"While I do not perform deer density checks here in the southwest, I can safely say that around my hometown of New Stanton, we have ample number of deer. "
Yeah. "ample". That doesnt mean much in the way of deer management and proving it success or failure. Id hardly call that area "ample" but thats a to each his own opinion dealI guess.
"In the Dunbar area in 2A where I do a lot of turkey hunting.......lots of deer."
Oh yeah. Tons.
I too hunt the area. One can certainly find deer. To say there are "lots" would be a bit strong of a statement however.
"In Greene county near Aleppo where I have a camp, despite finding 80 deer that succumbed to EHD last fall, we still have WAY too many deer on the 600 acres we have."
Id say you have a problem and should have opened the area to the public. I hunton about a dozen properties, maybe more In Greene. I travel here daily and live there. I assure you, if that is true, and I have my doubts, then thats a rediculous extreme, and about as far from the norm as one can get.
Aside from my observations, or your extreme example,[8D]According to pgcs datathe wmu has had the ow density cut by over 50%. Id say thats very conservative. And considering the things they were supposed to look at to determine acceptable herd levels....Well...NONE of them supported reduction. The habitat wasnt poor, the human conflict low etc. The average dd is now approximately 25 dpfsm in the wmu according to pgc data.According to your observationsIf one takes into account YOUR spot and leaves it out, Im guessing that overall average would drop.
(LOL).
Most ehd areas, some of which I have friends at daily (they live there) and I have hunted the areas just for kicks, not wanting to harvest anything but a coyote or huge buck maybe if seen, but not likely. Mainly to get an idea of whats going on... WAAAAAY down. We're talking single digit ow deer density in some areas last year and being generous, low double digit densities preseason this year. I wouldnt shoot a deer on several of those properties if pgc paid me to do it.
They do like to do damage control and say things about the area like no damage done etc. We who have lived and hunted in the wmu for many years know better. Its a pr stunt and their desire is to kick the herd here while its down. Dont get me wrong, there are huntable areas very good areas. Most are a shadow of what they were. Some due to way too many tags. Some due to ehd and the worst areas, thanks to both.
Yet the pen never waivers when it comes time to add up the next years rediculous allocation.