Originally Posted by
bluebird2
If the habitat is so terrible in 2G , please explain why the adult doe have the third highest number of embryos/doe in the state.
It may take less deer to "impact" a stressed habitat, but that stressed habitat can still support 70 DPSM. But, at that DD non-hunting morality equals recruitment. That is why it is ridiculous for RSB to claim the habitat is controlling the herd in 2G at 8-9 DPSM while hunters are still harvesting 11,800 deer.
The reason 2G has such a high herd health index is because the sample nearly all comes from the soil and crop rich farm land of southern Clinton County where there are plenty of highways that results in highway killed deer. Up in the mountainous areas of unit 2G there aren’t many roads and darn few highway killed deer to sample.
Therefore, the herd health index can’t really be compared to any other WMUs or the state. Each WMU can only be compared to its self to determine trends of improvement or decline.
If you think the hunters killing a total of 3.84 deer per square mile are the controlling factor on deer populations in unit 2G then explain why hunters killing 14.17 deer per square mile in unit 2B, city streets and all, aren’t even reducing their deer populations?
Your thinking doesn’t even rise to the level of logical thought process when you refuse to acknowledge that the habitat is the real limiting factor in deer numbers.
R.S. Bodenhorn