02-07-2006, 10:58 PM
State sees record hunters, harvests
Goal: Keep deer, elk herds healthy
BEN SHOUSE
July 2, 2006
Growing deer and elk herds led to a record number of hunters and record harvests in 2005.
The state Game, Fish and Parks Department released data on last year's hunting seasons last week, and officials said the growth in harvest reflects efforts to control problem populations.
The main East River deer season drew almost 49,000 hunters, who harvested more than 41,000 deer last year.
West River, 25,000 hunters took more than 26,000 deer.
Larry Gigliotti of GF&P in Pierre said the department issued more licenses last year, and as a result made progress on its goal of reducing populations.
Excess deer lead to more highway accidents and can become unwanted grazers on farmers' hay and other crops.
The main lingering problems are near cities and towns, where hunting is impractical or dangerous.
"Anywhere where there is a good city limits, those areas around them tend to have deer," he said.
"It's most prevalent in the Black Hills, like Rapid City and Sturgis.
"My gut feeling is that with the increase that we've had in harvest lately, we will hold the deer population."
One encouraging sign is the increase in doe harvest. East River firearms hunters, for example, more than doubled their white-tail doe harvest between 1999 and 2005. Buck harvest increased only 27 percent in that period.
Killing does is by far a more effective means of deer population control.
Mild winters are the main reason biologists give for the abundance of deer, and they also have led to large elk populations, especially in the Black Hills south of Custer.
That led officials to increase Black Hills elk licenses by nearly 50 percent to 2,670 last year. Harvest increased 27 percent, to almost 1,400 elk.
Rick Halseth, a biologist with the GF&P in Rapid City, said that has brought most populations in line, so the department has issued fewer licenses for the 2006 season.
That could help achieve another management goal: happy hunters.
Along with the increase in elk licenses since 2002, hunter success has declined from about 75 percent to about 50 percent. With fewer guns in the field, Halseth said the success rate hopefully will bounce back.
"We're running that balance right now of trying to increase hunter success and still get a harvest rate we need," he said.
.....nu OGSÅ ejer af en 243win :-)
Favourite Quote: Vi løser ikke vore problemer ved at tænke på samme måde, som da vi skabte dem.....(Albert Einstein)
Goal: Keep deer, elk herds healthy
BEN SHOUSE
July 2, 2006
Growing deer and elk herds led to a record number of hunters and record harvests in 2005.
The state Game, Fish and Parks Department released data on last year's hunting seasons last week, and officials said the growth in harvest reflects efforts to control problem populations.
The main East River deer season drew almost 49,000 hunters, who harvested more than 41,000 deer last year.
West River, 25,000 hunters took more than 26,000 deer.
Larry Gigliotti of GF&P in Pierre said the department issued more licenses last year, and as a result made progress on its goal of reducing populations.
Excess deer lead to more highway accidents and can become unwanted grazers on farmers' hay and other crops.
The main lingering problems are near cities and towns, where hunting is impractical or dangerous.
"Anywhere where there is a good city limits, those areas around them tend to have deer," he said.
"It's most prevalent in the Black Hills, like Rapid City and Sturgis.
"My gut feeling is that with the increase that we've had in harvest lately, we will hold the deer population."
One encouraging sign is the increase in doe harvest. East River firearms hunters, for example, more than doubled their white-tail doe harvest between 1999 and 2005. Buck harvest increased only 27 percent in that period.
Killing does is by far a more effective means of deer population control.
Mild winters are the main reason biologists give for the abundance of deer, and they also have led to large elk populations, especially in the Black Hills south of Custer.
That led officials to increase Black Hills elk licenses by nearly 50 percent to 2,670 last year. Harvest increased 27 percent, to almost 1,400 elk.
Rick Halseth, a biologist with the GF&P in Rapid City, said that has brought most populations in line, so the department has issued fewer licenses for the 2006 season.
That could help achieve another management goal: happy hunters.
Along with the increase in elk licenses since 2002, hunter success has declined from about 75 percent to about 50 percent. With fewer guns in the field, Halseth said the success rate hopefully will bounce back.
"We're running that balance right now of trying to increase hunter success and still get a harvest rate we need," he said.
.....nu OGSÅ ejer af en 243win :-)
Favourite Quote: Vi løser ikke vore problemer ved at tænke på samme måde, som da vi skabte dem.....(Albert Einstein)
.....ualmindelig velinformeret i forhold til min alder ... :-)
Favourite Quote: En humlebi ved ikke, at den ikke kan flyve......Gå ud på terrassen og vift med armene...hvis du letter må du være uvidende ;-)
Favourite Quote: En humlebi ved ikke, at den ikke kan flyve......Gå ud på terrassen og vift med armene...hvis du letter må du være uvidende ;-)