JJAS,
I agree with much of what you posted.. Bear with me on a long post...
I've deer hunted Indiana since 1968 and have seen feast and famine. I've seen a herd that was almost non-existent to a herd where one sees deer every time they go out to hunt. IMO - We have become very spoiled in deer hunting that we were once seeing a 5 to 10 deer every sit just years ago and now if we only see one or two it is now somehow a catastrophe.
Numerous states have done a deer reduction program the last 4 or 5 years and that has shown up now. The fly in the ointment in these numerous states was the EHD hit in 2012. States try to take in account an EHD hit, but this one was bigger than usual. All states have backed off that deer reduction gas pedal, as has Indiana. That is reflected by Indiana DNR lowering of bonus permits in numerous counties. That has been much discussed here but has gotten little play elsewhere as it doesn't fit an agenda. Some were lowered enough to take those counties out of the late "special antlerless season". I've heard some people say that Indiana is the only state now in a "deer reduction mode". Not true at all. Indiana's deer reduction has always been in targeted areas. It still is, as is a lot of other states. The UDZs ("deer reduction areas”) are still in effect in our state as well as others.
Last season is Michigan was very hard as bad weather hit the UP the opening weekend of the season. No doubt that was a major impact on their downturn.
Then we look south to Kentucky. Kentucky hasn't dropped any of their antlerless permits for years. In fact in most of the state it is UNLIMITED numbers of antlerless permits. Those permits are cheap by most standards. Most farmers are given Carte Blanche to kill deer that are in their crops. No "nuisance deer permits" required. I know from hunting KY there are a lot of game outlaws down there that pay no attention to permits or season for that matter. Still KY is setting recorded deer harvest records yearly. If “bonus permit” are culprit why is Kentucky still doing so well?
So, I guess what I'm saying in my rambling s that I have complete confidence in our Indiana DNR in managing the deer herd for the best of everyone concerned. However, that is NOT just deer hunters. The DNR has to please many bosses such as farmers, the politicians that hold money over their heads, and the general public. That is tough to do since there are conflicts among these groups. As I said I've seen the DNR grow this herd and I'm quite sure they can do it again
IF it is necessary, but I don't see that happening as they are trying to strike a balance with all "bosses".
A retired DNR biologist told me that managing the deer herd s easy, managing deer hunters, not so much.
So, how does the DNR do it? Do they need an accurate count of the deer herd pre and post season? First off there is no such thing as an "accurate count" unless the DNR uses heat seeking and or infra red cameras from helicopters grid flying over every square foot of the county/state. So they do the next best thing and this has worked for decades, low herd or big herd - they have kill data every year that points to upticks and downturns in the herd county and statewide. That is somewhat reactive instead of proactive as such things as a big EHD hit can really throw things off. But, in it for the long haul it pretty well evens out over time.
Contrary to some beliefs the DNR does take the pulse of deer hunters AND farmers every couple or three years with a mail survey sent out to 18,000 folks statewide. This is a scientifically validated survey that helps them in determining if they are on the right track. I recall talking to Chad Stewart about Pike and Northern Warrick county after the BIG EHD hit in 2007. He said the survey prior to the EHD hit a huge majority of farmers in that area were unhappy and quite opposite for the deer hunters. They were thrilled. After the EHD hit it was a complete flip flop with farmers now being happy and deer hunters very unhappy. My spot in Northern Warrick county took a big hit that turned the deer hunting clock back to the mid 70s. He made no changes in the bonus permits for either county and within 2-3 years it was back to where both sides were pretty well equally happy/unhappy and so was Chad.
So what does that leave us?
1)Bonus permits - Looking at the allowed permits per county the last three years one can see that the DNR is easing off the gas pedal. Is that fast enough? I’d say that they know better than any of us as they have the data and the programs to decipher it. All we have is anecdotal evidence of what we see or don’t see while sitting in the stand or scouting and that is limited to where we actually hunt. I would rather see an easing off than a complete swing of the pendulum where it can get to a point where more deer reduction is necessary. Boom and bust is not good for any species.
2)The “special late season antlerless season” – I was pretty well against this at first but now I can see where this is a very handy too for the DNR to turn on and off the spigot on an area that immediately needs more deer or less deer taken off of it. It’s a powerful management tool that I have seen other states use.
3)DNR Biologist vacancies – Indiana is notorious for not paying their biologist good money. I’ve seen several deer biologists come and go. We have basically become a training ground for new biologists, then they move on to greener pastures. We are presently without a Chief Deer Biologist. That needs to be changed quickly. What some folks do not understand is that the “Regional Biologists” are not necessarily a deer biologist. In fact most of the current ones aren’t. It would be nice to fill these vacancies but I do not believe that will benefit the deer herd that much as these folks have the duty of being biologists for the areas and not just deer. Even though there I a biologist in a region still will not get anywhere close to an accurate number of deer in that area. Each region is a ton of area to cover.
4)Nuisance deer permits - Some call these depredation permits and have stated that over “4,500 deer are kill annually” on them. From all DNR reports on this subject I don’t recall that number ever being over 2,500 and last year it dropped to less than 1,500. Even though I do not agree, and have stated that many times in the past, about killing does in July when fawns are more than likely not fully weaned I think this is a non-starter. This program is Indiana code and the changes would have to come from the state house. The Farmers side of the Indiana Farm Bureau is a very powerful lobby. That “$500 damage” and times of killing can be changed but it would take legislative action – good luck with that
To summarize – As I have always believed. - Let the DNR professionals do the job they were hired to do.
