The Buck Stops Where? Deer Population Soars

Hunter Bill Conners counted 200 deer in the woods in three hours. Forester Bruce Robinson has smashed his pickup into five deer since last year.

The two men live on opposite sides of New York state, but both are concerned about the booming deer populations that have officials nationwide scrambling for solutions.

“A deer in the backyard is wonderful,” said wildlife biologist William Porter with the state’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “Twenty-five deer in the backyard is a problem.”

Hunters--integral to managing deer populations--will be greatly outnumbered when they take to the woods this fall. New York is considering changes in hunting regulations to thin a herd estimated at about 1 million. Localities have tried more extreme control measures, ranging from sharpshooters to contraceptive programs.

It’s a costly problem. New York estimates there were 63,000 deer-vehicle collisions in 1999. A Pennsylvania insurer has estimated that 14 out of 1,000 vehicles in that state will be involved in a deer claim. Plant-eating deer cause millions of dollars annually in crop damage, and they have become Public Enemy No. 1 in many suburban areas.

The national deer population, now estimated at 25 million to 30 million, has been growing for decades. Not only have deer adapted to encroaching suburbia, but they have benefited from a series of mild winters, an increase in newly developed areas being declared off-limits for hunters and a decline in hunting in some parts of the country.

Hunting activity fell 18% in the Northeast from 1980-1995, according to federal figures. In New York, sales of resident hunting licenses dropped every year since 1991 before rebounding slightly last year. A common lament from hunters is that young people are more interested in video games than the outdoors.

“I’m afraid hunters are getting older,” said Charles Mowatt, who encourages hunting on his woods in Cattaraugus County. “They don’t get out of their cars that far anymore, and they’re like me, they don’t shoot so straight.”

It’s premature to draw a link between fewer hunters and more deer, Porter said. In fact, hunters in New York bagged a record 256,000 deer last year. But Porter warns there could be a clearer correlation in the future if hunting continues to decline.

Some deer-plagued suburban towns have resorted to “bait-and-shoot” programs in which sharpshooters thin out herds. But those programs often raise community opposition from people who find them unethical.

New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation issues permits allowing hunters to take additional antlerless deer. That means hunters can take more does--which is crucial to reducing deer herds.

This year, the DEC held a series of public forums throughout the state to look at new ideas. Many of the suggestions would allow more hunting: early “doe only” seasons, increased bag limits, reduced hunting age. Conners, vice president of the New York State Conservation Council, said he would like to see hunters educated on the importance of taking does, plus more youth programs.

State environmental officials are sorting through suggestions and could begin making changes next fall.

Animal rights activists are already bristling at the thought of directing more firepower at deer. The Fund for Animals has offered nonfatal alternatives, such as deer birth control.

Wildlife biologist Paul Curtis of Cornell University has experimented with deer contraceptives and says there are limitations. The deer must be captured and tagged for the first dose, so subsequent booster shots can be sent via dart. That works only in small populations, he said.

An effective oral contraceptive for deer could be five to 10 years away, but Curtis notes there would have to be safeguards to keep other animals from taking a nibble.

“I don’t see a short-term solution,” he said.

Some forecasters believe there could be a point when the deer population will become so large it just can’t sustain itself. But no one knows when.

“We’re not certain when it’s likely to max out,” Curtis said. “Deer populations are already at densities a biologist wouldn’t have dreamed of 10 years ago.”

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New York state DEC:

https://www.dec.state.ny.us