NY DEC: Southern Zone Deer Harvest Reports Up Slightly

[HuntingNY]

 

It was a windy start to the regular firearms deer season in much of  the Southern Zone, but hunters appear to have managed well.  Harvest  reports from the opening weekend are up about 5% compared to opening  weekend in 2009.   

 

This first Saturday and Sunday of the Southern Zone regular deer  season is an important time for deer hunters and deer harvest.  In a  2007 survey (www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/hdrudeer07.pdf),  roughly 85% of New York deer hunters indicated that they participated  in the Southern Zone regular season.  Of these hunters, about 93% hunted  on opening day, including 5% who only hunted on opening day.  Hunters  averaged just under 7 hours afield on opening day but dropped back to an  average of less than 6 hours per day during the rest of the regular  season. 

 

 

In 2009, deer harvest during the opening weekend accounted for: 

 
• nearly 50% of the Southern Zone regular season buck take; 
  
• almost 40% of the Southern Zone regular season total deer take;   
  
• slightly more than 25% of the Southern Zone deer take during all seasons; and 
  
• more than 20% of the statewide deer take during all seasons.
  

 

Hunters should remember that reporting their harvest is required.    We recently expanded the time frame for reporting from 48 hours to 7  days to make reporting easier for hunter who hunt in remote areas, but  successful hunters are still required to report through the DEC’s online  reporting system (www.dec.ny.gov) or by calling 1-866-GAME-RPT (1-866-426-3778).   

 

Good hunting!

[wztirem]

A 5% increase in hunter reports over last year is still woefully low!

[burmjohn]

Better then no change....

[Doc]

Wow!!! That's some pretty prompt reporting on the DEC's part. I don't recall any harvest comments made this early in the season in past years. The reporting dates that they are talking about ended just yesterday.

Doc

[gjs4]

Doc- its because those number were detrmined last year...lol

It is amazing how the reports so many of us hear form other never correspond with the states....

[Doc]

Doc- its because those number were detrmined last year...lol

It is amazing how the reports so many of us hear form other never correspond with the states....

Yeah I just noticed that. In that case, that's some pretty darn slow reporting ...... . ;D

[nyantler]

How did I know that Doc would have a problem with the harvest report?..lol I'm sure if they had said that the harvest was down.. you'd be saying I told ya so... you make me laugh   so predictable, but entertaining none the less

[nyantler]

Honestly Doc .. I'd love to meet you..and shake your hand.. you're a hoot!

[Doc]

I guess I don't know what the previous two replies are referring to. Just a random, "attacking" kind of comment I guess. But the fact is the only thing I was commenting on was the promptness of the remarks regarding opening weekend harvests. I really didn't say anything about the report being up, down, or sideways. So I have no idea what those last two replies were referring to.

Doc

[wztirem]

One would think that the DECALS system would provide the DEC with the ability to release  some actual results ( in real time) to the public on the 2010 deer kill based upon the number of hunter (up 5%). I for one would like to see the actual reporting data. We could argue later on how this data is interpreted by the DEC to extrapolate the overall deer kill in 2010.

[Doc]

It would be interesting to see just what the difference is between the raw data and the final published data. Interesting but probably not all that useful. I think the post data-gathering processing is a pretty big deal and probably a lot more complicated than we imagine.

I realize that raw report data is terribly incomplete and probably meaningless without the massaging techniques. I think a lot of the early reporting has to wait for the establishment of the calculated "reporting rate" and who knows what else that has to be gathered, calculated and baked into the formula. That's why I am always a bit surprised at how quickly they begin making comments about the season and actually start publishing early harvest trends.

Doc

[Dave]

Doc, I remember this discussion on the old site. If the DEC wants the real numbers then it has to be mandatory for every hunter to report his success or not. It's not an inconvenience to purchase your license than it shouldn't be to call in you results for the season.  If you purchase your license in the future and have not called in a report you could pay a $5 penalty. What are your thoughts on this topic. Make the hunters responsible for the numbers not the DEC.

Dave

[nyantler]

How would they police it?

[Dave]

When you buy your license , like DECALs if you didn't report the previous year you pay $5 surcharge.It would be tacked on to your next license. It may not be the best way but it could be a start. At least the numbers would be real.

Dave

[nyantler]

what if you didn't report because you didn't get a deer? and if you did get a deer and didn't report it how would they know?

[Dave]

NYantler, it's simple if you buy a deer hunting license then you have to call in if you are successful or not. So you either report you got a deer or you report you didn't get a deer. Same thing for those who get DMP, you have to report if you got a doe or not. If they have no problem applying for a DMP they should have no problem calling in a report. I think most people who fill their permits don't call in so DEC makes up the numbers. If they wanted to take it a step further if you get a DMP and don't report your success or not then next year you should be denied a permit for that year. Just my opinion on how to get realistic numbers.

Dave

[growalot]

Ya know that almost makes some scense...then you'd have to realize that NY's system...probably would be inadequate to handle the volume and crash...I mean really how many times did it go down with ppl just trying to buy a license..

[wztirem]

The DECALS system does have its flaws a times but nonetheles every hunter is required to report their kill. The system is an excellent tool for the DEC to manage the deer population within the State. Too bad that the majority of successful hunters are uncooperative. Such individuals are rendering a disservice to the entire huntng communty.

