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Iowa DNR News
Conservation and Recreation
For immediate release Thursday, February 14, 2008
For more information, contact Tom Litchfield, state deer biologist, at 641-774-2958.
Despite Poor Weather, 2007 Deer Harvest Nearly Matches 2006
DES MOINES – Iowa deer hunters overcame terrible weather during the weekends of the shotgun seasons to report 146,215 deer harvested for 2007/08, of which, more than 75,000 were does. It was the third year in a row where the doe harvest led the buck harvest and the fifth year in a row where more antlerless deer were taken than antlered deer. The 2006/07 reported harvest was 150,552.
“Considering the weather during the shotgun seasons, which had a major impact to the deer harvest and especially the doe harvest, it was a good year,” said Tom Litchfield, state deer biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The three-day shotgun season extension contributed an additional 2,900 does to the reported harvest.
Hunters have been concentrating on harvesting does, especially in counties with higher than desired deer numbers. In Davis County, for example, 72 percent of the reported deer harvested were antlerless, and 57 percent of the reported deer harvest was does. In Van Buren County, 73 percent of the reported harvest were antlerless deer, and 59 percent of the reported harvest were does. In the northeast, Clayton County had a reported harvest of 68 percent antlerless deer and 56 percent does.
“Hunters did a real good job taking antlerless deer and especially does,” Litchfield said. “These portions of the state are where we still have to reduce the herd to reach our objectives.”
The harvest data along with deer vehicle collisions, aerial surveys and spotlight surveys will be used to gauge the deer herd population trend. The deer-vehicle collisions were down 5 percent from the previous year. The spotlight surveys, which provide the most consistent year to year data of all of the trend surveys, begin in late March or early April.
“I think the surveys are going to show we are in good shape and we are moving down the road to getting the herd to our population objectives,” he said.
Prior to the beginning of the 2007/08 deer seasons, there were 38 counties primarily in northwest and north central Iowa close to or at deer population objectives. An additional 41 counties in eastern and southern Iowa showed the herd was headed in the right direction. The population still needs to turn in four counties in southwest Iowa, and the counties along the Missouri River up to Woodbury County, and in about 10 counties from Marion and Jasper west to Nebraska (for a total of about 20 counties).
The cold, snowy winter that started in early December will make it difficult to get comparable aerial surveys of the herd. “When you have a good heavy snow cover, the deer are easier to see and count, plus, this winter, the weather conditions are causing deer to group up more than in more normal years,” Litchfield said. This situation could easily mask any gains made at herd reduction by simply concentrating more deer in the prime winter habitats, he said. The conditions for aerial surveys have been good in most of the state but the extended periods of snow and cold weather have caused higher proportions of the herd to be concentrated in many of the survey areas, deer that, on a normal winter, would not be in the survey areas to count, he said.
“This year, if you find good winter habitat, you will find a lot of deer,” Litchfield said. “That is why you have to look at data trends and not just one year, and you need to look at all the surveys.”
The DNR uses the population trend surveys, harvest data and herd demographics in a mathematical model which estimates the current population scenario, as well as the herd population back through time. If the harvest trends continue, nearly all of Iowa will be near herd population objectives by the end of the 2011/12 hunting season.
“Once we get there we can’t rest on our laurels,” he said. There will always be an antlerless harvest in the state, just a more regulated harvest. The reported harvest at the reduced population level is predicted to be approximately 110,000 animals with a balance of does and bucks.
Top 10 Deer Harvest by County 2007-2008
1. Clayton, 7,551
2. (tie) Van Buren, 4,473
& Allamakee
4. Jackson, 3,420
5. Fayette, 3,197
6. Davis, 3,094
7. Dubuque, 3,030
8. Linn, 2,960
9. Winneshiek, 2,873
10. Johnson, 2,864
Top 10 Deer Harvest by County 2006-2007
1. Clayton, 7,389
2. Van Buren, 4,742
3. Allamakee, 4,570
4. Jackson, 3,624
5. Dubuque, 3,222
6. Davis, 3,170
7. Fayette, 3,166
8. Winneshiek, 3,043
9. Johnson, 3,011
10. Appanoose, 3,002
Conservation and Recreation
For immediate release Thursday, February 14, 2008
For more information, contact Tom Litchfield, state deer biologist, at 641-774-2958.
