pennsylvania deer population by county

We couldnt have any of that without a well-managed deer herd and cooperation on the part of our hunters.. 2014. Anyone who hunted deer before antler restrictions can see the results. None have increased by more than 6%, with Cumberland County topping the list at 5.09%, closely followed by Centre County at 5.06%. Also, fawn-to-doe ratios in the harvest are stable. About 550,000 deer hunters. DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D:Sept. 17-Nov. 12; Sunday, Nov. 13; Nov. 14-19, Sunday, Nov. 20; Nov. 21-25and Dec. 26-Jan. 28, 2023. , more than 118,000 wild, free-ranging whitetails and more than 1,700 elk were tested for CWD witt about 1,000 positive deer and no elk. (NU4_|c,9u@i(\"?#U`6$WOY@"br"B$'F21I Unlike in 2019-20, when antlerless harvests decreased in almost half of the states WMUS, in 2020-21, antlerless harvests either increased or were similar to the previous year in all but one WMU WMU 3B. The restrictions on hunting antlerless deer and extensive logging during the late 1800s and early 1900s supported an increase in the deer population from about 1,000 deer in 1905 to about 1 million in 1928 [, The first hunting licenses were established in 1913. A, EHD outbreak reduced populations in some areas, but the mild temperatures from the winter 2016-17 and a good 2016 acorn crop have generally increased the deer population in, . But fawns are hard to find, they are camouflaged, almost scentless, and spend most of the day motionless in dense vegetation. This time the population grew to 212 deer in only 6 years. 2013-14: 3,200 total deer harvest; 1,500 antlered deer harvest. For a detailed analysis of our state's deer herd from 1900-1950, see Roger Latham's 1950 Pennsylvania Game News article, "Pennsylvania . Doe age also has been found to have an impact on fawn survival, older does had higher fawn survival rates. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. An estimated 18,000 bears in 2013 and, , some experts believe there may be hundreds of thousands in. We see that in the entries coming into our Big Game Records Program, in the photos smiling hunters share, and in the deer we see when our staff visits deer processors to collect harvest data. Oneida County, listed in the Adirondack Region, had a deer season in 1927, when 91 bucks were taken. In the 2007-2008 season, 15% filled a tag. County Deer Advisory Councils. Deer populations were kept in check by large predators, such as mountain lions and wolves, and by people. Size of wildlife management unit: 998.9 square miles. Lebanon to launch sharpshooting program for third year, February 8, 2019 Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 5, 2019 Pennsylvania, Altoona Mirror, Coyotes are among the problems for Pennsylvania deer, February 1, 2019 Pennsylvania, WJAC Johnstown, looking to cut the population in southern Blair and northern Bedford counties. The Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP), established by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, allows DCNR to promote forest regeneration by targeting the most vulnerable and severely impacted tracts for additional antlerless deer harvests. If a desire for more up-to-date or area-specific data on predation or other mortality factors exists, we can collect the data. In Pennsylvania, a deer that survives the hunting season has a 90% chance of surviving to the next year, so fawn survival is an important driver of deer population dynamics. Flintlock muzzleloader deer season is Dec. 26-Jan. 16. To determine deer population sizes and harvest recommendations by management unit. Recruitment is the number of fawns that mature into adult deer. 2021-22 Deer Harvest Estimates (PDF) One source is deer impact data. Todd M. Kautz, Jerrod L Belant, Dean E. Beyer Jr., Bronson K. Strickland, Tyler R Petroelje, Rahel Sollmann. Only 2 percent of WMU 2D is public land. Populations are generally stable to increasing in, A 7.5 percent increase in antlerless deer tags in 2017, 14 of 23 units were increased, significantly less that recommended by staff. However, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which reported that statistic on Thursday, that decline should not be cause for concern. From 2012 to, , a total of 22 free-ranging deer tested CWD-positive deer. Pennsylvania hunters killed an estimated 435,180 deer during the 2020-21 hunting seasons, the state game commission announced Friday. Predation is a natural form of mortality for white-tailed deer. DEER, REGULAR FIREARMS (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide:Nov. 26; Sunday, Nov. 27; and Nov. 28-Dec. 10. Improved habitat conditions not only allow fawns to better escape predation it also reduce stress on does, increasing fawn birthweights and allowing them to produce more nutritious milk. Predation is more complex than the simple killing of animals. WMU 2H: archery, 970 (690) antlered, 380 (230) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (10) antlered, 220 (170) antlerless. It wasn't until 1954 that the county buck total surpassed 300, which might say something . Game biologists had begun to notice that the animals taken by hunters were becoming stunted. Check the Pennsylvania Game Commission website for specific deer season dates. That our hunters are able to replicate that level of harvest speaks to just how sustainable our deer population is here in Pennsylvania.. Proudly founded in 1681 as a place of tolerance and freedom. In 1986, there were 1,000,000 deer hunters in Pennsylvania. With more deer testing positive in. Since 2002, percent of fawns in WMU harvests has not changed and averages about 41 percent which is similar to statewide levels in the early 1980s (i.e., 1981-1983: 42-43 percent). Limiting the use of motor vehicle and high-impact recreation in spring when fawns are especially vulnerable will help their survival. In the 2020-21 deer seasons, the Game Commission set the antlerless allocations at levels to reduce the deer population in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been documented, as part of its ongoing effort to limit the spread of the disease, and the antlerless harvest increased in these WMUs as intended. Increasing from about 1,000 deer in 1905 to about 1,000,000 in 1928 (Leopold et al. Deer populations in Pennsylvania do not show predation-caused effects. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. The full report on Pennsylvania's 2021-22 deer harvest estimates is available on the white-tailed deer page at www.pgc.pa.gov. Given available resources and our efforts to most effectively use available data, we focus on WMU-level 'pre-hunt' population trends and deer harvests when setting antlerless allocations - not on individual non-hunting mortality factors. In Pennsylvania, the deathrate of adult white-tailed deer tends to be stable and mainly driven by hunting. Field studies from across the United States, including Pennsylvania, show that predators - notably coyotes, bears, and bobcats - prey on white-tailed deer. Black Bear Age Harvest Data. Many deer hunters believe that coyotes keep down the white-tailed deer population." One antlered deer per hunting license year, or one antlerless deer and an additional antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. Up from 1.4 million in 2015, and about 1.3 million in 2014. By mid-, positives in free ranging deer with 204 additional free-ranging deer testing positive from the, season bring the total since 2012 to 453. Despite what some say, there are deer in the Big Woods. The 2019-20 archery harvest was 145,908 (74,190 bucks and 71,718 antlerless deer). In some places, coyotes keep white-tailed deer recruitment rate low, but in Pennsylvania they do not. UTC-4 : FIPS code: 42-003-82800: West Deer Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Deer populations in all WMUs have stable population trends. Pennsylvania has generous opportunities permitting deer hunting in certain parts of the state that continue through Jan. 28 with a few days being closed. (Enter your answer in the form neet. Unknown WMU: 80 (340) antlered, 200 (496) antlerless. The Europeans who settled in Pennsylvania also valued deer. Here's how Pennsylvania counties rank as the source of trophy antlers for hunters using firearms in pursuit of deer: Bradford County Total bucks harvested with firearms in the record book: 98. To accomplish this would require WMU-specific data on losses to roadkills (2nd most common mortality cause), natural mortality (3rd most common mortality cause), illegal activity (5th most common mortality cause), and predation (6th most common mortality cause). To reduce deer populations to sustainable levels, the Pennsylvania Game Commission relies heavily on hunters to dedicate time in the fall to go out and fill the tags the Among antlerless deer harvested, 69% were adult females, 16% button bucks and 15% doe fawns. Consider that in Pennsylvania the average age of deer hunters increased from 40 years old in 1991 to 51 years old in 2016, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. 0000002823 00000 n About 64 percent of the bucks taken by hunters were at least 2 years old. DEER, ANTLERLESS SPECIAL FIREARMS (Statewide):Oct. 20-22. The. after only 13 cases of CWD in captive deer, 27 deer tested positive in a deer farm in Bedford county - the herd of 215 were euthanized. Only Junior and Senior License Holders, 6 Commission Disabled Person Permit Holders (to use a vehicle as a blind), and Residents serving on active duty in the United States Armed Forces or U.S. Coast Guard. Predation is more complex than the simple killing of animals. *All documents in the table are PDF or JPG, 2016-17 Deer Harvest Estimates (PDF)2015-16 Deer Harvest Estimates (PDF)Big GameHarvest Data back to 1915Estimated Number of Hunters by SpeciesEstimated Harvest by SpeciesEstimated Harvest per 100 Hunter-days, by SpeciesEstimated Hunter-days by SpeciesEstimated Harvest of FurbearersEstimated Number of Hunters and Trappers of FurbearersBlack Bear Age Harvest Data* Instructions for viewing Elk Harvest data. Tess M. Gingery, Duane R. Diefenbach, Bret D. Wallingford, Christopher S. Rosenberry. Between October and December of last year, researchers swabbed the noses of 93 dead deer from across Pennsylvania. 