September 15-18th. Although attendance was impacted slightly because of universal fiscal constraints, it was an excellent opportunity to share knowledge and management insights. Urban/suburban deer, CWD and Alternative Harvest Strategies were key topics of common interest.
THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Ed Kautz, Central Office attended and presented a paper at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference in Bismark, North Dakota on a method for estimating harvest rates for bucks in New York State. He had the opportunity to learned about some of the more recent developments in Wildlife Biology.
