|
|
|
|
|
|
| Last year was a banner deer season for Hoosiers |
|
|
|
Indiana deer hunters had unprecedented success during the 2009 season, shattering the previous state record by taking more than 130,000 deer for the first time in the 59-year history of the modern era.
Reports submitted from 453 check stations across Indiana placed the 2009 total at 132,752 deer – more than 3,000, or 2 percent, above the 2008 harvest of 129,748, the previous record.
“It’s kind of predictable anymore,” said Chad Stewart, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) deer management biologist. “We’re going to have a record or near-record harvest every year unless things change.
“For a couple of years now we’ve had increased license sales. We’ve also had high unemployment. Maybe people have more time to be out; I wish I could say.”
One thing Stewart is sure of is there were no reports of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in 2009 after outbreaks the previous three years. EHD is an insect-borne virus affecting whitetail deer. It is transmitted by biting insects called midges. EHD is not transmitted to humans and is not normally found in domestic animals.
“That means going into the season, there were more deer on the ground available to hunters rather than disease getting them first,” Stewart said.
The full season report can be viewed online at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-2009_Deer_Season_Summary.pdf
The 2009 total was bolstered by a record 79,771 antlerless deer, which accounted for 60 percent of the harvest. The hunting season began in urban deer zones Sept. 15, followed by a two-day youth-only weekend (Sept. 26-27), early archery (Oct. 1-Nov. 29), firearms (Nov. 14-29), muzzleloader (Dec. 5-20) and late archery (Dec. 5-Jan. 3, 2010) segments.
Adult males (antlered bucks) made up 40 percent of the total, of which 64 percent were 2.5 years old or older. Hunters found the most success in the northeastern corner of the state, where Steuben, Kosciusko and Noble counties ranked first, second and fourth, respectively.
Steuben County hunters bagged 4,102 deer to mark the fifth straight year the county has led the state. It also was the first time any county topped the 4,000 mark in a single year. Kosciusko recorded 3,652 deer, followed by Switzerland with 3,223; Noble, 3,086; and Franklin, 3,063.
Modern-era records were set in 33 counties, and another 22 showed harvest increases from the 2008 season. Harvest totals declined in 36 counties compared to 2008.
Compiling the data is a lengthy process beginning in October when check stations are supplied envelopes for returning pink carbon copies of hunter-reported deer. Some stations submit reports on a weekly basis as requested; a few wait until the end of the season to return the information all at one time.
DNR staff members in the Bloomington field office enter the early data, but the volume increases dramatically once the firearms season begins. Additional staff from other locations are called upon to assist in entering everything from tag numbers assigned to reported deer to the sex and age of the deer, equipment used by the hunter and the county where the deer was taken.
The information is merged into one database in early to mid-February. The pink carbon copies are sorted by county and stored in Bloomington for three years. The database is then checked for accurate spelling and to ensure there are no duplicate tag entries.
“That’s when my work really begins,” Stewart said. “It takes a couple of weeks to analyze the information and prepare the final report.”
The 2009 season also gave the DNR an opportunity to continue its ongoing surveillance for signs of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer. Testing failed to detect CWD in tissue samples collected from 835 deer, and it has not been found in more than 11,000 specimens tested since 2002.
CWD is a brain-wasting disease fatal to deer. It has been reported in deer in Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia and several other states.
The DNR also began surveillance for bovine tuberculosis by collecting tissue samples from 431 hunter-harvested deer from Franklin, Harrison and Wayne counties. It is awaiting results of testing on the samples from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
Tippecanoe River SP collecting for Haiti quake victims
Tippecanoe River State Park is collecting new or gently used camping gear, particularly tents, tarps, sleeping bags and sleeping pads, to ship to Haiti to help earthquake victims. Dubbed “Operation Haiti Camping Relief,” the effort will send the materials to Haiti through a relief organization paying for the shipping and handling distribution.
Park employees are asking park patrons, companies or any interested party in Pulaski County and the surrounding area for donations to help serve as long-term shelter for earthquake victims as restoration progresses. The target date for the first shipment will be the first weeks of March.
Donated equipment should be fully functional and intact. For example, with Haiti’s rainy season approaching, a tent with a hole in the roof would not fit the definition.
While the items previously mentioned are needed most, the following items – all of which also need to be in new or gently used condition – include: cots, mess kits, flashlights or camp lights, pots and pans (of appropriate size to cook beans and rice, a staple of the recovery effort), folding chairs (in bag only), dishpans, water jugs, canteens, gallon buckets, solar stoves (no fuel stoves) and small portable charcoal grills.
The park will also accept care kits, which are sealed 1-gallon bags or buckets containing a bar of soap, washrag, hand towels, unopened toothpaste, an adult toothbrush and a nail file or clipper.
Items should be brought to the state park during regular business hours during the work week and on weekends by appointment only. Smith Motors and the Pulaski Chamber of Commerce office are also drop-off points. For more information, call property manager Kevin Snyder at 574-946-3213.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may contact Jack Spaulding by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication. |
| 3/3/2010 |
|
|
