Deer kill down 5%statewide -more in North Country
By DENNIS APRILL,
Outdoors ColumnistThe statewide New York deer take for fall 2001 is down 5 percent; however, the downturn in northeastern New York is considerably higher than that, with Washington County being the only exception. Even so, the statewide figure of 280, 000 deer harvested is still above the 240, 000 five-year average.
In Clinton County, for example, there were 735 deer reported in 2001 as compared to 1,094 in 2000, a 33-percent drop. Wildlife Management Unit 5A, which straddles Lake Champlain and the Canadian border into Franklin County, had 882 deer reported in 2001 compared to 1, 233 the previous year.
The reasons for the lower number of deer killed last fall are many. March 2001 was a tough month, and undoubtedly, there were some deer lost, especially in the Central Adirondacks.
In addition, last fall was unseasonably mild and almost snowless, discouraging hunters who look to the snow cover for tracking and the colder temperatures to keep their venison from spoiling. I also believe there were fewer hunters out in the woods last fall.
Ed Reed, DEC senior wildlife biologist in Ray Brook, figures the overall take doesn’t mean a decreasing deer population. He thinks the numbers are actually on the increase, but the weather made for difficult hunting conditions last fall.
"In some areas," Reed says, "hunters complained of seeing no deer. Then, after the season ended, they reported seeing deer everywhere." Reed continues, "As for winter kill, we usually look at the percentage of yearling bucks taken. In WMU 5A, for example, 62 percent of the bucks killed were yearlings. That showed many had survived March 2001. But, in the Central Adirondacks, only 26 percent of the take were yearlings, an indication of much higher winter mortality." Of the 280, 000 deer taken, 123, 000 were bucks, 153, 000 antlerless.
Stueben County, as is usually the case, led all counties with 20, 570 deer taken (including 7910 bucks), followed by Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties.