Large deer harvest forecast for 2011
Updated: Monday, 07 Nov 2011, 1:32 PM EST
Published : Monday, 07 Nov 2011, 1:32 PM EST
Published : Monday, 07 Nov 2011, 1:32 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WANE) - Firearms season for white-tailed deer in Indiana opens Nov. 12, and a DNR wildlife expert predicts another year of near-record harvest numbers.
According to the Department of Natural Resources, hunters are coming off a third straight record harvest, having tagged 134,004 deer in 2010. DNR deer biologist Chad Stewart said conditions for the 2011 season are shaping up similarly to the 2010 season.
"I'd hate to predict a record, but we should be close to it" Stewart said. "It's almost guaranteed to be a top-three harvest."
Hunters on opening weekend of firearms season last year harvested 37,525 deer.
Steuben County led the state in overall number of deer harvested last year with 3,948. The harvest exceeded 1,000 deer in 64 counties; exceeded 2,000 deer in 17 counties; and exceeded 3,000 deer in five counties. Counties with high harvests tend to have a good mix of woods and farm ground.
"For a deer hunter, Indiana is great because it can sustain a very high population and a very healthy population," Stewart said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
History of Deer Population in Indiana-currently at least 350,000 white tail deer inhabit Indiana
• early 1900s: Essentially all deer in Indiana killed by hunting
and habitat destruction
• 1930s: Deer reintroduced to state
• 1950s: Populations re‐established and modern hunting
programs begun
• 1990s ‐ present: Historic high deer
populations
• Forest vegetation in Bloomington area
more affected by deer than other
nearby areas
-------------------------------------------
Causes of High Deer Populations
• Current deer numbers in U.S. can be 15 – 50+ / mi2
• Believed to be higher than before Europeans
• Primary causes of deer increase
– improved forage from agriculture
– elimination of natural predators
– increase in edge habitat preferred by deer
– supplemental feeding
– warm winters (recent decades warmest on record
– hunters (and regulations) often favor bucks
----------------------------------------------------------
Study of Effects of Deer on Indiana State Parks Compared
to Nearby Hunted Areas (George Parker & Christopher Webster
1996)
• Hunted (control) areas had
– more small woody plants (50‐200 cm high)
– higher % cover of herbaceous species
– lower cover of unpalatable species
– little difference in species diversity
According to the Department of Natural Resources, hunters are coming off a third straight record harvest, having tagged 134,004 deer in 2010. DNR deer biologist Chad Stewart said conditions for the 2011 season are shaping up similarly to the 2010 season.
"I'd hate to predict a record, but we should be close to it" Stewart said. "It's almost guaranteed to be a top-three harvest."
Hunters on opening weekend of firearms season last year harvested 37,525 deer.
Steuben County led the state in overall number of deer harvested last year with 3,948. The harvest exceeded 1,000 deer in 64 counties; exceeded 2,000 deer in 17 counties; and exceeded 3,000 deer in five counties. Counties with high harvests tend to have a good mix of woods and farm ground.
"For a deer hunter, Indiana is great because it can sustain a very high population and a very healthy population," Stewart said.
--------------------------------------------------------------
History of Deer Population in Indiana-currently at least 350,000 white tail deer inhabit Indiana
• early 1900s: Essentially all deer in Indiana killed by hunting
and habitat destruction
• 1930s: Deer reintroduced to state
• 1950s: Populations re‐established and modern hunting
programs begun
• 1990s ‐ present: Historic high deer
populations
• Forest vegetation in Bloomington area
more affected by deer than other
nearby areas
-------------------------------------------
Causes of High Deer Populations
• Current deer numbers in U.S. can be 15 – 50+ / mi2
• Believed to be higher than before Europeans
• Primary causes of deer increase
– improved forage from agriculture
– elimination of natural predators
– increase in edge habitat preferred by deer
– supplemental feeding
– warm winters (recent decades warmest on record
– hunters (and regulations) often favor bucks
----------------------------------------------------------
Study of Effects of Deer on Indiana State Parks Compared
to Nearby Hunted Areas (George Parker & Christopher Webster
1996)
• Hunted (control) areas had
– more small woody plants (50‐200 cm high)
– higher % cover of herbaceous species
– lower cover of unpalatable species
– little difference in species diversity
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