New England’s 2008 deer season showed mixed results across the region. There were pockets of good news and improved results in some states, while others saw significant declines from previous years.

NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND
The news was mixed from the North Country in 2008. Vermont showed continuing signs of improvement with significantly improving harvest numbers in 2008, while Maine and New Hampshire both saw significant declines. Two tough winters in parts of the north may affect your strategy for putting venison in your freezer in 2009.

New Hampshire
New Hampshire has an estimated population of about 90,000 deer.

The winter of 2007-08 turned out to be the worst since 2002-03, and that led to a significant deer harvest decline from 2007’s record harvest of 13,559. The 2008 harvest of 10,918 deer was 19 percent less than the previous year, but still among the top 30 percent of the past 20 years of harvest data.

According to Kent Gustafson, Deer Project leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the increase for 2007 was the fourth year in a row that the kill has gone up.

“Recent mild winters have been easier for deer to survive, and widespread late-season snow this year made it easier for hunters to find and see deer,” he said.

In terms of total deer harvested, Rockingham and Grafton counties led the way with 1,990 and 1,780 deer respectively, followed by Hillsborough county with 1,564 deer. These three counties traditionally produce more deer than any others. Rockingham County produced 2.88 deer per square mile, compared with the statewide average of 1.22.

Based on harvest figures for the last five seasons, hunters would do well to focus on the wildlife management units that border Massachusetts in the south, including wildlife management units K, L, M and J2. These units include some of the most developed areas of southeastern New Hampshire, but small wood lots and farms abound.

For hunters who prefer the big woods of northern New Hampshire, WMUs D1, D2 and A are the best choices, as they have consistently produced the highest harvest totals in that region.

For more information, 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
The winter of 2008 was one of the worst for Maine’s deer population. Preliminary harvest numbers of 21,062 deer represent a 27 percent decrease in harvest from 2007 and the lowest deer harvest since the beginning of the any-deer permit system in 1986.

According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 2008’s numbers are well down from 28,884 deer in 2007, and fewer than the 29,918 deer in 2006. The total harvest in 2007 was also well below the 20-year average of 28,700 deer.

The antlerless kill in 2008 was 7,486, compared with 12,822 in 2007. The adult buck harvest was down 13,956 compared with more than 16,000 in each of the two previous years.

Youth hunters harvested 510 deer, down 52 percent from 1,065 in 2007 (the second best youth harvest day ever). October archers harvested 834 deer and expanded archers harvested 921. Last year’s archery total was 2,236. October archery was up 18 percent despite new restrictions on October archers in bucks-only wildlife management districts.

Blackpowder enthusiasts harvested 1,137 deer, a 42 percent decrease from a record-setting harvest of 1,964 deer in 2007. Modern firearms users harvested 17,652 deer, down 25 percent from 23,537 in 2007.

The top producing WMUs (in terms of deer killed per square mile) are typically 24, 22, 21 and 29. Penobscot, Somerset, Kennebec, Cumberland and York counties have consistently done well in the past several years, and should continue to produce the state’s highest totals.

Maine residents accounted for 91 percent of the total statewide deer harvest, with Piscataquis County having the highest harvest by non-residents (26 percent) of all counties. Most counties (10 out of 16) had a deer harvest by residents greater than 90 percent.