Photo by Mark Werner.

New England offers a wide variety of contrasting hunting opportunities, from suburban bowhunting in coastal Rhode Island to roaming the big woods during rifle season in northern Maine.

New England's deer herds appear to be in relatively good shape. Northern New England saw a significant decline in overall harvest numbers between 2002 and 2003, but there has been somewhat of a rebound in past three seasons, with all three states posting better numbers in 2006.

Southern New England deer harvests had been above 10-year averages through 2005, but all three states tailed off in 2006.

Relatively mild wintering conditions throughout most of the region, coupled with expanded hunting opportunities in parts of the region, offer the potential of a banner year for New England's deer hunters in 2007.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire's 2006 harvest results approached record levels. In fact, this state's hunters posted an 11-percent harvest increase in 2006, after 5- to 7-percent increases in each of the previous two years.

According to Kent A. Gustafson, New Hampshire's Deer Project Leader, the statewide total harvest in 2006 was 11,766 deer, up significantly (11 percent) from the 10,595 whitetails harvested in 2005.

This is the highest total since 1997. It appears that many WMUs are at or near management levels desired by the state.

When planning for 2007, you may want to look at deer-per-square-mile harvest numbers as a gauge for hunting success. Rockingham County led the pack in 2006 at 2.64, about the same as the last two years, and was well above the statewide average of 1.27 deer per square mile.

Strafford County was second at 2.31 deer killed per square mile, well up from 1.89 in 2005. Hillsborough County was a distant third at 1.62, also up from 1.47 the previous year.

In terms of totals, Rockingham County also produced the largest overall harvest at 1,922 deer, virtually equal to 2005.

Based on harvest figures for the last five seasons, hunters would do well to hunt the wildlife management units bordering Massachusetts in the south, including WMUs K, L, M and J2.

For hunters who prefer the big-woods feel of northern New Hampshire, WMU D (west of Route 3 to the Vermont border) and the northernmost WMU A are the best choices, having consistently produced the best harvest totals in that region.

Hunters planning on visiting New Hampshire are encouraged to contact the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 2 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301. Call (603) 271-3421, or log onto info@wildlife.state.nh.us.

MAINE
While the Pine Tree State will forever be associated with the legendary big-bodied bucks of its north woods, hunters are experiencing success across the state. Recent years show healthy increases in both archery and muzzleloader harvests.

Each year, gun hunters take the majority of deer in this state.

Last fall, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's Information Center, deer hunters killed 29,918 deer, or about 6 percent more than 2005's total of 28,148 deer.

Last year's total harvest was above the 20-year average of 28,700 deer.

More deer were killed in Penobscot County (3,509) last year than in any other county. Other counties where more than 2,000 deer were killed include Somerset (3,472), Kennebec (2,920), Cumberland (2,677), York (2,580) and Oxford (2,240).

Hunters in these counties have consistently done well in the past several years, and should continue to produce the state's highest totals.

Resident hunters account for 71 percent of the harvest. According to the MDIFW, estimates of success vary. Resident (including landowner) any-deer permit holders have a 26.8-percent success rate overall, versus 22 percent for non-resident hunters.

In general, buck hunters lacking an any-deer permit harvested bucks at an estimated 10- to 12-percent success rate.

Maine's statewide post-hunt deer population was estimated at 218,700, or 7.6 deer per square mile. In 2007, deer population-management efforts will continue to focus on increasing the numbers of deer in the northern and Down East regions.