Hunters question state on deer herd management

A testy group of deer hunters criticized the state Tuesday night for allowing too many does to be killed and at the same time not doing enough to counter poachers.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140326/NEWS02/703269921

Print Email Scott Darling, right, and Adam Murkowski of the state Department Fish & Wildlife field questions Tuesday night from a vocal group of about 90 hunters at Riverside Middle School in Springfield. Photo: Len Emery PhotoPublished March 26, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Hunters question state on deer herd management By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — A testy group of deer hunters criticized the state Tuesday night for allowing too many does to be killed and at the same time not doing enough to counter poachers. It was standing room only at the Riverside Middle School cafeteria in Springfield for a deer herd hearing, one of three held across the state this spring. State biologists fielded numerous questions at the meeting, which also touched on the condition of the state’s moose herd. Hunter Richard Farnsworth of Chester started the critical tone of the evening, saying the state was letting too many does be killed. “Why are we still shooting doe?” he repeatedly asked the biologists. Last year, a total of 14,107 deer were killed during Vermont’s four seasons — archery, youth, rifle and black powder. It was an increase of 2.5 percent over 2012. Of that number, antlered bucks accounted for 63 percent, adult does 31 percent and anterless fawns 3 percent each, said state deer biologist Adam Murkowski. The traditional November rifle season saw a kill of 6,725 deer, with archery at 3,212, muzzleloader 2,452 and youth hunters taking 1,718. Murkowski estimated the total deer herd at 130,000. While many hunters in the group agreed with Farnsworth, others said there were plenty of deer in the southern counties where they hunt. One Springfield hunter, Thomas Soucy, who also has a tree farm, said too many deer were eating what little browse, or deer habitat, is available. Murkowski said the winter of 2014 is on track to be an average winter, despite its length and lingering bitter cold. Murkowski said the state measured the severity of the winter on the deer herd, which affects the survival rate of the state’s 140,000 deer, with two points given for every day with 18 inches of snow on the ground and every day with temperatures below zero. As of mid-March, he said, the winter of 2014 had 42.1 points, compared to the long-term average winter of 49.2 points. The winters of 2012 and 2013 ranked only 11 and 19 points, by comparison. While there was plenty of bitter cold in the early part of the winter, Murkowski said, the heavy snow really didn’t come to stay until just before Valentine’s Day. And, he told the hunters, there may be a blessing with the late snowcover for the state’s moose population, which is suffering under an onslaught of ticks. Murkowski said the ticks are about to fall off the moose, and if they fall on snow rather than bare ground, many of the ticks will die — a bonus to the moose population. Murkowski said that the state is holding off on its 2014 hunting season and doe permit recommendations to see how the winter ends up. He said data collected by state biologists during the 2013 deer season showed that the state’s herd was in good shape, healthy, and with a steady population. But Murkowski later said about half of the fawns born in Vermont die every year, and coyotes play a major role. “No one is denying predation is a real thing,” he told one hunter from Andover. Coyotes thrive on wounded animals, Murkowski said, as well as road kill and animal pits at farms. Vermont’s hunters need to make clean, “ethical” kills, he said, to counter the coyote problem. Coyotes have a high rate of mortality, Murkowski said, because many are after them. Several hunters also said poaching was a widespread problem that deserved more attention from the state and its game wardens. When one hunter suggested a state bounty on coyotes to help address the problem, Murkowski said the state would better spend its money working to eradicate invasive species, that are hunting the deer habitat. Deer won’t eat buckthorn — which many in the crowd said was destroying prime habitat — as well as multifloral rose, autumn olive, barberry, dogwood, and to a lesser extent, honeysuckle. Murkowski said ticks do well in habitat with invasive species, another reason to focus attention on eradicated the plants that are newcomers to the state. Other hearings are slated for Wednesday in Barton at Lakes Region Union High School, and Thursday at Middlebury Union High School. Both hearings run from 7 to 9 p.m. Two additional hearings will be scheduled for May.