Something else to keep in mind.....
A recent letter had been sent to Mike Tonkovich (Ohio's TOP ODNR deer authority)on a few topics on the deer herd. I think you'll find some tidbits of info in his response letter of how DNR brass thinks (no matter what state they are from)......what makes them tic......and what we can do given the chance. Even though he is from Ohio DNR.....read VERY carefully what we can glean from his helpful words of wisdom these days............
"...This is also a perfect opportunity for me to reach out to you and those hunters that really are concerned about the deer numbers and ask – of those that received a survey, how many actually took the time to return them? I know that you were not one of them, but response rates have been pitiful and if hunters really knew how much this hampers our ability to manage our deer herd, they might not be so quick to criticize. Let me explain. You aptly point out that our harvest figures are spot on with last year. That could mean 1 of 2 things. We started the season with the same number of deer as last year, which means we’re really have no impact on the herd. Alternatively, it could mean that hunters had to increase their effort by 20% (or some other unknown amount) to kill the same number of deer, which means we actually started with fewer deer this year and if we harvest the same this year, we’ll have fewer next year. My guess is that we’re dealing with the second situation. But the key is GUESS, since I can barely get 20% of the nearly 40,000 surveys returned in any given year. These surveys will allow me to track effort and will take the guess work out of interpreting harvest trends. There is no denying the fact that hunters can mask population decreases by increasing their effort. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing this, until we get to a boiling point. I do not believe we are there, and I will make sure we don’t get there. Most of my colleagues in other states believe that because hunter’s expectations are now so high (not only in Ohio but most everywhere throughout the whitetail’s range) due to record harvests, that they will not push very hard; Couple this with the fact that deer recover very quickly, we would rather err on the side of shooting a few too many, rather than too few. So if you get a chance, post a note and remind hunters, that they are in a position to make a REAL difference simply by returning their survey. While I respect each and everyone’s opinion, we make decisions using data and I have to use the best that I have. If we continue to harvest the same number of deer, I am left to assume that we have the same number of deer." Mike Tonkovich