Despite Poor Weather, 2007 Deer Harvest Nearly Matches 2006
DES MOINES – Iowa deer hunters overcame terrible weather during the weekends of the shotgun seasons to report 146,215 deer harvested for 2007/08, of which, more than 75,000 were does. It was the third year in a row where the doe harvest led the buck harvest and the fifth year in a row where more antlerless deer were taken than antlered deer. The 2006/07 reported harvest was 150,552.
“Considering the weather during the shotgun seasons, which had a major impact to the deer harvest and especially the doe harvest, it was a good year,” said Tom Litchfield, state deer biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The three-day shotgun season extension contributed an additional 2,900 does to the reported harvest.
Hunters have been concentrating on harvesting does, especially in counties with higher than desired deer numbers. In Davis County, for example, 72 percent of the reported deer harvested were antlerless, and 57 percent of the reported deer harvest was does. In Van Buren County, 73 percent of the reported harvest were antlerless deer, and 59 percent of the reported harvest were does. In the northeast, Clayton County had a reported harvest of 68 percent antlerless deer and 56 percent does.
“Hunters did a real good job taking antlerless deer and especially does,” Litchfield said. “These portions of the state are where we still have to reduce the herd to reach our objectives.”
The harvest data along with deer vehicle collisions, aerial surveys and spotlight surveys will be used to gauge the deer herd population trend. The deer-vehicle collisions were down 5 percent from the previous year. The spotlight surveys, which provide the most consistent year to year data of all of the trend surveys, begin in late March or early April.
“I think the surveys are going to show we are in good shape and we are moving down the road to getting the herd to our population objectives,” he said.
Prior to the beginning of the 2007/08 deer seasons, there were 38 counties primarily in northwest and north central Iowa close to or at deer population objectives. An additional 41 counties in eastern and southern Iowa showed the herd was headed in the right direction. The population still needs to turn in four counties in southwest Iowa, and the counties along the Missouri River up to Woodbury County, and in about 10 counties from Marion and Jasper west to Nebraska (for a total of about 20 counties).
The cold, snowy winter that started in early December will make it difficult to get comparable aerial surveys of the herd. “When you have a good heavy snow cover, the deer are easier to see and count, plus, this winter, the weather conditions are causing deer to group up more than in more normal years,” Litchfield said. This situation could easily mask any gains made at herd reduction by simply concentrating more deer in the prime winter habitats, he said. The conditions for aerial surveys have been good in most of the state but the extended periods of snow and cold weather have caused higher proportions of the herd to be concentrated in many of the survey areas, deer that, on a normal winter, would not be in the survey areas to count, he said.
“This year, if you find good winter habitat, you will find a lot of deer,” Litchfield said. “That is why you have to look at data trends and not just one year, and you need to look at all the surveys.”
The DNR uses the population trend surveys, harvest data and herd demographics in a mathematical model which estimates the current population scenario, as well as the herd population back through time. If the harvest trends continue, nearly all of Iowa will be near herd population objectives by the end of the 2011/12 hunting season.
“Once we get there we can’t rest on our laurels,” he said. There will always be an antlerless harvest in the state, just a more regulated harvest. The reported harvest at the reduced population level is predicted to be approximately 110,000 animals with a balance of does and bucks.
Top 10 Deer Harvest by County 2007-2008
1. Clayton, 7,551
2. (tie) Van Buren, 4,473
& Allamakee
4. Jackson, 3,420
5. Fayette, 3,197
6. Davis, 3,094
7. Dubuque, 3,030
8. Linn, 2,960
9. Winneshiek, 2,873
10. Johnson, 2,864
Top 10 Deer Harvest by County 2006-2007
1. Clayton, 7,389
2. Van Buren, 4,742
3. Allamakee, 4,570
4. Jackson, 3,624
5. Dubuque, 3,222
6. Davis, 3,170
7. Fayette, 3,166
8. Winneshiek, 3,043
9. Johnson, 3,011
10. Appanoose, 3,002