Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510230105
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Search no farther than the nearest grove of oak trees; that is, white oaks that are bearing acorns.
``That is the first thing I would look for,'' said Matt Knox, deer research biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. ``If you find some white oak acorns, you definitely will be in the deer.''
Following two autumns that had bumper acorn crops, this year's mast production is spotty - good in some areas, scarce in others. Acorns, especially the fruit of white oak, are a favorite food of deer, a quick and convenient source of fat and protein needed for winter survival. When they are scarce, deer tend to concentrate in sections that have acorns and avoid those that don't.
``Not having mast this year will impact the movements of deer,'' Knox said.
The big mast crops of the past two seasons will impact deer in still another way, he said. They have given bucks the extra energy to grow impressive antlers.
``I have an idea there will be a couple, maybe four or five, bucks killed this year that will be Boone and Crockett bucks,'' Knox said. Boone and Crockett is the national record keeping organization in North America.
As for numbers of deer, Knox said he wouldn't be surprised to see a decline in the kill following a string of seasons that have established records. The kill last year was 209,373. Regulations have been set during recent seasons to lower the number of deer and increase the quality of the herd.
``The only thing that would keep the kill going up would be those two good back-to-back mast crops,'' he said. ``There is a chance they have produced a whopper fawn crop out there.''
While there has been some liberalization of regulations this season - either-sex hunting will be permitted on private land in Roanoke and Grayson counties the entire two-week firearms season - regulations that govern hunting on public land have been tightened.
On national forest and game department land in Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Bland, Carroll, Craig, Giles, Highland, Montgomery, Pulaski, Rockbridge and Wythe counties, antlerless deer hunting will be permitted only three days, Nov. 25 and Dec. 1 and 2. No bonus tags may be used on public land.
The regulation answers public concern that deer levels have been declining on public land in these counties.
``That could have an impact on the overall harvest,'' said Knox.
by CNB