ManySpurs

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.

bluebird2

It is truly sad that so many outdoor writers simply repeat PGC propaganda without checking the facts. The fact is that our buck harvest has decreased by 46% from 2002 to 2007 . Hunter support for ARs remains unchanged at 57% which is the same before ARs were implemented. That means few if any hunters have seen enough improvement in rack size to change their opinions about ARs.

If ARs are protecting 64% of our 1.5 buck , why is the 2.5+ buck harvest averaging much less than 50% of the buck harvest. Since 2005 the 2.5+ buck harvest has been 48% or less of the total harvest, so are we losing 16% of the 1.5 bucks saved by ARs to non-hunting mortality.

SteveBNy

The title is "Article On NY AR".

Where does it appear and what is the source?

bluebird2

Here is the link to the article.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbc...ORTS/909150320

Note the species of the deer in the pic. What does that say about the author?

ManySpurs

Thanks for posting the link BB. I forgot to include it with the article.

Steve863

Those surely ain't Whitetail deer on that picture! In my opinion the DEC made the absolute correct decision not to expand AR's to other areas. They are in the business to set hunting seasons to control the deer population, and have NO business managing the herd to produce larger racks for trophy hunters. There is no other credible reason why AR's need to be implemented. A dead deer is a dead deer, and in the scheme of population control it don't matter if the buck that gets shot is a spike or 10 pointer. These here are the honest facts, whether one wants to believe them or not is a different story.

biggamefish

"They are in the business to set hunting seasons to control the deer population, and have NO business managing the herd to produce larger racks for trophy hunters." By steve863.

I agree they can't manage very well in ny. They should stick to regulating that is all.

SteveBNy

Great post Steve!

Steve863

Those ARE the simple facts. I get a kick out of these theories on how AR's will benefit the herd with a better age structure, etc, etc. This is nothing but a bunch of self serving mumbo jumbo and not much else. Anybody who is being totally honest and objective should be able to see this. I have nothing against people who want to shoot big deer, but as I have said numerous times before the DEC has absolutely NO obligation to make it easier for hunters to be able to shoot such deer by implementing AR's. There is no biological evidence that such rules improve the lives of deer so why should they then implement them? The ONLY reason would be to make trophy hunters happy, but I got news for these trophy minded hunters. There are lots of hunters who don't put such emphasis on trophy racks, so why should their chances at an extra deer in the freezer now be curtailed by such rules? They pay the same license fees as anyone else. Even many non-hunters can understand the need for a hunting season to control deer populations or for some people to put meat in the freezer. I highly doubt these same non-hunters would have the same view of the need for a hunting season if they were now told that the DEC is managing the herd so that trophy hunters have a better chance of putting a wall hanger on their walls. What this article also fails to mention is that the DEC in it's final report on this proposed expansion of AR's also admitted that "DEC biologists see no specific management benefit associated with the antler restriction program and do not consider antler restrictions as necessary to improve herd condition". Hopefully this will be the DEC's final opinion on AR's everywhere in the state!


http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/55768.html

jimbodwb

Well put steve863. Also, if people do the research they will see that most places where there are AR's in this country, the total deer harvest declined for a long period of time. And some places it never got back to what it was before AR's. In my opinion, decreasing the amount of deer taken is the exact opposite of managing the herd. NYS needs to control the population of the herd, not let the deer get bigger. It is just as important to remove a young buck as it is to remove a mature buck.