2023 yorkdispatch.com, All rights reserved. Based on available data, including field studies from Pennsylvania, no evidence supports reducing antlerless allocations to compensate for predation on deer. Estimated Number of Hunters by Species. WMU 5D: archery, 1,790 (2,180) antlered, 4,310 (4,460) antlerless; muzzleloader, 10 (20) antlered, 190 (240) antlerless. Callers can remain anonymous and there may be a reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. Proper habitat improvement practices can increase carrying capacity. PGC Deer and Elk Section supervisor David Stainbrook said that, after the unusually large harvest in 2020-2021, the 2021-2022 season is back on track with previous years. WMU 4E: archery, 3,850 (3,420) antlered, 3,420 (2,750) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (80) antlered, 1,280 (1,250) antlerless. 2013-14 Deer Harvest Estimates(PDF) (a) What was the deer populabion in 2010 ? Since antler restrictions were enacted in Pennsylvania in 2002, yearling buck survival has increased from 15 to 52 percent, while harvest of adult bucks has increased from 20 to 50 percent. Outside of hunting seasons, deer older than 6 months have survival rates of 80 to 90 percent in Pennsylvania. 0000003424 00000 n Thus, only the largest coyotes could consistently prey on adult deer. WMU 4C: archery, 3,260 (3,550) antlered, 2,890 (2,960) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (50) antlered, 1,010 (1,240) antlerless. Because of these studies, questions about the role of predators in deer management in Pennsylvania are being asked: are predators reducing Pennsylvania's deer populations? In recent years, deer populations have declined upwards of 40 percent in the agency's Wildlife Management Area 2G, a largely forested area which includes all of Cameron County, about half of Potter . The PGC reports that 62% of antlered deer taken by hunters were 2.5 years old or older, while only 38% percent were 1.5 years old. In recent years, deer management objectives to stabilize deer populations have been successful. Assume that the population grows exponentially. WMU 1B: archery, 5,160 (3,960) antlered, 4,180 (3,230) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (40) antlered, 1,520 (1,170) antlerless. If you look just at the data from 2021, Pennsylvania's percent positivity was 44%, Illinois was 7%, Michigan's was 67% and New York's was 31%. Season-specific 2020-21 deer harvest estimates (with 2019-20 harvest estimates in parentheses) are as follows: WMU 1A: archery, 4,720 (3,240) antlered, 6,180 (4,320) antlerless; and muzzleloader, 80 (60) antlered, 2,020 (1,680) antlerless. Deer God, why would the Game Commission fine a man who tried to save a freezing buck? Whitetail Periodicals:Life and Times of the WhitetailColumns. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. Seeing the Whole Picture Estimating Deer Harvests Philadelphia County: 1,596,865 2 Allegheny County: 1,246,116 3 Montgomery County: 850,890 4 Bucks County: 643,872 5 Delaware County: 573,883 . About 750,000 deer hunters were estimated, 16 per square mile of hunting land, but this number was later, population estimate from the state of 1.54 million with a deer population density of 39 deer per square mile of forested area. If the population trend objective was to maintain a stable population and we observed a decline, we would recommend a reduction in the antlerless allocation to return the deer population to objective. About 730 cases by. What killed an animal is significant to the individual, but on a population level, the individual's death and cause of death is relatively unimportant. The statewide late archery season is Dec. 26-Jan. 16. Hunting license sales peaked in 1982 at 1.3 million, 952,989 sold in 2013. The Pa. Game Commission is notifying hunters about two viruses affecting deer populations, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease and Bluetongue Virus. Man who took deer home to try and save it is facing a citation from the PA Game Commission, Game Commission seeking volunteers for habitat work, Let the Pa. Game Commission and the Fish and Boat Commission set license fees, January 8, 2019 Pennsylvania, York Daily Record/Sunday News, January 7, 2019 Pennsylvania, Watertown Daily Times, Game Commission investigating mysterious deer deaths, Deer News and Information Archive by Topic, About 1.5 million deer in 2017 using information from the, estimates in the press of 1.5 million. 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