Article On NY AR
Dirks: On antler restrictions, NY can learn from Pa.
September 15, 2009 2:00 AM
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation stubbed its toe a few months ago when it declared that expanding antler restrictions would be too polarizing an issue among hunters.
When we examined the DEC's studies on hunter attitudes, the opposite was true, with the majority of hunters in favor of antler restrictions.
Now Pennsylvania has data that amounts to a teachable moment for our DEC. Will it listen and learn?
Based on the bungling of antler restrictions here, you have to wonder. Charles Fiscella, head of the Hudson Valley Chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, sent me a copy of the report.
"After 6 years, APRs are a success," the Pennsylvania Game Commission study concluded. "They have increased buck survival and the buck age structure. They have maintained strong support from hunters. And Pennsylvania hunters are experiencing the same levels of success to which they are accustomed."
The study, completed in conjunction with a U.S. Geological Survey research group out of Penn State, hammered home the success in Pennsylvania.
The research study included the capture of more than 2,000 white-tailed deer and surveying more than 8,000 hunters throughout the state. Antler restrictions currently apply to all game units in Pennsylvania and have a three- or four-point requirement depending on the unit.
Here are some highlights of the study:
Yearling buck survival has increased from less than 20 percent to nearly 64 percent since the institution of antler restrictions in 2002. Younger bucks now have a chance to mature into the herd.
Pennsylvania hunters are as successful harvesting a buck under APRs as their predecessors were 20 years ago under the former antler restriction. The only difference is that they are able to hunt a herd that has many more older and mature bucks in it than in previous decades.
Age structure of the antlered harvest before APRs was about 80 percent yearling bucks and 20 percent adult bucks. With the increase in survival of yearling bucks under APRs, the age structure of the antlered harvest changed to about 55 percent yearling bucks and 45 percent adult bucks. This increase in adult buck harvest has occurred during a time when overall deer populations have declined.
Pennsylvania hunters supported antler restrictions since its start in 2002 and support has remained steady.
As states like Pennsylvania take the lead on antler restrictions as a tool for deer management, New York falls further behind. Unfortunately we'll probably find few takers at the top of the DEC who will be willing to learn from this.