[Doc]

what if you didn't report because you didn't get a deer? and if you did get a deer and didn't report it how would they know?

The system along with enforcement would be 100% automated. Here's how it would work:

Every tag would require a report ... Successful or not. That's the only requirement that would be different for the hunter.

Since tags are issued by computer, and the reports are made by hunters via computerized systems, it is a simple computer function to compare tags out to reports in. Those who do not comply are identified by a simple computer sort. Warning notices are sent out with a final deadline for compliance. If that date goes by without compliance then the the penalty is levied.

What the heck, we are already 95% there. Let's get the rest of the way into the computer age and let the computer do the work.

Right now we have biologists and other expensive DEC personel running all over the countryside visiting deer processors, taxidermists, roadchecks and other places where harvested deer might be accumulated, writing down data, carrying it back to Albany, inputting it into computers, which apply all their guesstimates, factors, formulas, etc to eventually arrive at a "reporting factor" which they cross their fingers and apply to the actual reports to come up with a harvest number. Is that what we want the DEC to be doing with their limited resources, or should we be letting the computers be computers and free up all those man-hours and perfect the results in the process.

Anyways, that's how the proposed system would work ...... along with a little bit of editorializing ....lol.

There must be a flaw in that system somewhere because I have sent in that suggestion to the DEC on several occasions when they were soliciting such suggestions and nothing like that has happened yet.

[Dave]

Well I think we finally have reached a topic generally agree with. Let the computer do the work. Hunters can call,or go online and input results like we are doing now and we can also have a deadline to make the final report. Which would be later, say like February 1st . So if every body complied we would have the real tally and not some guesstimate like we have now.  All this would be up front so the hunters would know the deal before the hunting season started. No need to send notices to non reporters this would incur additional expense. They would just see a surcharge when they renew their license.

Dave

[bubba]

Doc, I remember this discussion on the old site. If the DEC wants the real numbers then it has to be mandatory for every hunter to report his success or not. It's not an inconvenience to purchase your license than it shouldn't be to call in you results for the season.  If you purchase your license in the future and have not called in a report you could pay a $5 penalty. What are your thoughts on this topic. Make the hunters responsible for the numbers not the DEC.

Dave

if you look in at your hunting guide, it is mandatory to report and actually illegal not to.  You can be ticketed taken to court and fined.  And unles sthey know you were successful, how will they know you didnt report? You have 7 days to report and it can be done online now. I know a few guys who report they were successful even though they werent just to make themselves look good in their minds.  So reporting is only as good as the reporters. Data can be taen several ways depending on who is reviewing it. 

[bubba]

why would I want to report report on a tag in February when I can still use it in September.  I have 4 days end of september archery to use tags that haven't been used yet. 

[Doc]

Well I think we finally have reached a topic generally agree with. Let the computer do the work. Hunters can call,or go online and input results like we are doing now and we can also have a deadline to make the final report. Which would be later, say like February 1st . So if every body complied we would have the real tally and not some guesstimate like we have now.  All this would be up front so the hunters would know the deal before the hunting season started. No need to send notices to non reporters this would incur additional expense. They would just see a surcharge when they renew their license.

Dave

I included the warning notices to allow for an occasional computer glitch that we all know can happen. This gives the hunter some recourse if he becomes a "computer victim". It happens .... lol. Besides, they could afford the expense of an automatic mailing with the money they would save by not having their people running all over the state trying to support that "reporting rate" fiasco.

[Doc]

why would I want to report report on a tag in February when I can still use in is September.  I have 4 days end fo september archery to use tags that haven't been used yet.

Lol .... see, there ya go. You guys in the northern zone always have these goofy situations to contend with  ;D . I've got to believe that there would be some fancy way of getting by that problem, but what the heck, I can't solve all their problems .... lol. Somebody else can work out the appropriate reporting deadline.

[Dave]

Doc, I remember this discussion on the old site. If the DEC wants the real numbers then it has to be mandatory for every hunter to report his success or not. It's not an inconvenience to purchase your license than it shouldn't be to call in you results for the season.  If you purchase your license in the future and have not called in a report you could pay a $5 penalty. What are your thoughts on this topic. Make the hunters responsible for the numbers not the DEC.

Dave

if you look in at your hunting guide, it is mandatory to report and actually illegal not to.  You can be ticketed taken to court and fined.  And unles sthey know you were successful, how will they know you didnt report? You have 7 days to report and it can be done online now. I know a few guys who report they were successful even though they werent just to make themselves look good in their minds.  So reporting is only as good as the reporters. Data can be taen several ways depending on who is reviewing it.

Bubba, I think you have missed the point. Like you say it is mandatory , but that's a joke. If it was enforced then we would have all the data we would need. But it's not!!!  And If you read my comment I said that everyone would have to report "EVERYONE" If you were successful you report if you are not successful you report. That's how they would know, we all report. So next year when you purchase your license they would be able to see if you reported the previous year. If you did fine, no penalty, if you didn't you get a penalty.  I only used February as an example because there is still deer hunting on Long Island.

So we could capture as much data as possible. As far as certain people making false reports , even with a few false reports the overall numbers would be closer than the DEC. I like to respect the hunting public to do the right thing. Not bring them down by the few unethical hunters.

Dave