Farm Hunter, if you want a good feel on how your WMU is faring, look at the buck harvest numbers. If they're rising, your herd is growing. My neck of the woods (8Y, 8T, 8X) was steady from 97 to 02, then dropped in 03 and plummeted in 04.
You say it was 2 harsh winters...I say it was 2 harsh winters with high antlerless harvest on top.
Agreed -
DEC could not have predicted two record winters in a row - and in '02 planned the '03 doe harvest based on '01, and '02 numbers
Thus the DROPS in '03 and '04
Don't be surprised if the harvest drops again in '05 - This winter was 20% above normal snowfall for me in CNY - While not as bad as 03, and 04 - its still bad enough after 2 REALLY bad ones. It just " seemed" milder after the last 2 years.
Permits will be way down again in a bunch of areas. The undersubscribed areas are generally not the problem areas.
FH