Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 13, 1993 TAG: 9310150344
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``There's only three deer kill tags on my hunting licenses this year,'' he said. ``Last year there was a total of six tags on my big game, bow and muzzle- loading licenses. You mean I can only kill half the number of deer this year as last?''
The state game biologist on the other end of the line was ready.
``How many deer did you kill last year?'' he asked.
``I didn't kill any, but I plan to kill a whole lot this year,'' the angry hunter said.
No question, hunting licenses have been changed radically for the coming deer seasons, and that has some hunters upset, others confused.
There are no deer kill tags on the bow and muzzle-loading licenses, and only three on the big game license. What's more, this year you have to purchase a big game license to go along with your bow and muzzle-loading licenses. You didn't have to do that the past couple of years.
Some hunters are calling the new system a ``back door'' license increase. Others see it as a 50 percent reduction in the number of deer they can kill. Last year the bow license contained two tags, the muzzle-loading license one and the big game license three. Hunters wonder about the reduction by an agency that has been saying the deer herd is at an all-time high.
The changes are an effort to accomplish four objectives, said Matt Knox, the deer program supervisor for the game department:
Simplify the deer tagging system.
Balance deer harvest opportunities between archers, muzzle-loaders and firearms hunters.
Enforce a three-per-season limit on public land, such as the national forests, where some hunters believe herds are being over hunted.
Provide additional deer hunting opportunities on private land, where an expanding herd is eating into the profits of farmers.
When Knox became the state deer manager just over a year ago, one of the first matters he began to address was the deer-tag system, which he found highly confusing. He and other game officials were staying busy fielding questions from hunters about what tag could be used, and when and where it could be used.
``It would take me 10 minutes to describe it to a genius, and I think I understood it better than anybody in the department,'' he said.
``For example, archers had two, five or seven deer tags depending on which licenses they purchased and the county in which they hunted; therefore, their bag limit was two per day and two per season or two per day five per season or two per day seven per season.''
The new system hasn't eliminated questions. They've simply changed from ``What tag do I use?'' to ``You mean I only get a total of three tags?''
``On the surface, most deer hunters appear at first to oppose the change, because they have `lost' deer tags,'' Knox said.
``When they are asked how many deer they harvested last year, the vast majority withdraw their initial opposition and agree with the new structure. The fact is, 99 percent of them never use more than three anyway.''
Here's how the new system works for deer hunters:
You buy a basic $12.5O hunting license, required for all types of hunting: big game and small. Next comes the $12.50 big game license, which contains three deer tags, along with turkey and bear tags and a DCAP tag good for hunting on property where the landowner has a special deer damage permit.
If you are a bowhunter, you must purchase a $12.50 archery license, and if you are a muzzle-loader, you must have a $12.50 license for the special black- powder season. If you wish additional tags, you can purchase unlimited numbers of bonus licenses for use on private land only. Each contains two tags and sells for $12.50.
When you kill a deer during the bow or muzzle loading season, you remove one of the tags from your big game license or you can use a bonus tag on private land.
``The principal perceived losers under the new tag system are archery deer hunters,'' Knox said. ``The main reason for this is that the previous tag system benefitted archers.''
Archers say the new system is costing them two deer tags, but the department's last hunter survey indicated that only 1.2 percent of Virginia's bowhunters killed three deer, and the number who killed more was too small to be measured.
``The people I have talked to who are upset the most are the real good deer hunters, the ones who always have killed more than three deer,'' Knox said. ``They archery hunt, they muzzle-load hunt, they gun hunt. For them, it is a license increase. You can't dance around that fact. But our objective never was to raise revenue. Ours was to simplify the system.''
The bonus tags can be used anytime. A hunter doesn't have to use the three tags on his big game license first. In fact, since the bonus tags are valid only on private land, some hunters may want to use them first if they are planning late-season hunts on national forest or game department property.
During a series of meetings across the state earlier this year, hunters often expressed concern that the national forest deer herd was being over hunted. The new tag system is designed to exert heavier pressure on private lands, where crop damage is frequent, while taking a conservative route on public lands with a three-per-season limit, Knox said.
Some hunters are wondering if unlimited bonus tags on private land will result in an overkill, but Knox doesn't think that is likely.
``First of all, you have to match a deer to a tag,'' he said.
In addition, private land owners have a way of managing the herds on their property. They can determine who hunts there, what methods of hunting can be used and whether bucks or does can be killed.
``They can tell you not to kill any buck less than eight points if they want to,'' said Knox. ``They are managing the deer herd.''
by CNB