Photo by Mark Werner

New York State boasts a whitetail population of over one million deer. Hunters posted a record-breaking harvest in 2002 of over 300,000 deer, and although the 2004 deer harvest was significantly below that record, the total harvest is still in line with the 10-year average.

Here's a look at what happened in 2004 and what deer hunters can expect in each region this coming season.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that hunters harvested slightly more than 208,000 deer last year, including some 89,000 bucks and 120,000 antlerless deer.

The total deer harvest for 2004 showed an 18 percent decrease compared to the 2003 total deer take of more than 253,000 deer. The 2004 buck take of nearly 89,000 also reflects an 18 percent decline from 2003. Similar declines in total deer take were experienced across all of the major hunting zones in New York in 2004, but there is an explanation for the precipitous drop.

"The recent declines in the deer take were a result of weather, hunting conditions and specific management actions intended to reduce deer populations from the high levels of 2002 and 2003 and bring them closer to manageable levels in the many areas where deer were overabundant," said DEC acting commissioner Denise M. Sheehan.

The winter of 2002-03 proved to be especially harsh and deer numbers continued to decline as a result. Additional winter mortality was documented in a number of areas during the winter of 2003-04. Although the reductions were somewhat greater than planned, the current deer take numbers are similar to levels experienced in the mid-1990s.

New York's hunters took more than 80,000 adult females, which was an anticipated decline resulting from the DEC's reduction in the total number of deer management permits (DMPs) available during the 2004 season. In 2004, just over 600,000 DMPs were issued, about 80,000 fewer than in previous seasons.

The past winter did not have a significant impact on deer survival, but it is anticipated that DMP availability during the 2005 season will be less than in 2004 because deer numbers in many areas will still be below desired levels.

COUNTY HARVESTS IN 2004
Steuben County had the highest deer take in 2004 with 11,571 deer, including 4,499 bucks. Cattaraugus County was second, with 10,658 deer, including 4,067 bucks, followed by Allegany County, with 10,587 deer, including 3,929 bucks. St. Lawrence County (7,476 total, 3,562 bucks) and Chautauqua (7,430 total, 2,985 bucks) rounded out the top five counties in the state. The same counties were also the top five harvest counties in 2002 and 2003, and historically rank among the best each year.

Here's a look at what New York's regional deer managers had to say about last fall's results and the prospects for 2005.

WESTERN NEW YORK
New York's western counties saw significant harvest reductions in almost all counties and WMUs, but hunters in this part of the state still took more deer than most other counties. These WMUs boast some of the highest deer densities and buck densities in the state. Western New York produced 120,608 deer, or 58 percent of the statewide count.

Cattaraugus and Allegany counties each produced more than 10,500 deer, bested only by Steuben County in total deer killed. The kill in this region, however, has been declining for the past two years, driving the statewide downward trend.

"Some of our management units are carrying populations of 35 to 40 deer per square mile," said Russ Biss, Region 9 wildlife manager. He generally recommends wildlife management units 9H, 9P and 9J, where hunters bagged nearly 20,000 deer during the 2004 season. Unit 9Y is usually a good bet as well.