Maine’s deer harvest numbers for last fall have finally been released by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W). When I served as information officer for MDIF&W, I was always puzzled when writing the deer- harvest press release as to why it took more than three months to figure out how many deer were tagged in the fall. Digging into the cause, about the only reason I could dredge up was that paperwork got misplaced at tagging stations, or under the seats in warden trucks.

Better late than never. In a March 4th press release, MDIF&W reports that “preliminary harvest figures show an 11 percent increase in deer taken over the 2009 deer season.” The 2010 deer season harvest, according to the press release, was 20,063. This figure is about 4 percent below the expected harvest estimations made by state deer biologists.

“The winter of 2010 ranked as one of the mildest winters in the past 60 years, a stark contrast to the terrible back-to-back winters of 2008 and 2009,” according to MDIF&W Deer Biologist Lee Kantar. “The 2010 winter certainly provided a much-needed break for the deer and explains much of the increase in the 2010 harvest.”

Naturally, MDIF&W — desperate for some good news about something — is trying to put a positive spin on what is still a critical situation when it comes to Maine’s distressed deer population. The glass is half full if you compare last fall’s deer harvest with the 2009 season. That same glass, though, is half empty if you compare any deer harvest numbers of the last three falls with the average deer take during the previous decade.

The sobering reality is that Maine’s deer harvest is on a long-term downward trend. Hunters have tagged a third less deer for a number of falls in a row. We did enjoy a small upward spike in the deer tally last fall, thanks to an incredibly mild winter and unusually early spring greenup, but this break from Mother Nature was shortlived.

Unmentioned in the Department’s fall harvest figures is this winter’s worrisome record snow depths and the likely impact on deer survival. The Winter Severity Index, irrespective of temperature averages, has to be bad news for wintering whitetails.

According to anecdotal reports and photos that I have received this winter from a Downeast game warden and some Aroostook and Washington County winter trappers, coyotes have been having a field day taking down deer after deer in and around their yards. Why is this never acknowledged in any of MDIF&W’s press releases dealing with the state of Maine’s deer numbers?

There is no question, as the MDIF&W press release asserts, that last fall’s deer harvest uptick can be traced to a milder winter. Deer, and our fall harvest numbers are, to an extent, at the mercy of winter’s wild card. But a fatalistic deer management philosophy that shrugs off deer predation by coyotes and bears, as a minor component of the deer recovery equation, is misguided wildlife biology.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].