Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 31, 1993 TAG: 9302010005
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
GAMES DEPARTMENT HITS THE 200,000 DEER-KILL TARGET
Virginia's 1992-93 deer kill set a record, pressing above the 200,000 mark for the first time. The 200,446 count delighted Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologists who have been accused of letting the herd get out of control."We are real pleased that it went over 200,000, not because it was a record; that's the least important thing," said Bob Duncan, chief of the department's game division. "It is more important that we be able to look back and see we are making progress in controlling the deer herd."
Game officials revamped deer hunting regulations in 1991, hoping they would result in a 200,000 kill, which they said was needed for herd management. The 1991-92 kill set a record, 179,344, but was short of the target figure officials had set.
That brought criticism from the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, which said the state's rapidly growing deer herd annually was causing $20 million in crop damage.
In its list of legislative priorities for the 1993 General Assembly, the bureau said it wants the game department to establish a specific target for reducing the deer herd and to increase the allotted doe kill.
The 1992-93 kill was about 40 percent does, the highest ever, Duncan said.
"It is going to have to be higher than that at some time," he said. "That figure will have to be bumped up. The old figures aren't going to get it done."
The more liberal hunting regulations the past two seasons have resulted in about a 60,000 increase in the deer kill, Duncan said.
"That is nothing to be sneezed at," he said.
Game officials have started the process of enacting regulations for the coming season, which are expected to place even more emphasis on killing antlerless deer. Officials will seek the input of sportsmen during a series of meetings across the state beginning Monday.
The turkey kill was 11,460, an increase of 8 percent over the previous season, but well under the record of nearly 17,000 birds in 1990.
The bear kill was 482, down nearly 30 percent from the 657 record of the previous season.
Hunters didn't just kill more deer last season, they also contributed a record amount of venison to the Hunters for the Hungry program, which distributes food to the needy. More than 68,000 pounds of venison went to food banks and soup kitchens, said David Horne, the program director.
"The success of the Hunters for the Hungry program has been phenomenal," Horne said.
Next year's goal has been set at 125,000 pounds.
Like Virginia, West Virginia had its biggest deer kill ever, with a 204,201 count. That was a 15 percent increase over the previous season. More than 28,000 deer were killed by bowhunters.
In Virginia, the kill west of the Blue Ridge was 73,710. In the east, it was 126,736. Bowhunters accounted for about 17,000 deer; muzzle-loaders, about 12,000.
We can't keep on going up, and up and up," said Duncan. "We have to pull it over some time. That is what we are trying to figure out right now, where do we level it off."
It was only the second time in nine years that the bear kill failed to set a record. A surprising number of bear - 51 - were reported killed by vehicles on highways. Thirty of these accidents occurred during the Sept 5-Oct. 3 experimental chase season, the first of its kind for Virginia.
"In my own mind, I allow for the fact that the chase season may have been a contributing factor in some bears being killed on the highway. But we don't have enough concrete data to say definitively whether it did or it didn't," Duncan said.
The lack of food appeared to put bears on the move, and make their encounters with vehicles more likely, Duncan said. Road kill were extremely high in several other Southeastern states, even those that don't have a chase season, he said.
Game officials haven't compiled county-by-county bear-kill figures, but an early look shows Rockingham County as the top producer, with a kill of about 60. Page had about 50; Augusta about 40; and Madison just over 30.
Duncan said he had expected the turkey kill to be higher, but it is taking time for the population to bounce back from the big kill of 1990. Officials believe that ideal hunting conditions that season allowed hunters to cut into the breeding stock.
The public meetings scheduled for hunter-input will begin at 7 p.m. and include the following dates and locations:
Feb. 8, Jefferson Forest High School Auditorium, Forest.
Feb. 9, Marion Senior High School Auditorium, Marion.
Feb. 10, Wilson Memorial High School Auditorium, Fisherville.