Outdoors: New York deer harvest declines; Black River yields new catfish record
New York State’s deer harvest was considerably lower last season than in 2020, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s annual report issued last week.
Hunters took and estimated 211,269 deer during the 2021-22 big game season, down 17 percent from the previous season (253,990), and below the five-year average of 224,491.
Fewer Deer Management Permits were issued last season – 615,874, down about 48,000 (7.3 percent) – which accounts for some of the decline. The DEC also noted resurgence in Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease in some regions, which might have resulted in fewer deer in those areas.
More Outdoors: Challenging conventional wisdom on stream and in the field
There were 110,839 antlered bucks and 100,430 antlerless deer taken. The antlerless total was down 25 percent, although the DEC says that is partly a correction from 2020, when the take was up 30 percent from 2019. The buck total was down about 5,000.
Bowhunters took 48,679 deer, muzzleloaders 19,268, and youth 1,670. The regular season total was 139,734.
Hunters continued to be somewhat selective, with 61.3 percent of bucks taken aged at 2.5 or more years, nearly the same as 2020 (61.7 percent). Crossbow hunters downed 14,384 deer, up more than 3,000. The hunter reporting rate – hunters are required to report their kills, but the regulation is regularly ignored – was up three points to 47.8.
Steuben County, where we have our deer camp, again led the state by a wide margin with 13,001 deer taken, with 4.6 bucks per square mile, and 4.7 antlerless deer per square mile. Steuben is a big, rural county with a lot of huntable territory, including a decent amount of state land, and a good mix of woods and croplands. It has been a deer hunting Mecca since the 1930s, especially hunters from the Rochester and Buffalo areas, and there are quite a few clubs and family groups that hunt it hard.
The other western Southern Tier counties, much like Steuben in character to Steuben, also produced big numbers – 8,461 deer in Chautauqua County, 8,375 in Allegany County, and 7,728 in Cattaraugus.
There were 2,842 bucks taken in Oneida County, and a total of 4,865 deer all together. The Herkimer County totals were 1,712 and 2,690, Madison County 1,730 and 3,975, Otsego County 3,178 and 5,519, and Lewis County 2,324 and 3,399. The buck takes in those counties were pretty much in the same neighborhood as in 2020, while the total take generally was lower, again, at least partly because of fewer antlerless permits being issued.
During the annual Youth Big Game Hunt on Columbus Day Weekend, hunters 12 to 15 years old took 1,670 deer, and 11 black bears, with 10,692 junior hunters participating. Junior hunters were allowed one deer, antlered or antlerless. Hunters 14 and 15 could take a bear with a firearm when accompanied by a licensed adult.
Chronic Wasting Disease in deer has been an issue in New York for more than two decades. The DEC tested 2,713 deer in 2021-22, and none tested positive.
The Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease referred to above is a virus transmitted by midges. The DEC says it cannot by picked up by humans through contact with deer or bites from midges. There was an outbreak of the disease in the lower Hudson Valley last summer, and it has been confirmed in a half dozen or more counties. There were suspected cases in other counties, including Oneida. Signs include fever, small hemorrhages or bruises in the mouth and nose, and swelling of the head, neck, tongue, and lips. A deer infected with EHD may appear lame or dehydrated.
Information on EHD and instructions on how to report deer suspected of having it is available at https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/123773.html. The complete 2021 deer report is available at https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/2021deerrpt.pdf Write to John Pitarresi at 60 Pearl Street, New Hartford, N.Y. 13413 or jcpitarresi41@gmail.com or call him at 315-724-5266.
NOTEBOOK
Keesler scholarship applications available
The Janice and Paul Keesler Scholarship Fund is accepting applications.
The scholarship, which honors the late creators of the former New York Sportsman Magazine, is available to New York State residents who are or will be working toward a degree in some facet of wildlife management. The fund was awarded more than $31,500 in grants over the last 26 years. Applications are available at www.keeslerscholarshipfund.org . The deadline is September 1. Information about the scholarship can be found at www.keeslerscholarshipfund.org. Inquiries can be sent to Bridget Keesler at Keeslerbridget@gmail.com.
Black River yields new catfish record
New York State has a new channel catfish record.
Bailey Williams of Watertown caught a 35-pound, 12-ounce catfish while fishing the Black River on May 8. Williams used cut bait – cut up baitfish – to fool the fish, which broke the previous record by nine ounces.
A photo of Williams with the big cat is available on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s state record fish page at https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7935.html
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: New York state deer harvest declines
