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The impact of white-tailed deer within urban communities is a growing problem nationwide, including in several Indiana communities.
Managing the problem can become controversial.
To help local communities better understand deer and available management options, the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife has put together an online booklet the Urban Deer Technical Guide.
The Urban Deer guide was developed to support communities that struggle with urban deer conflicts, said Chad Stewart, DNRs deer management biologist. Very few topics can be as polarizing as dealing with white-tailed deer in an urban setting. How to resolve these conflicts can cause elected officials many sleepless nights.
Go to dnr.IN.gov/fishwild/7477.htm and locate the Urban Deer Technical Guide link.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
The Michigan DNR says challenging conditions and lower deer numbers in some areas have likely led to fewer deer being taken during the Michigan deer firearms season.
Firearm season deer check-station activity declined in all regions of the state compared to 2012.
Each year the DNR generates preliminary estimates of the firearm deer harvest shortly after the season closes on Nov. 30. Those estimates are replaced by a rigorous assessment of harvest and participation over all deer seasons using an annual hunter mail survey.
The 2013 firearm deer season harvest appears to have decreased in all regions this year, but particularly in the Upper Peninsula and southern Lower Peninsula. Experiences can differ widely within regions; DNR biologists estimate the harvest (compared to 2012) was down perhaps 15 to 20 percent across the Upper Peninsula, decreased only slightly in the northern Lower Peninsula, and declined perhaps 10 percent in the southern Lower Peninsula.
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By Louie Stout
Gun season opens this weekend.Let the countdown begin for this years gun season for whitetail deer.
Michianas most celebrated hunting season starts Friday in Michigan and Saturday in Indiana and runs for 15 days in each state.
So, what are the prospects for finding quality bucks?
Well, it depends upon whom you ask.
Bow hunters, who have been in the woods since Oct. 1, have been taking deer but successes have been sporadic. There have been a few quality bucks taken, but we havent heard of many that were bearing trophy-like racks.
Of course, thats normal and could change over the next few days. Crops are coming out and the leaves are falling fast, making deer a little easier to find.
More importantly, the rut (mating season) is in the early stages and will progress quickly. Once bucks start chasing does they become more vulnerable to hunter tactics and well see more mature bucks in the harvest.
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(Provided by Indiana DNR)
The Indiana DNR reminds Indiana hunters that, even though deer attractants found at retail stores can be purchased and used in the wild, hunting near them here is illegal.
They are considered bait.
Indiana regulations prohibit the hunting of deer with the use or aid of bait, which is defined as a food that is transported and placed for consumption, including, but not limited to, piles of corn and apples placed in the field; a prepared solid or liquid that is manufactured and intended for consumption by livestock or wild deer, including, but not limited to, commercial baits and food supplements; salt; or mineral supplements.
This includes artificial products marketed under names such as Deer Co-Cain, Buck Jam, Trophy Rock, as well as mineral blocks, salt blocks, and even natural foods such as corn and apples.
