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DEC Announces 2023-24 Deer Harvest Estimates
Published: May 06, 2024 at
10:45 a.m.
By: Press Release from NYS DEC
DEC Announces 2023-24 Deer Harvest Estimates
New York Hunters Harvested Nearly 210,000 Deer, More
Older Bucks Than Ever Before
New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean
Mahar today announced that during the 2023-24 hunting
seasons hunters in New York harvested an estimated 209,781
deer. The 2023-24 deer harvest included more than twice as many older
bucks, bucks two-and-a-half years old or older, than were harvested in the
early 1990s, and nearly five times as many than were harvested in 1969 when
DEC first began monitoring the age structure of New York’s deer herd.
“Nearly 70
percent of the bucks harvested by hunters during the 2023-24 deer hunting
seasons were two years or older,” Interim Commissioner Mahar said.
“This demonstrates the continued effectiveness of DEC’s Let Young Bucks Go and Watch Them Grow campaign,
and the willingness of hunters to voluntarily pass up opportunities at
young bucks to improve their future opportunities to harvest older
bucks.”
The 2023-24
estimated deer harvest included an estimated 112,224 antlered bucks (i.e.,
adult males) and an estimated 97,557 antlerless deer (i.e., adult females
and fawns of either sex). Statewide, this represents
a 3.6 percent decrease in antlered buck harvest and a 15.6
percent decrease in antlerless deer harvest from last season. The decrease
in antlerless deer harvest, which is approximately 15 percent lower than
the five-year average, is concerning because DEC manages deer populations
through actions that encourage harvest of antlerless deer. Harvesting
antlerless deer helps ensure deer populations remain in balance with
available habitat and do not exceed levels of public acceptance that
can lead to increased crop damage, deer-vehicle collisions, and other
potentially negative deer-related impacts. Harvesting antlerless deer
also helps ensure deer are able meet their nutritional demands for antler
development, fawn recruitment, and body growth.
In some areas of
the state, especially in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 1C, 3M, 3R, 3S,
4J, 6P, 7F, 7H, 7J, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J, 8R, 8S, 9A, and 9F, hunters are
not harvesting enough antlerless deer to manage deer populations
effectively. The highest deer harvest densities were documented in the
Western Finger Lakes region and Central Appalachian Plateau. Hunters
harvested more than 10 deer per square mile in WMUs 8H, 8M, 8N, 8R, 8T, 8X,
and 9Y, with more than 15 deer harvested per square mile in WMU
8R. In some of these units more antlerless deer need to be
harvested to achieve population management objectives.
DEC is evaluating
various regulatory and non-regulatory alternatives to increase harvest of
antlerless deer during future hunting seasons and encourages all deer
hunters in the WMUs to harvest at least one antlerless deer during the
upcoming 2024-25 deer hunting season.
Throughout the
2023-24 deer hunting seasons, DEC staff and cooperating taxidermists
collected biological samples from 2,713 deer for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance. No
samples tested positive, and New York State remains CWD-free. DEC reminds
hunters to remain vigilant to prevent the introduction of CWD into New York.
Additionally, no
outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease were documented in
New York’s deer herd in 2023.
Notable
Numbers
- 15.8 and 0.6 – number of deer taken per
square mile in the units with the highest (WMU 8R) and lowest (WMU 5F)
harvest density.
- 67.9 percent – portion of the adult buck
harvest that was two-and-a-half years or older statewide, up from 45
percent a decade ago, and 30 percent in the 1990s.
- 49.9 percent – portion of successful deer
hunters that reported their harvest as required by law. This
is slightly above the five-year average of 48.6 percent.
- Approximately 1.7 percent – the precision of
DEC’s 2023-24 statewide deer harvest estimate.
- 13,638 – number of hunter-harvested deer
checked by DEC staff in 2023 to determine hunter reporting rate and
collect biological data (e.g., age, sex, antler data).
- 2,713 – deer tested for CWD in 2023-24; none
tested positive. DEC has tested more than 65,000 deer for
CWD since 2002.
Deer harvest data
are gathered from two main sources -- harvest reports required within seven
days of harvest of all successful deer hunters, and DEC’s examination
of harvested deer at meat processors and check stations across the
state. Harvest estimates are made by cross-referencing
these two data sources and calculating the total harvest from the reporting
rate for each zone and tag type.
DEC’s 2023-24 Deer Harvest Summary report provides
tables, figures, and maps detailing the deer harvest around the state. Past
harvest summaries are also available on DEC’s website. Appendix two of
DEC’s Management Plan for White-tailed Deer provides
information on how DEC sets deer population objectives throughout the
state.
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