RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

i cant speak for the rest of the state but where im at the forest can hold a lot more deer than it is right now.

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

I am familiar with some of those areas. 25 years ago, we hunted turkey in the Denton Hill area of Potter County, saw lots of deer, in wide open woods. I mean woods you could drive a car through without scraping bottom on undergrowth. 10 years ago I also gave up hunting the Algerine Swamp area of Tioga County because of a dwindling deer herd.
So nothing has changed? It will be interesting to see how the PGC interprets this info.

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

beenthere,
I'll just ignore you like I do on huntingpa. All your numbers and babble never end.

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

You can ignore me to your hearts content, but you can't ignore that I have been right about the effects of Alt's plan. AR's didn't come close to to doubling the number of 2.5+ and hunting in many areas are a lot worse than when Alt was appointed

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

That's the easiest thing to ignore.

Best thing you could do is write a book on this conspiracy. Cite all your references. You would make a boatload on it. Until you start citing all your references to support your numbers I won't bother with your posts.

Gee, isn't that the idea? To bring the deer numbers down to where the habitat can support it with out being degraded? Carrying capacity mean anything?
Actually, hunting is far better than before. Before Alt was appointed it was hardly hunting, it was going out and killing there were so many dang deer. Now people have to actually work or "hunt" for a deer.

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

Lets talk about the Areial Survey.

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

My suggestion is to totaly ignore it

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

i know the carrying capacity on most state game lands can hold A LOT more deer right now. u should take a walk sometime on SGL's, all i see is food.. but the thing is there are two ways of the habitat for deer.. you are right w/ the one way to bring the deer numbers down but the other way is to make more food for the deer to eat and keep the herd at a nice capacity instead of below it.. but in PA they dont consider farming and food plots and so on as habitat for deer..

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

Now which is it? You say there is enough food in one breath then say to make food plots for deer in another??

How do you know this? Opinion? Conjecture? What methods did you employ to base your statement?

I'm not trying to sound critical. Just want you guys to think a little about what you claim and if what you have to support your claims. I'm all ears. :)

RE: DCNR Aerial deer survey
 

Nothing from the DCNR survey approached the scarcity of deer found in a similar survey conducted on March 30 over nearly 10,000 acres of Blue Knob State Forest and surrounding areas.

Results of that survey were released Monday by the Pavia Sportsmen Association and Beaver Run Rod and Gun Club, who paid almost $10,000 to have Helicopter Applicators, Inc., (HAI) of Gettysburg do an aerial infrared study to back up members' claims about dwindling numbers of deer on the hills and valleys surrounding Pavia.

HAI technicians counted 86 deer, or 5.58 per square mile.

Pavia Sportsmen President George Corle, spokesman for the two clubs, had predicted that the survey would find eight or less deer per square mile. In a telephone interview on Monday, he said HAI promises a 70-percent detection rate, which he said means the actual number of deer could be slightly more than seven per square mile.

Since the aerial survey, Corle said, the two sportsmen's clubs also completed the first of a series of planned spotlight surveys and counted 97 deer.

"The spotlight survey came out real close to the helicopter survey," he said.

The clubs also have set up and examined eight regeneration sites to collect information on whether deer are affecting the growth of tree seedlings.

"We had zero to one with new regeneration," Corle said. "In other words, we had no browsing inside of our sites."

Corle said the Pavia and Beaver Run clubs would continue to gather information regarding the size of Blue Knob's deer herd and its effects on the surrounding forests. But, he said, with the helicopter and spotlight data in hand, the clubs are ready to move into the next phase of the project.

"We're planning on asking the game commission for help," he said. "They've proved they have the tools for managing a high deer population. We're going to ask what their tool is now for a too-low deer population. We want to know what they would do.

"We're going to ask them not to have any doe hunting on that area, to micro-manage it," he said. "We expect a 'No' on that."

Corle said the clubs also will ask DCNR to forego plans to request Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permits for Blue Knob this fall. The permits encourage hunters to kill more antlerless deer in specific areas than would normally be allowed under the regular antlerless license program.

Although the survey of Blue Knob focused on deer, it was hoped that the final results could also shed some light on the area's coyote population. But, that was not the case.

"By the afternoon, we knew we weren't going to have that coyote count," Corle said. "When they set their meter for deer, the smaller animals weren't being picked up. That eliminated the coyote count. But, that was an experimental thing anyhow."

Corle said the sportsmen are trying to develop a cooperative relationship with state agencies to address deer-management concerns.

"We're going to ask them to work with us on this," he said.