DE Deer
 

I don't know, but this sounds like herd reduction propaganda (sp) to me.

ADVISORY COUNCIL ON WILDLIFE & FRESHWATER FISH


MINUTES


TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2005


Richardson and Robbins Building Auditorium


89 Kings Highway, Dover, Delaware, 19901


Phone 302-739-5297, FAX 302-739-6157


ADVISORY COUNCIL DIVISION OF FISH & WILDLIFE
PUBLIC
David J. Healey, Chair Pat Emory
15 Visitors
Edward A. Montague, Vice Chair (Absent) Greg Moore
J. Richard Berry Ken Reynolds
John W. Stewart Jr. Tom Whittendale
Garrett H. Arai Robert Hutchins
Ross Harris Rob Hossler
Ted Palmer (Absent) Karen Bennett
Al Townsend Dave Hoover
Karen Kennedy


Taped micro-cassettes of this meeting are available for listening at the
Richardson & Robbins Building in Dover. For further information contact
the Wildlife Section.


The meeting was called to order by Chairman David J. Healey at 7:30 PM.

Agenda Item 1. Human Dimension Survey (Mark Duda).

Greg Moore introduced Mr. Duda of Responsive Management. Mr. Duda has conducted surveys for the past 20 years, is the author of four books and has completed a large survey on deer for Delaware.

Mr. Mark Duda, Executive Director of Responsive Management, gave a power point presentation entitled, "Opinions of the General Population, Hunters & Farmers Regarding Deer Management in Delaware." Mr. Duda was contracted by the Division to complete this survey to better understand the human dimension of deer management. Due to breadth of survey, Mr. Duda could only summarize several of the most important points for tonight's meeting.

Mr. Duda indicated that the Division received high marks (B+) relative to
the management of the deer herd. The majority of those surveyed felt the deer population was too high and supported recent Division efforts to increase the harvest of does by adding extra antlerless hunting days in October. Those surveyed also endorsed quality deer management as the best management strategy to maintain the deer population at a healthy level. The survey indicated hunting was the preferred method to control deer numbers. Surprisingly, firearms were preferred over archery to manage deer in State Parks. Mr. Duda suggested the public's fear of crippling an animal was more closely associated with archery.

According to the survey, hunters felt the Division kept them informed about deer management issues and listened to their concerns. Majority of hunters indicated they hunted deer primarily for the meat. Farmers expressed an obvious desire to see the deer herd reduced to decrease crop damage. The general public was interested in seeing the deer herd managed at a socially accepted level to maintain and improve herd health, reduce accidents and protect the environment.

The response to two survey questions was particularly interesting.
Majority of individuals from all three groups were opposed to legalizing
the use of handguns for deer hunting and Sunday hunting. The survey did not provide the rationale for these responses. Mr. Duda was asked if these and other questions could be separated by County. Mr. Duda responded that they could and suggested the Division supply a list of questions for county evaluation.

Mr. Duda concluded his presentation by stating that this report could be
viewed in its entirety on his web page at:
http://www.responsivemanagement.com/. At the web page, click on New Responsive Management Research Reports then scroll to Delaware Report ? Opinions of the General Population, Hunters, and Farmers Regarding Deer Management in Delaware. Please note that this document is 323 pages and may take some time to download. Mr. Moore indicated the information used in the report will be used in the development of the Division's Deer Management Plan.

Agenda Item 2. Deer Management/Harvest Summary (Ken Reynolds).

Ken Reynolds presented the results of the 2004 deer hunting season.
A new State record was set with 14,338 deer harvested. That is up 19% from the 2001 record harvest and up 24% from 2003. The take in 2004 was higher than 2003 for all season segments including bow, muzzleloader and shotgun seasons. Four deer management zones had harvests over 1,000 animals. For several years now, the Division has been promoting the take of female deer to help control the population. The percent females in the 2004 harvest were 59%, also a new State record. Several deer management zones had harvests of over 60% females.
AGENDA FOR THE 5/31/05 ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING

1. Motorized Decoys ? Tom Whittendale.
2. Geese Peace ? Bob Leonard.
3. Dove Season Proposal ? Greg Moore.
4. Proposed 2006 Turkey Season Changes & 2005 Season Results ? Ken
Reynolds.



There being no further business, a motion was made, seconded and carried that the meeting be adjourned at 9:00 PM.


Sincerely,

Karen Kennedy
Recording Secretary

RE: DE Deer
 

wow state harvest record of 14,338 deer.. how many est. deer are in DE???? and how many hunters are there???? how much public land is there to hunt???? well PA guys lets help them w/ a new record next year and head to DE... no just kidding but, well all i can say is good luck to you guys.. there is a lot of people who love QDM so it has to work out.. :eek: but w/ the small herd and hunter numbers (just a guess) it might work great for you guys..

RE: DE Deer
 

Duck - If you haven't been to one of these "propaganda" meetings you might consider attending. They are very educational.
Even the best of "Daniel Boone Deer Hunters" will walk away with a new outlook on deer management (AR,QDM etc..etc..).
This was the 1st meeting I've missed in 3-4yrs - just couldn't make it[>:]

RE: DE Deer
 

If DNREC could answer this question with hard data, maybe I wouldnt be so concerned. I want to make it clear that I do NOT think that the division is in any way incompetant or reckless when It comes to deer herd mgmt. I do NOT think they are trying to wipe out the states deer population. But, I do feel that they are taking action based on political pressures as apposed to data found through research.

I admit I have only attended one meeting on deer mgmt and that was last year concerning the Shotgun Antlerless seasons. I did NOT mean to imply that the meeting was a propaganda session. What I meant was I felt the 'Survey' sounded like propaganda to me. Its funny how it supported everything DNREC has talked about (too many deer, its a good idea to decrease the doe population) and renforced things that DNREC really wasnt too keen on (Sunday Hunting, Handgun Season). I wonder what the breakdown was of the people who took this survey? What was % of hunters, farmers, and the 'general public'? That info may be in the 323 page report that was produced, but who has the time to dig through a document of that size?

All I'm saying is what DNREC needs to do spend the time and money to find out what the population of deer are per zone and proceed from there. No one can expect an exact number, but I would trust a ball park figure as long as they put the effort in. If they could do that and present the data in terms of how many deer the land could sustain per zone, I would trust it. They are the experts and as I said, I dont feel they have a dark, hidden agenda to wipe out the deer. Just give me some kind, any kind of proof to support the season game plan. Dont pay a consultant $$$ to tell me what people think! Spend the money to get the facts straight and we can go from there.