Deer harvest numbers are increasing

YATES, STEUBEN, SCHUYLER COUNTIES— According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the projected adult male deer harvest in the area is expected to rise. In Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 8R, an area of 270 square miles that encompasses most of Yates County, and parts of Schuyler and Steuben Counties, the annual buck take has increased in each of the last six years. The 2013 deer harvest forecast (found at www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/deerforecastr8.pdf) for Region Eight indicates an increasing pace of buck harvests for 2013.
“The deer population in 8R is now our fastest growing, and it’s heading in the wrong way relative to where we need it to be,” Region Eight Deer Biologist Art Kirsch said in the forecast. “The buck take here has risen for six straight years now, and at an increasing pace. Though relatively high, recent antlerless harvests aren’t likely to have been enough to send this population down any, and hunters [may have seen] even more deer here in the woods this season.”
In 2012, the buck take in WMU 8R was 6.3 bucks harvested per square mile. Meanwhile, the buck take objective (BTO) for the area has remained at 4.2 bucks harvested per square mile. The total deer take in 8R was 17.8 deer harvested per square mile. The DEC’s desired adult female take in the 8R region was placed at 10 per square mile for 2013.
Despite the increase in harvest numbers, the forecast indicates the deer population in the region is also increasing. Kirsch adds, “clearly more antlerless harvest is needed.”
The final numbers for deer harvests across the state will not be available until all hunting seasons have closed. While the season ended for most across the state Dec. 17, 2013, Suffolk County will allow hunting between Monday, Jan. 6 and Friday, Jan. 31. The DEC will compile and release the official data once all seasons have closed.