Opportunities to hunt deer are not over. There‘s the late season in wildlife management unit 2B and the flintlock and late archery seasons.
But the majority of the harvest has already been recorded.
You wouldn‘t know, though, to judge by what hunters say. Today, as has been the case for decades, hunters are required by law to report killing a deer to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Fewer than four in 10 do, however.
“Thirty-seven percent of antlered deer and 33 percent of antlerless deer were reported in 2011,” said Chris Rosenberry, the commission‘s lead deer biologist. “Generally, there has been a steady downward trend (in reporting) since 1982. Reporting rates have dropped 20 percent in the last 30 years.”
That makes Pennsylvania the worst of a bad lot. ........
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation requires hunters to report killing a deer within seven days of taking it, said spokeswoman Lori Severino. Yet, “in general, the reporting rate is between 40 and 45 percent,” she said.
In West Virginia, it‘s about 60 to 65 percent and dropping, Johansen said.
In Maryland, it‘s about 85 percent, said Brian Eyler, deer project leader for that state‘s Department of Natural Resources.
Requiring hunters to physically take a deer to a check station to report a deer — rather than report the kill by phone, mail or internet, the options here in Pennsylvania — doesn‘t seem to make any difference.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife used to require hunters to physically check in a deer. Starting in 2011, it went to online and phone reporting.
Reporting rates have stayed about the same, said spokeswoman Susie Vance. ,,,,,,,
“We‘ve found that you can‘t regulate for the percentage that isn‘t playing by the rules because they never were going to anyway,” added Eyler. “You‘re never going to get 100 percent compliance.”
Check stations are much more costly, though, which is why West Virginia is in the process of moving away from them, at least in part. Johansen said the division of natural resources wants to offer hunters the option of reporting deer via the phone and internet.
“I don‘t know that we‘ll ever get away from check stations completely here, because they‘re kind of a tradition in West Virginia and some people who get a deer like to come in and show it off a little bit, I guess you‘d say,” Johansen said. “But it is our hope, in a few years, that we‘ll have electronic checks for the convenience of our hunters.”
No system is perfect, though, so states are left to figure out harvests as best they can. ......
http://triblive.com/sports/outdoors/3119002-74/deer-hunters-report#axzz2FEvHSkKP
But the majority of the harvest has already been recorded.
You wouldn‘t know, though, to judge by what hunters say. Today, as has been the case for decades, hunters are required by law to report killing a deer to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Fewer than four in 10 do, however.
“Thirty-seven percent of antlered deer and 33 percent of antlerless deer were reported in 2011,” said Chris Rosenberry, the commission‘s lead deer biologist. “Generally, there has been a steady downward trend (in reporting) since 1982. Reporting rates have dropped 20 percent in the last 30 years.”
That makes Pennsylvania the worst of a bad lot. ........
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation requires hunters to report killing a deer within seven days of taking it, said spokeswoman Lori Severino. Yet, “in general, the reporting rate is between 40 and 45 percent,” she said.
In West Virginia, it‘s about 60 to 65 percent and dropping, Johansen said.
In Maryland, it‘s about 85 percent, said Brian Eyler, deer project leader for that state‘s Department of Natural Resources.
Requiring hunters to physically take a deer to a check station to report a deer — rather than report the kill by phone, mail or internet, the options here in Pennsylvania — doesn‘t seem to make any difference.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife used to require hunters to physically check in a deer. Starting in 2011, it went to online and phone reporting.
Reporting rates have stayed about the same, said spokeswoman Susie Vance. ,,,,,,,
“We‘ve found that you can‘t regulate for the percentage that isn‘t playing by the rules because they never were going to anyway,” added Eyler. “You‘re never going to get 100 percent compliance.”
Check stations are much more costly, though, which is why West Virginia is in the process of moving away from them, at least in part. Johansen said the division of natural resources wants to offer hunters the option of reporting deer via the phone and internet.
“I don‘t know that we‘ll ever get away from check stations completely here, because they‘re kind of a tradition in West Virginia and some people who get a deer like to come in and show it off a little bit, I guess you‘d say,” Johansen said. “But it is our hope, in a few years, that we‘ll have electronic checks for the convenience of our hunters.”
No system is perfect, though, so states are left to figure out harvests as best they can. ......
http://triblive.com/sports/outdoors/3119002-74/deer-hunters-report#axzz2FEvHSkKP
