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Why the Big Increase?

Why the Big Increase?

By Bob Humphrey

What’s up with increasing doe tags when the herd needs to recover?

QUESTION: Where I live in Maine, the deer herd has been in rough shape for many years, mostly because of hard winters and coyotes. Last winter, we had a mild winter and now our state is proposing to increase the number of doe permits by quite a bit. My question is, why would they do that when we still don’t have nearly as many deer as we did 10 or 15 years ago? — George S.

ANSWER: There are several possibilities for why the state might increase the number of any-deer permits (ADPs), even though the herd still needs to grow. One is to control that growth. Biologists might want to increase the herd slowly and incrementally. Otherwise, if the herd grows too quickly and there is a bad winter, losses could be devastating.

Another reason is to maximize recreational opportunity. Hunter satisfaction is often based on the ability to take a deer, which is increased for ADP holders.

A third, more likely scenario is that the state is managing deer in your area based on the cultural carrying capacity (what humans will tolerate) rather than the biological carrying capacity (what the land and habitat can sustain). In central and southern Maine, the habitat could easily support twice as many deer as the state’s objective population level for those areas with no harm to the habitat. This is driven more by concerns over Lyme disease, crop and ornamental landscape damage and car-deer collisions. Although you’ll have far fewer deer, there is some consolation. With virtually unlimited food resources, the deer should be very healthy.

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