I'm sure the DEC uses many ways to calculate, estimate NY's deer population. But whenever I look on their websight for harvest numbers, and predictions its all about bucks per square mile. So it seems to me the amount of bucks taken per square mile is a big part of their figures. I just re-checked 2004 harvest numbers on the DEC websight. 47 wmu's were 10% or more below the projected buck per square mile harvest. Forty Seven!!! This I believe was the DEC's main reason for backing off on the permits handed out, and closing some wmu's to permits all together. So we can go on and on about what the population should be at, and what the DEC has been trying to do. But their own numbers show that 47 of 75 wmu'swere below their own objective population levels going into 2005 season. It'll be interesting to see this yrs harvest numbers.
The 1 thing I do not agree upon, and for the life of me don't understand hunters that do this crap. Is to falsely report taking or not taking of game. Especially when ones have no clue on how the DEC does the calculations. This is the only system wehave to rely on, like it or not.Your not helping this state by playing games with your tags, and trying to take this upon yourself to configure. Its one thing if you select not to shoot a doe, small buck, fawn, whatever. But its another when you falsely report. It pisses me right off. [:@]
I have a question for some of the more knowledgable on the DEC. Can anyone tell me how they came about the boundary lines for WMU's. Like why is 7M so big compared to the rest of Southern N.Y. wmu's, in fact its the biggest in Southern NY. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to split the sucker in half, and try to manage the population. 7M is obviously screwd up! I recall when part of it was area 75, and it wasn't this big.