Changes to deer hunt necessary to control herd

Maine hunters, and citizens in general, should benefit from a couple rule changes this year designed to increase both hunting opportunities and the Pine Tree State's deer harvest. These changes illustrate, and in some cases exacerbate, the challenges of effectively managing wildlife populations. The first is yet another increase in antlerless deer permits (ADPs). Last year saw a record harvest on the strength of increased ADPs and a burgeoning deer population, and this year should produce similar results. A limited number of ADPs will be available for some wildlife management districts (WMDs). In WMDs 21-25 and 29, permits are effectively unlimited and guaranteed to be available throughout the deer hunting seasons, though individual hunters are limited to four each. The second is a significant expansion of the geographic area included in the expanded archery season. According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW), this season is limited to '… areas where doe harvest tends to be below desired levels and where hunting as a management tool is limited by land access, challenging geography such as islands and peninsulas, and high levels of development.' Within this area and season, bowhunters may purchase one either-sex permit and unlimited ADPs. The ostensible reason for both changes is clear: the herd is growing beyond management objectives. However, those objectives can be somewhat subjective. Population goals are typically based on biological carrying capacity — how many animals the land can support without harm to the animals or their habitat. If there are too many, both suffer. Wildlife managers hedge their bets by setting harvest objectives intended to keep the population at a lower level, usually around half of the biological carrying capacity. In some areas, harvest objectives are even higher and population objectives lower. Here, both are based on a lower level called cultural carrying capacity — what humans will tolerate. Decades of research and experimentation have shown that hunting is the most effective method to control deer populations. That means hunters have an obligation to help meet harvest objectives and maintain deer populations at desired levels. However, this can create a dilemma for some sportsmen. Advertisement As Virgil Cain said in 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,' 'You take what you need and you leave the rest …' Hunting is a challenge, but competition should be between man and beast, not between man and man, to see who slays the most beasts. IFW runs a cooperative Hunters for the Hungry Program with several other agencies, where surplus venison can be donated, but the program is woefully inadequate in terms of number of participants and geographic area covered. While the permit systems are effective and based on sound management principles, they're not perfect. Individual WMDs encompass large and diverse areas within which deer densities vary, sometimes considerably. Harvest objectives are based on the highest densities. However, most firearms hunters leave areas more densely populated by both humans and deer, and head for the fringes where deer populations are lower. These areas cannot withstand the level of hunting pressure they're currently experiencing, and in some cases populations are below objectives. Somewhat the opposite is true in expanded archery zones. There, hunters are crowded into relatively confined areas and further constrained by lack of access. There is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to bowhunter numbers and once they reach a certain level, success rates decline. The white-tailed deer's resilience and adaptability certainly factor in, but the primary reason for prolific populations is posted property. Ironically, it is the very same non-hunting public requesting lower deer populations and higher harvest levels that prevent the means to those ends. If you're tired of the deer eating you're azaleas and hostas, making your morning and evening commute a perilous proposition or promoting the proliferation of tick-borne illnesses, consider letting hunters onto your property. Otherwise, things will only get worse. Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal. He can be reached at: [email protected]