PGC releases '07-'08 deer kill data

Friday's release of deer kill figures for the 2007-08 hunting seasons is sure to reignite debates across northcentral Pennsylvania, at the same time the Game Commission decides how many hunting licenses to sell this year.

A big boost in antlerless deer licenses in Management Area 2G had predictable results. Hunters in that region, which includes all of Cameron County and the portions of Potter and McKean counties south of Rt. 6, took 6,600 antlerless whitetails, up from the 4,600 harvest of 2006-07.

At the same time, buck kill in that region plunged from 7,200 the previous year to 5,100 in 2007-08.

Meanwhile, in Area 3A, which includes the sections of Potter, McKean and Tioga counties north of Rt. 6, the doe kill dropped from 8,800 to 7,800, while antlered deer harvest fell from 4,500 to 3,400.

Overall figures, therefore, were 11,700 deer in Area 2G, virtually unchanged from 11,800, and 11,200 taken in 3A, a significant drop from the previous year's 13,300.

Statewide, the deer kill was down by 11 percent.

Antlerless deer license allocations for the 2008-09 seasons will be set when the Game Commission meets in April. Staff recommendations will be based on harvest information, population trends, deer reproduction data, forest regeneration information, input from five new Citizen Advisory Committees, and hunter survey results.