Hunting & Trapping Digest 2008-2009 - (Page A7) 6. FALSE. Since 2005, the Game Commission has been working to stabilize deer populations in most WMUs, not reduce them. However, three WMUs around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have recommended decreases. And WMU 4B has a recommended population increase. THE EXAMPLES below demonstrate how allocations are developed. In each example a recommendation has been made to harvest 10,000 antlerless deer. Length of season Desired antlerless deer harvest Tags to harvest an antlerless deer Resulting antlerless allocation 12-day season 3-day season 10,000 10,000 4 5 40,000 50,000 7. FALSE. Check stations provide the same information that report cards do but at more costs and inconvenience to hunters. Check stations count the number of deer reported by hunters – report cards do the same. Experiences in other states suggest that check stations cost more to operate and there is no guarantee that all hunters will take their deer to a check station, so harvest estimates are still necessary. Check stations are also more inconvenient to hunters. Today, hunters need only complete a report card and drop the postage-paid card in a mailbox. 8. D. NONE OF THE ABOVE. Deer biologists and wildlife statisticians have long recognized that deer population estimates are not a requirement for proper deer management. In fact, many neighboring states do not estimate deer populations at the management unit level and, therefore, do not use deer population estimates to make management recommendations. Specific deer densities no longer define management objectives. Today, the Game Commission directly measures each deer management goal. Biologists determine deer health by measuring reproduction. Foresters determine forest habitat health by measuring regeneration. And citizen advisory committees determine acceptable levels of deer-human conflicts. The information necessary for proper deer management is obtained through each measure. By using a direct measure for each goal the agency is better equipped to achieve each goal and, thus, better equipped to manage the state’s deer herd than it would be if it was to attempt to identify a single target deer density capable of satisfying all of the goals. Deer population trends, not specific deer densities, are now the agency’s focus. If deer are healthy, forest habitat is healthy, and people are satisfied with the number of deer in the area, it does not matter if there are 20 or 30 deer per square mile. What matters is that the agency has met its deer management goals. 9. FALSE. During 2005 and 2006, 16 to 18 percent of Pennsylvania deer hunters harvested a buck. The 25year average from 1982 to 2006 is 17 percent. 10.FALSE. It seems logical that more deer will be killed with a longer deer season. However, in Pennsylvania, because a hunter must possess an antlerless license to harvest an antlerless deer, it is the number of antlerless licenses allocated and hunter success, not the season length that achieves a desired harvest. To determine the antlerless allocation, both the desired antlerless harvest and the number of tags it takes to harvest an antlerless deer are considered. For example, if the recommended harvest is 10,000 and it takes four tags to achieve the harvest of one antlerless deer, an antlerless allocation of 40,000 will be recommend (i.e., 10,000 deer x 4 tags/deer = 40,000). Changing the length of the season may change the number of tags it takes to harvest an antlerless deer. As a result the antlerless allocation may change. For further information on the deer management program, visit www.pgc.state.pa.us. http://www.pgc.state.pa.us
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