North Dakota’s Deer Season Set

[KEN W]

North Dakota’s Deer Season Set

North Dakota’s 2010 deer season has been set with 116,775 licenses available to hunters this fall, a decrease of 27,625 from last year and the fewest since 2001.

Randy Kreil, wildlife chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said a significant reduction in deer numbers was evident statewide this past year with statewide hunter success rates dropping to 59 percent, down considerably from 70-75 percent success rates North Dakota deer hunters typically experience.

“The reduced deer numbers are a result of significant mortality from the past two difficult winters and subsequent low reproductive success,” Kreil said, “and nearly a decade of aggressive deer management by having a large number of antlerless licenses available in many units because the population was well above management goals.”

As a result, 35 of the 38 hunting units will have fewer deer licenses. The only exceptions are three units in the southwest where deer populations remain above management objectives and winter mortality was least evident.

“The mule deer population in the badlands was also hurt by the winter of 2008-09, and probably by this past winter as well, and as a result there are fewer mule deer licenses available this fall,” Kreil said.

Another noteworthy change from last year’s deer season is the use of lighted nocks on arrows is now allowed for big game archery seasons. Kreil said this is the only exception to the regulation that prohibits the use of electronic devices attached to the bow or the arrow.

The number of licenses available for 2010 includes 7,275 for mule deer, a decrease of 1,425 from last year; 2,190 for muzzleloader, down 524 from last year; and 320 restricted youth antlered mule deer, a decrease of 25 from 2009.

North Dakota’s 2010 deer gun season opens Nov. 5 at noon and continues through Nov. 21. The dates for the youth deer season are noon Sept. 17 through Sept. 26. No special herd reduction deer gun seasons are included in the 2010 proclamation.

Online applications for the regular deer gun, youth, muzzleloader, and resident gratis and nonresident landowner seasons will be available by May 5 by accessing the Game and Fish Department’s Internet HSOforum at gf.nd.gov. Also, paper applications will be at vendors throughout the state by mid May. The deadline for applying is June 2.

[marine_man]

Here is the table showing the numbers in each unit, as well as the change from last year:

marine_man

[KEN W]

There will be a lot of unhappy deer hunters this fall....no more getting unlimited doe tags.Buck tags will be tougher to get.lets hope there is a good fawn crop this spring.

[harvey lee]

Those numbers seem to be a bit off for me. In the 2G1 area we hunt, the deer herd this spring sure seems to be at what the pop was last fall. I have talked to turkey hunters I have let go out on the ranch and out neighbors up there and they all commented on how many deer they have seen this spring.

It may be down but i doubt by the decline in thew licenses that ND is offering. There has been alot of crop damage in the past few years there.

[LMITOUT]

About 27,000 fewer licenses available for 2010 deer season

Bismarck Tribune

It’s the third week of May so naturally it’s time to start thinking about deer hunting.

The deadline for submitting applications for the 2010 deer gun season is June 2 and this year hunters will have to do more homework when it comes to filling out their lottery application.

Back-to-back harsh winters have put a significant dent in the state’s deer population and that means hunters may have to employ a different strategy to draw a tag in their favorite hunting unit.

Three seasons ago may well have been “the good old days” when it comes to deer hunting in North Dakota. An all-time high of 149,400 tags were available.

The number of total licenses available cracked the 100,000 mark for the first time in 2001.

And between 2004 and 2009 the number remained above 143,000.

And the number of deer hunters in the state has followed suit in the past 20 years from about 80,000 to more than 100,000.

Randy Kreil, wildlife chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said this year there will be roughly 116,775 licenses available in the state’s 38 hunting units, the lowest number of tags since 2001.

And for the most part, it’s something hunters and wildlife officials saw coming.

“Everybody knew deer numbers took a hit the last couple years,” Kreil said.

That point was illustrated well when looking at last season’s hunter success — 59 percent — compared to the usual success rate of between 70 and 75 percent.

The decrease in the number of licenses available for the upcoming year is around 28,000, Kreil said, mostly doe tags.

The number of buck tags available will be around 4,100 fewer, he said.

While 116,000 licenses may seem like a lot, it doesn’t compare to the all-time high in 2008.

Kreil said what it does do, however, is put the number of deer licenses available closer in line with deer population management goals, something that is addressed every five years.

Another thing it will do is change the ways in which hunters decide how to fill out their lottery application.

Hunters are accustomed to not getting their buck tag on the first go-round of the lottery, knowing they would be able to get a doe tag in their favorite unit in the second or even third lottery drawing.

“This year hunters may also be faced with the potential of not getting a doe tag in their favorite unit depending on how they approach the application process,” Kreil said.

He said considering the fact that last year in the first lottery drawing, 94,000 individual applications were received during the first lottery drawing.

And, he said, about 94 percent of those applying the past couple years put in for a buck for their first choice, knowing they could get a doe tag for that unit in later rounds or even with an over the counter application.

He said there are a few units where hunters may have to think about what they put down as their first choice — and their second choice for that matter.

“There is no guarantee your second choice in that unit is going to be a doe,” Kreil said. “You may want to put that down as your first choice.”

Two of those units are 2J1 northeast of Burleigh County and 2C in the very southeast corner of the state.

Kreil said those units were two of the hardest hit areas population-wise and the licenses reflect that.

In 2C for example, Kreil said the number of doe tags dropped 3,000 but there are still 5,000 doe licenses remaining.

Only three units in the southern part of the state saw an increase in the number of tags for the upcoming year.

Kreil said this year the department set the new four-year goal for number of licenses available at 124,800.

A lot of factors figured into the high deer population over the past two decades, said assistant wildlife chief Greg Link.

Conservation Reserve Program and a string of mild winters being at the top of the list and Link said it has taken some time for things to balance out.

“We were surprised when the licenses went over 100,000 but at the same time we thought there was going to be a short spike and the numbers would start going back down.”

Kreil said those kinds of numbers called for an aggressive management strategy with extra doe tags being made available to help keep numbers in check.

But the days of hunting with a pocket full of doe licenses may have come to an end.

Kreil said deer numbers have been a hot topic during the last two rounds of advisory board meetings. He said those meetings are an integral part of the process when determining how many tags will be issued.

In 2001 when licenses topped 100,000, he said they thought they were close to where they should be with their management goal.

“What we found (from meetings) is that was too low,” he said. “People like to hunt deer in North Dakota.”

Conversely when the licenses topped 149,000, Kreil said people told them that was too many.

The 124,800 number now, Kreil said, may be close to what should be a sustainable number.

“We’re fairly close to that this year but we have to look at it unit by unit.”

But it will certainly change the way people will approach deer hunting in the foreseeable future.

Hunters will want to take a close look at the draw ratio for the unit they hunt which can be found on their application.

It outlines the number of licenses available for any given unit, the number of applications received and the number of gratis tags available.

Another source for your homework is in the February issue of North Dakota Outdoors that breaks down the lottery results.

The bottom line is deer hunting will be different. “Not everyone will get the unit and license type they want,” Kreil said.

“It’s even possible some hunters may not get a license at all.”

[harvey lee]

Sure sounds like alot of hunting will be done and not much in the shooting department.

I may have to sit and wait for a dandy with only one tag which will be for archery.

Sad to say but it looks like I will be back hunting in Minnesota.