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TRENDS IN DEER HARVEST, POPULATION, MANAGEMENT, AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION -- Kent Webb, San Jose State

TRENDS IN DEER HARVEST, POPULATION, MANAGEMENT, AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION -- Kent Webb, San Jose State. Daily internet search for deer information, categorized by topic and state. Develop data and ideas for analysis. I nternet Search Statistics for Trends: 2004 to 2014 . “Wildlife”.

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TRENDS IN DEER HARVEST, POPULATION, MANAGEMENT, AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION -- Kent Webb, San Jose State

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  1. TRENDS IN DEER HARVEST, POPULATION, MANAGEMENT, AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION -- Kent Webb, San Jose State Daily internet search for deer information, categorized by topic and state. Develop data and ideas for analysis

  2. Internet Search Statistics for Trends: 2004 to 2014 “Wildlife” “California Wildlife” “Nevada Wildlife” Deer with Fangs Recently Shot in North Carolina, Hints of Past Deer Evolution Photo: goodhunt.blogs.theledger.com

  3. Two Themes in the National Press The deer population is exploding and needs to be crushed The deer population is declining and the result is fewer deer-vehicle collisions (some think it is evolution) Up or down?

  4. Reported Issues for Declining Deer Population Maine and New England: changes that have occurred on commercially managed forestlands – new Forest Study Connecticut: First decline since early 1900’s, increased predation (Bobcat, Coywolf) Western North Carolina: Mature Forests, Cherokee Indians are restocking deer herds West Virginia: Aging forests in high mountains Georgia: Coyotes Minnesota: Severe Winters Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota: Overharvest, drought, EHD Colorado: Food supply, predation, energy development North Dakota: Drought, EHD (severe decline) Montana: Loss of habitat, sever winter, predation Oregon: Reduction in logging related to timber sales Nevada: Decline of sheep domestic sheep herds that acted as a buffer between predators and Mule Deer - Mike Laughlin, retired federal wildlife biologist. West Virginia Harvest 1945 - 2012

  5. Management Trend: Balanced Herd Demographics (It’s wildlife management now in California) Texans concluded in 40’s and 50’s they couldn’t effectively manage deer like cattle Spread through South. Gary Alt in Pennsylvania Data from Quality Deer Management Implementation: “Earn a Buck”, Antler Restrictions, Increased Doe Tags, Quality Deer Management Which State Has a Herd that Looks Most Like a Wild Herd? Texas, mostly private land Michigan, mostly public land c. California, mostly public land Answer: Texas. Michigan about 60% yearlings in 2011 In 2012, California buck harvest was 50% 2 points or less. Would be protected by Antler Point Restrictions. In U.S. 2/3 of bucks killed were 2.5 years or older

  6. Trends in Citizen Participation Wisconsin: Starting in 2015 a seven member county committee will work With a DNR forester and biologist to make recommendations to increase or decrease the herd. Also, Operation Deer Watch invites all citizens to report bucks, does, and fawns seen, report on internet. California: Michael Kobseff, Sikiyou County Board of Supervisors, made the following public comments to the California Game Commission's March 6, 2013 meeting, “Siskiyou county has identified declining deer populations. My grandchildren can’t hunt deer because there’s not enough of them here any more. When we as the county supervisors took this before the department we had citizens who were biologists that asked to be able to go out and count the number of deer in the winter areas. Your department declined that as not valid data, that the data had to come from the department before you would consider it.”

  7. Data mining procedure • Look for trends and contradictions • Example • Peak California deer population above 1.1 million • Sept. 27, 2013, deer program leader quoted • Peak California deer population was about 2 million • Sept. 21, 2013, outdoor writer sources CDFW • Issues of low buck to doe ratio, number of • mature bucks, timing of harvest before the rut

  8. Trends in California Deer Numbers in Relation to Habitat Quality Graphic from California Department of Fish and Wildlife Website January, 2014 Public Domain

  9. Overlay of Population Data Based on Estimates From Individual Years of about 1960 from News Reports and 2012 from California Department of Fish and Wildlife Minimum Estimate from CDFW in press

  10. California Deer Harvest (Dashed Line) Overlaid Against CDFW Population Estimate (Solid Line)

  11. Why Doesn’t the Hunter Kill Track • With the Population Estimate? • California Fish and Wildlife explains • because the reporting rate has changed • Literature search reveals a 1947 study by • two famous wildlife biologists: Aldo Leopold • and William Longhurst • They estimate the deer kill is 0.422 of the • Total population

  12. California Estimated Deer Population And Reported Harvest, 1990 to 2012

  13. Compare to 1947 kill ratio of 0.442, within current range

  14. Alternative Historic Deer Population Estimates Given Different Kill to Population Ratios and Sex of Deer

  15. Two million Deer Hunting Suspended To Preserve Herd, 1917 CDFW Estimate on Website

  16. In the process of putting all California Harvest Data Provided by CDFW into Electronic Data Format to Test Factors Affecting Decline • Some Known Issues: • Maturing Forest • Fire Suppression • Decline of Logging • Fragmentation of Habitat • Predation • Disease, lice • Vehicle collisions

  17. Factors Affecting Deer Decline • Issues of Demographics • Low buck to doe ratio • California longer than many states • - Few mature bucks • Hunting season before rut • Just released study • The tragedy of the commons: unsustainable population structure of Iberian red deer in hunting estates • J Torres-Porras, J Carranza, J Pérez-González… - European Journal of Wildlife …, 2014 • Hunting can influence population structure with consequences in ecological and evolutionary processes. Populations of Iberian red deer (Cervuselaphushispanicus) in Spain occur under two different management regimes:.. There is published evidence for undesirable effects of biased population sex ratio and age structure in these red deer populations. Our results indicate that this type of management may be unsustainable and recommend that harvest on males in open estates should be reduced and that on females increased, in order to maintain a more balanced population structure that may allow sustainable population dynamics and the operation of natural evolutionary processes.

  18. CDFW Website and Information • Recent population estimates showing the significant decline since 1990 are not presented to the public on the website. • The population estimates since about 2008 diverge from the underlying harvest data which suggest a continuing population decline. • The long-term graphic presented to the public • significantly understates the severity of the deer • population decline. • - Public input not sought

  19. California Deer Winter, 2014, The Official • Publication of the California Deer Association • ... “Where are the deer?”  There were • no signs of predators … There has been • no development  … The feed was plentiful • and in good condition.  The only thing that • was lacking was deer sign... California Black-tail

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